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Chicago Market and Design / Product Trends Panel

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If you are part of the casual furniture and accessory industry, and you want to learn about the latest trends in products and design, we highly recommend attending the International Casual Furniture & Accessories Market next week in Chicago. The market show runs from September 21 to 24 at The Chicago Merchandise Mart, where 350 manufacturers from around the world will fill more than 350,000 square feet of exhibit space. Between the exhibits and permanent show rooms, opportunities for buying and trend-following will abound at this year’s market.

According to the Casual Market Web site, the show will attract “leading manufacturers of wrought iron / aluminum, cast metal / cast combination, rattan / wicker / woven, tubular, resin / fiberglass and wood furnishings as well as umbrellas, hammocks, outdoor lighting, outdoor accessories / statues / fountains, outdoor hearth and heating products, alternative tabletops, barbecues, pool and spa accessories, and much more.”

The show has been a trade favorite for 30 years, and continues to lead the industry as a destination show for the latest trends in casual and outdoor furnishings / accessories.

In fact, our very own Don Eberly, president and CEO of Eberly & Collard Public Relations, will be sitting on the “Trends in Design – Beyond 2009” discussion panel Thursday, September 24. Don will be discussing some of our firm’s focus group findings and study data pertaining to product and design trends.

Moderated by Sarah Kinbar, editor-in-chief of Garden Design magazine, top experts in the industry will speak on the latest in furniture designs and styles, fabric trends, popular paint colors and finishes, plant and floral pairings, decorative containers, interior / exterior design trends, and other subject-matter. The panel will also touch on how the green movement is affecting homeowners’ and designer’s choices.

Let us know if you will be attending the market. We would love to see you there. If media members would like to schedule interviews with Don regarding the trend insights in mention, we can gladly assist with that as well.

~ Leslie

Schmoozing with Raw Fish

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Some of my absolute favorite (yes, it deserves the bold!) hours during our trip to OFA were spent in an adorable little sushi restaurant named Haiku where Eberly PR hosted a media dinner for a few of our clients and some of our favorite members of the industry media!

I’m telling you; it’s hard to go wrong when you combine awesome people with delicious food and a few drinks. 🙂

What a blast! We were able to enjoy a lovely evening with industry leaders such as Dan Heims, Ken Brown and Dave Doolittle from Terra Nova Nurseries, Bob Lovejoy from Horticultural Identification Products (HIP), and Tom Kegley and Kim Cameron from Novalis Plants that Work / Plants that Work by Color.

Several of our trade media friends also attended such as Delilah Onofrey, Kevin Yanik and Sue Distaulo from Meister Media Worldwide, Ellen Wells and Jen White from Ball Publishing, Paige Worthy, Jasmina Radjevic and Darhiana Mateo from Scranton Gillette, and Meshele Conley from Garden Design!

What I learned at dinner:

  • We can all eat way, WAY too much food when we aren’t paying attention. I really don’t know where we fit it all.
  • Sue, Don, Jen, and Jasmina don’t like to wait for their dessert! They went straight for the Key-lime martinis.
  • Paige and Dan knew each other in a different life. Nothing else explains all the uncanny similarities!
  • We know how to close down a restaurant!

And, remember everyone – this is an annual event, so keep your calendars open for next year! For those clients and media members who did not join us, we hope you can make it next time.

~Leslie