Trades shows, IMDB website, Cuba trip, books on Amazon, Pinterest

For this trade show queen, the “Affordable Shopping Destination” show at the Los Angeles Convention center this past March 17-20 was a bit exhausting.  Most of the cheerful vendors even started to get a bit crabby by the last day…but managed to put their best foot forward till the cows came home…

GET YOUR STEPS IN  You can log over 3 miles per day. My friend who introduced me to this show as a walking opportunity (she walks about 5 miles per day) made sure that I knew about the “frenzie” phenomenon that occurs when a booth inside one of the great halls has really cool jewelry, clothing, purses and other goodies that you can “cash and carry.”  Just look for the pirhana’s feeding frenzie and RUN before you miss out!

BRING LOTS OF CASH  Warning – if you don’t stock lots of $20’s you will have to hit the ATM machine several times to haul off all of the really cool merchandise.  I took photos of my favorite booths and actually tried to see as much as I could over the 4 day show.  Many of the vendors were returners who stayed busy with repeat or brand new customers.  I did hear some remarks that indicated that it seemed a bit slow compared to the previous ASD shows, but most seemed very happy with their potential sales.

POT IS KING My overall impression was one of amazement at the variety of goods represented throughout the convention center. From rows and rows of cannabis merchants, jewelry (costume and fine), clothing, shoes, purses, skulls, and Motorcycle merchandise to the interesting and educational seminars.  I attended as many seminars as I could and learned all about customer rewards programs and the best way to use social media to improve product awareness.  Oh yes, and I bombarded my instagram account with #ASDshow posts!  I didn’t mind that much but now that the show is over I’ll have to unfriend them until next time!

 

 

My daughter and her best friend came to town and we hit the MAGIC clothing and fashion trade show.  It was definitely inconvenient to have the shows at two different venues – the Mandalay Bay Convention Center and the Las Vegas Convention Center.  I could not park at the Mandalay so I ended up dropping the girls off.  I think they ended up drinking more margaritas and the Cosmopolitan’s flower drink than attending the show!  I heard it was fabulous and that the fashions were young, hip, trendy, and perfect for the millennial generation of buyers.  Our friend has a store – BLONDETOURAGE BY THE BAY in Newport Beach so she was buying for her online website.

I took off for the convention center because I KNOW the convention center.  I was cracking up at most of the clothing lines because I have no clue about style. I only know what I like, and I do NOT like “daisy duke” shorts and torn jeans.  So that eliminated several options for my fantasy store.  I am not a size 6 by any means so therefore even the beautiful gowns that I saw would not look good on me.  Give me Tadashi or Adrianna Papell old lady gowns!  I did LOVE the Pantone Spring colors displayed in one area.  It was clever and made me actually think that I should wear some of these colors someday soon…Fiesta, Jester Red, Turmeric, Living Coral, and

Pink Peacock are ones listed on the web at http://www.glowsly.com. See my photos for MAGIC colors on display at the convention center.

Who knew that you could actually “cash and carry” so much stuff from the latest Las Vegas Market.  I am new to Vegas and new to this trade show but was so excited to get an industry pass.  I could only go for two days but will tell you what I discovered and loved about my visit:

1. The friendly vendors.
2. DOVETAIL Furniture – beautiful home decor and I found the perfect sofa for my new house (one day…) http://www.dovetailfurnitureonline.com
3. DALE TIFFANY Lighting & Home Accents Design – loved the glass and Tiffany & Crystal lighting http://www.daletiffany.com
4. IMAX home store was so interesting and I could not stop taking photos of the different decor stations.  The nautical themes were tastefully done and I loved the PGA – golf furnishings!  Check out my photos…www.imaxcorp.com

Here were my favorite “cash and carry” vendors – wholesale merchandise that you can literally walk out the door with…

1. Dressed Up – designer clothes at Fabulous prices – Carolyn and Andrea were so cute and helped me find wonderful designer clothes for my Cuba trip.  We had fun trying on outfits with the other ladies and I ended up with about 6 beautiful outfits for $500 (retail would have been over $1000).  cjb@thebrockhausgroup.com
2. Cranston Jewelry – WOW !  I made off with over 10 earrings and necklaces for about $50. DifaL4@aol.com. My favorite piece is a bling panther pin that goes on my shoulder!
3. Voyager’s Dream Jewelry – Marcie Knight helped me with faux leather earrings, including my favorite football vegan leather earrings for the Super Bowl party http://www.voyagersdreamwholesale.com
4. DelMundo Jewelry – great prices on nautical earrings and cool necklaces from a local Vegas vendor.  www.delmundo.com

   

   IMAX booth

   

   

   
   

   

   

   

   
   

   

   

   

   
   

   

   Gotta love President Dr. James Doti of Chapman University, Ray Jacobi, Santa, and Kim Smith!

   

   

   
   

   

   

   

   
   

   

   I love this photo, we look so professional

   

   

   My welcome home treats

   
   

   

   Caroline made French toast!

