Hi everyone! This is Leslie, writing for Mitzi, writing today about my travel *must haves” and *want to haves” as Mitzi is on her way to Dallas today, then on to her StyleSpotter activities at High Point Market [ #HPMKT + #HPmktSS ] and then on to Houston where she will be one of the featured speakers on Wednesday, Oct. 29th at the Houston Design Center’s Fall Market event [ #HDCfallmarket].
She will once again be delivering a #BoomerSmarts Continuing Education Unit [ CEU ] there, but this time it will be underwritten by the Adorne Lighting division of Legrand North America so that it’s free for all Houston area designers to attend!
I know a lot of you will be travelling soon, too, including myself, so I hope all the travel tips I will share below are helpful for everyone. But, first..a big thank you to
who can now use Mitzi’s#BoomerSmarts seal of approval product button on their own marketing materials, blog or site, if they’d like to.
Mitzi and I hope you’ll find everything shared here today helpful as you plan for your upcoming fall and holiday trips -whether you’re an interior designer as Mitzi is, in a furniture related industry business as I am, or one of Mitzi’s wonderful regular readers picking up helpful tips for yourselves about all things boomer related travel.
Ready? Let me start with…
THE ROLLING TROLLEY
In the lead picture above is my very favorite rolling trolley bag made by Jack Georges which I wrote about on Hadley Court, here. It fits with the new carry on dimensions and now that I own it myself, I can attest that it’s beautifully constructed. It comes in 5 colors and you can find out more on their site, here.
I just took this rolling trolley with me as I did a little shopping at my local mall last week in prep for market and at the end of the day, I was so much happier: I could put my packages on top of it and I didn’t have sore arms and shoulders.
What a godsend these are for carrying the books and things we buy and the trade mags, press kits, etc. the exhibitors hand out at High Point. I have to have my rolling trolley!!
THE COMFORTABLE SHOES.
Comfortable shoes are a given for me, market or not, and I don’t own these yet, but I will {love!} and this brand comes highly recommended by Veronika Miller, who runs the Blog Tours for interior design bloggers.
Mitzi will be joining about 20 others for Veronika’s Kitchen And Bath Show Blog Tour In January to#KBIS2015 in Las Vegas and I wonder if everyone will be wearing a version of these? See those rubbers soles? Hello to comfort on concrete floors across acres and acres.
They are made by a company called http://berniemev.com and you can see more of their comfortable shoes on this link at Amazon. Veronika calls them the *official shoe of Blog Tour* and the online reviews are uniformly enthusiastic about this brand.
The one above is a new model for them and also comes in all black and a brown and they’re available at Nordstrom’s. Notice that stretchy fabric, too? How can these not be the best shoes ever for walking all day? THANK YOU, Veronika, for the tip to these great shoes with great style for a GREAT price.
Would you believe these are….$59.00? That is #BoomerSmarts!
THE COMPRESSION WEAR
If you’re walking long distances, compression socks or leggings or knee wear -whichever suits your needs best- are a lifesaver. I’ve worn the trouser socks for years at market events and after walking 12-14 hours a day, my legs aren’t sore and I don’t need Advil.
They are matte and look great under pants and, if you prefer long tops + leggings like Mitzi does, they also come as leggings. NYC interior designer Kati Greene Curtis said these leggings from Tommie Cooper are her secret weapon for staying comfortable through long days of walking at market.
http://www.tommiecopper.com/product/womens-compression-full-length-legging
Be sure to check out their compression socks. You will be AMAZED at the difference wearing these will make in your comfort if you’re walking around all day -whether at a museum, hiking, on a travel tour or at a tradeshow. It’s like having your legs massaged, gently, all day. Yes, please!
THE 3/4 LENGTH FOLDING REVERSIBLE TRAVEL RAINCOAT WITH HOODIE
If you’re never been to High Point Market before, you’ll need a lightweight raincoat to walk between or take a bus to each of the 180 buildings housing the world’s largest wholesale international furniture tradeshow so that you don’t get soaked in between each building or even waiting for a bus.
You can take an umbrella { and I’ll show my fav in a minute } but having a lightweight packable raincoat, too, like the one below also helps you keep warm in case of sudden temperature changes which can easily occur.
Being prepared not to catch a chill is #BoomerSmarts.
Have you heard of Travel Smith? They make great looking and affordable travel wear and best of all, they offer it in both regular, petite and plus sizes AND offer overnight shipping.
This 3/4 length reversible coat with a water repellant finish on both sides is right up my alley and folds tightly for travel into it’s own little pouch {which fits nicely inside that rolling trolley above] and unrolls without wrinkles. I love the loose shawl collar on this and the deep pockets on both sides for our cell phones, business cards and a few other essentials.
THE UMBRELLA
How many times have you been to New York City and everyone is trying not to poke each other’s eyes out with their umbrellas? This umbrella on the left, made by Fulton Umbrella, is my favorite, and the one I own. It solves the problem and keeps your hair, neck and shoulders completely dry, and you can see through it to get where you’re going, even in pouring rain.
At a place like High Point Market, where you’re walking between many buildings, it’s not only polite, but important not to stick your fellow market goers in the eye or make them trip on a sidewalk because they didn’t see your umbrella coming. It’s happened to me before..has it to you?
Fulton Umbrella is the official umbrellas supplier to the British Royal Family.
Here’s the link to buy it from Ella Umbrella for 35.00
http://www.ellaumbrella.com/fulton-birdcage-black-umbrella.html
THE OVER THE SHOULDER PURSE
At market, I also use a cross body purse so I have at least one hand free to touch, feel, shake hands, take pictures or flag down a Go Anywhere bus – which is a wonderful, wonderful free service that the High Point Marketing Authority makes available for the over 75,000 attendees. [ More about that at the end of this post. ]
There are so many great cross body purses out there, but this one is a favorite from Coach.
