Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Preparing for the Fall Season

This is the time of year when I start making decisions about the Fall colors and themes for the shop. The New York gift show is just around the corner and if I'm not careful the show will dictate the look of the store rather than me. The New York trade show presents thousands of vendors selling their goods to retailers. For years I have been making the trip to N.Y. in the middle of August and in late January to buy for HiHo. I have learned from these biyearly pilgrimages that just because a color is featured throughout the show does not mean it's a match for us. A perfect example of this was the year everything at the show was light blue and brown...we had done those colors the season before. The show can easily overwhelm me if I don't prepare with lists of items we are hunting and possible themes for each room. This past Fall season we had apples for the theme throughout the main room, "Headliner". The center hutch is always fun to set furniture in, here is a shot featuring some great red quilted throws. The Hudson Valley and Gardiner have a relaxed feel that we try to reinforce in the home decor chosen for the shop. We try not to give away the upcoming color themes, so your sure to stop in. However the bedroom and kitchen area already have new featured colors for Fall. Orange and turquoise make a fun pair in this April Cornell quilt, our inspiration piece for the room. Notice Humphrey in the vintage basin on the bed, his coloring matches perfectly.

This picture was taken a week and a half ago, so additional textiles have been added to the room over the past few days.

If you have an idea for a themed room at HiHo we would love to hear about it. The staff and I brain storm ideas all the time, it might be fun to pool ideas from our customers...drop me a email, who knows we might just use your idea! Remember I need ideas before the middle of August so I can add your idea to my lists for the show. Look forward to hearing from you.