   

   Formal Valentine Dinner

   

   Valentine’s Dinner

   
   

   

   President of the 1221 Club 2015-2018

   

   Scholarship Awards

   

   Boat Owner

   
   

   

   

   American Legion Member

   

   Event Coordinator 1221 Club

   
   

   

   Catalina Island Museum Member and Yacht Club member

   
   
5. KATE MESTA – One of a kind Original jewelry – I just loved her CEO PR gal Sondra Piorek – we bonded over her Chapman University freshman.  Kate’s “dog tag” necklaces were awesome, unique and popular with the celebrities (Chris Harrison, etc.). I bought 3 for my family and friends.  www.katemesta.com
6. Last but not least AVALON MEAT CANDY – just try this stuff.  The owner Christian was hilarious (watch the f-bombs).  He was handing out samples and I think I bought one of each kind of beef jerky.  I don’t think I have ever really tried chili lime, Jamaican jerk, or double teriyaki jerky but now I am a huge fan.  I am pretending that it is low carb and perhaps on weight watchers?????  www.avalonmeatcandy.com

So there you have it…I hope I can go again in the summer.  I will save my pennies and hope to win a jackpot so I can “cash and carry” more stuff.

I am not one for economic forecasts but decided to pay $60 to attend a half day conference on the state of Las Vegas produced by the Chamber of Commerce. I was pleasantly surprised by the fast talking, smart, Jeremy Aguero from Applied Analysis. I did get a few hints from him about the real estate market. They are building lots of new homes, at least 5 new casinos and resorts, and of course THE RAIDERS ARE COMING!! There is also a huge influx of people coming for the lower taxes and new job market. Especially in the construction field! If you look good in a hard hat you have a good chance of getting a job. Most of the new folks are from California (like us!). I enjoyed his speech and did not fall asleep.
The next set of speakers included a panel of interesting men talking about Las Vegas and the “global stage.” Here is what I got out of this section of the program: Marc Badain, Team President of the Raiders, talked about what the heck Vegas is going to do with the new stadium and how they are going to “go for the Superbowl” in about 2025. Kurt Melien, President of Live Nation (which I found out is also part of Ticketmaster), is the “be-all-know-all” of all of the cool acts that come to Vegas; including the stars that want to do a RESIDENCY here (Brittany, JLo, Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars, etc.). He said that they all demand first class venues and that Vegas has them. They are only going to allow one or two big shows to perform in the new Raiders stadium because only a few acts will draw that huge of a crowd. I was not sure why Clint Overby was there but he gave a very interesting view of the Motorcross Speedway (?) and how they do hundreds of mixed use events there throughout the year. I was glad to know about the speedway and thought it was great that it was such a popular venue close to the strip.
I skipped the talk on the Next Frontier, but LOVED the keynote speaker Michelle Poler. She was right up my alley with her “Hello Fears” attitude. She actually did 100 days of scary things that freaked her out and made a career out of it. I don’t think I could even do one of her fearful things. Well, maybe I would dance by myself in front of thousands in the NYC Times Square, but I doubt it. She went on roller coasters, jumped out of an airplane, posed nude, and gave a speech at a TED talk. She was also cute and very inspirational. Worth the $60! Oh and of course we got tons of free “chachkis” at the trade show booths. You can collect pens, notepads, chargers, gizmos to open jars, candy, and free food.

I am trying to catch up on events here in Las Vegas and last month I was lucky enough to attend the book signing and cocktail party for Dominic A. Parisi. I met Dominic at the Edge Steakhouse and he invited me and a few of my guests to the unbelievable Tuscany suite in the Westgate Las Vegas Resort and Casino. We were escorted to the former “Elvis” suite in a private elevator. The food, cocktails and crowd were awesome, including the grilled banana cheese loved by Elvis Presley in the “Golden Age of Vegas.” Dominic was hilarious and told us many interesting stories.

I could listen all night to his memories. We took lots of photos, ate lots of food, and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves…

Consumer Electronic Show

I attended the Consumer Electronic Show here in Las Vegas at the convention center.  My head was spinning but I did learn who “NINJA” was, which was critical in my understanding of what kids today are watching, experiencing, and doing day in and day out.  Oh – don’t you know about ESPORTS and the new video gaming industry?  You better invest now if you want to be cool, “in the know”, and way ahead of the game.  Apparently “Ninja” is one of the top rated video gamers (who makes over $500,000 a month playing “Fortnite”) and he was mentioned several times throughout the conference.  I had to text my 23 year old son to find out who he was.  I also attended some very informative workshops about DIGITAL HOLLYWOOD.  We all need to be aware that there are other social media outlets that are coming on fast.  Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat are going to be pushed aside by the newcomers.  I was amused by the speakers for the Digital Hollywood symposium who were “old timers” in Hollywood with tons of experience who had to enlist legions of millennials to understand today’s marketing online.  I am scared for the big Hollywood Studios…especially after watching all of my annual Screen Actors Guild movies this season.  Who knew that a superhero movie like “Black Panther” would win best film?   More later on my personal picks for 2018 films…

Overall I felt like a privileged outsider at the CES convention.  The Robots had personality, everyone tried the virtual reality goggles, and I was thrilled with the Victrola old fashioned Turntables making a comeback. Polaroid and Kodak have reinvented the instant camera and have mini printers you carry in your purse! Samsung and Sony have newer, smart LED screens (do they still call them tv’s??) and the rest of the cars, trucks, drones and self driving vehicles were overwhelming.  This from a gal who has attended mostly fashion shows, jewelry, makeup, and self help events this past year. My favorite gadget was a waterproof speaker that holds cocktails… WOW !