It’s a big splurge, but a splurge that will work with anything you own for the next 15 or 20 years and never go out of style, and, to me, that is #BoomerSmarts.
I like it due to the texture and the smaller size. It fits an IPad mini perfectly and the detachable adjustable strap is a nice feature, too, as are the tiny gold feet so that the leather on the bottom of the purse doesn’t get scratched and ruined over time and the small lock on the side.
I don’t have this one, but I sure would love to..because
#DetailsMatter.
THE LIFESAVER: THE GO ANYWHERE BUS
At High Point Market, the Go Anywhere buses run continuously, as you can see, from Saturday, October 18th, the first day of market, through Thursday, the final day of market. The Go Anywhere bus drivers will take you anywhere you want to go within about a 10 minute radius of High Point Market. You can catch one, all the time, in front of the IHFC building’s Transportation Terminal, shown below, by standing in line for one.
Or, you can also flag one down, just like you do a taxi, if you see one in the street. If the driver, can take you, he or she will say, “Hop In”, and those are, trust me, welcome words after a 10 hour day!
The drivers don’t expect tips, but if they go out of their way to help you, I know from experience they appreciate them. I hope you will pin this graphic below, to help other people find this info.
And, should you need an acccessible shuttle, because you’re on crutches or in a wheelchair, etc., just park at one of #HPMkt’s PARK AND RIDE locations, and call the number in the red circle below, and they will send one to you.
Isn’t that nice? It’s also #BoomerSmarts.
Speaking of which…
THE EVENTS
Have you signed up yet for Mitzi’s IDCEC approved 4 hour #BoomerSmarts CEU at the Bienenstock Furniture Library at 1009 N. Main [you can take a Go Anywhere bus to get there, it’s 5 minutes straight up N. Main from the Transportation Terminal ] on Monday, 2 pm – 6 pm ET?
When you finish it, you will be able, if you’d like to, use her new badge button shown below on your own website or blog to attract new potential 50+ homeowner clients who want to know that you have their best interests in mind and are continuing your education with respect to their needs.
Here’s the sign up link and the cost is $250., just for this market, since it’s new!
http://mitzibeach.com/ceu-options/ceu-sign up
And please don’t worry if you aren’t going to be at High Point Market, this CEU will soon also be available online, in [ 4 ] 1 hour increments, for any design related professional who would like to take it.
Look for Mitzi at her other market events, too:
THE DESIGNERS VIEWPOINTS PANEL
Sunday, 12 -1 pm at the #HPMKT Theatre for the hotly anticipated DESIGNER VIEWPOINTS SERIES Boomers vs. Millennials panel, where StyleSpotter emeritus and Tampa, FL interior designer, Michelle Jennings-Wiebe will lead a panel where Mitzi will be joined by Dianne Ray, the President of Garden City Furniture and the former Chairwoman of the Board of the National Retail Home Furnishings Association – only the 2nd woman in history to ever hold that powerful position…and, representing the Millennial side, Mitzi’s fellow StyleSpotters and interior designers: Denise McGaha and Shay Geyer.
This is free and jointly offered by ASID + #HPMkt to all market goers, and if you’re an interior designer attending it, you will also receive a .1 credit hour CEU from ASID.
THE WITHIT COMPETITIVE INTELLIGENCE PANEL
Mitzi will also be part of WITHIT’s Competitive Intelligence event being held at the Moore Councill showroom at 200 Steele on Monday night between 6-8 pm. This is always a well attended WITHIT event where StyleSpotters share their favorite finds from market and discuss give WITHIT members competitive intelligence on what they’ve seen. However, it is also open for all market attendees to attend and there is no charge.
WITHIT is the only non-profit organization in the furniture industry whose mission is the leadership development of women in the home industries – home building, architecture, interior design, manufacturing, retailing, etc.
http://withit.org for more.
At last market, Mitzi StyleSpotted the wonderful CARRIE wardrobe, designed for Moore Councill by her fellow StyleSpotter, Gary Inman. Who remembers this? I’m looking forward to seeing Moore Councill’s new product intros this time while attending this event there on Monday a, 6-8 pm. Gary seems to have his finger on the pulse of what is #BoomerSmarts in product design.
My purse, scarf and jewelry collections would be so at home here…all organized neatly and not taking up valuable closet space.
We both hope you have a wonderful market , if you’re also attending, but, if not, Mitzi will show you all the latest from market as an official #HPMkt StyleSpotter.
Please follow her on
http://pinterest.com/MitziBeach/
http://facebook.com/MitziBeachFans
http://twitter.com/MitziBeach
to see what products she StyleSpots for your homes as…
#BoomerSmarts!
And, lastly, if you’ll be at market and would like to ask her about anything video related, please don’t miss her appearance at The Design Network’s #Video101 booth inside the Surya Showroom at Showplace 4100 on Saturday at 2 pm…where The Design Network will announce your chance to win TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS!
Mitzi is 1 of TDN’s top video stars with her popular channel on the only video network for all things home.
Click here for easy 1, 2, 3 instructions on how to subscribe to Mitzi’s channel today and if you’d like to receive your own free #Video101 lessons at #HPMkt,
email Madison at: marketing@thedesignnetwork.com to set up your appointment!
We both look forward to seeing you there, if you’re attending, and if not, we hope this post has helped you in being #BoomerSmarts for your own travel plans this fall and holiday and that you will enjoy following along with Mitzi as she brings you the best from High Point Market for your own homes.
Leslie Carothers
for
Mitzi Beach, ASID, NCIDQ, CAPS
Masters In Interior Design
Mitzi Beach Interiors
Wichita, Kansas
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