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Apologies, couldn’t resist the title. That is what we’ve just done though, after all. Anyway, just thought I’d give my parting thoughts on a city I liked slightly more than anticipated.
For all its fakery and blazon copycat architecture, ironically, Vegas doesn’t pretend to be something it’s not. It’s pure, unadulterated, sometimes sleazy, often tacky, entertainment.
Buying a newspaper on The Strip is almost impossible but you drown in “show girls” mags. Gambling’s compulsory and even gas stations have slots. And the airport, for a final fix…
Having said all that, there are a few classy hotel/casinos, some great eateries, and bags (literally) of great shopping. Though it feels like Blackpool in the desert, I don’t mind it.
However, we took the extremely short (just over an hour) flight to San Francisco, waved goodbye to the desert and instantly felt at home. Just settling in, but more coming soon 
Once we’d decided to exhibit at the ABC show in Las Vegas, one local sightseeing choice was obvious; the Grand Canyon. This may be our only trip to Vegas so it had to be done.
Being so busy, we left it ’til the last minute to book. A few frantic web searches and phone calls later, we’d booked a helicopter ride to see it all…and breathed a huge sigh of relief.
Anyone who knows me, will know this isn’t really my thing. I’m usually more interested in man-made phenomena, like buildings, bridges, stadiums, skylines, that sort of thing.
So, I wasn’t sure if I’d ‘get it’. Oh, a bonus before we got to the airport; our driver stopped at the famous sign. Wouldn’t have made a special trip but I’m glad we saw it up close.
It was our first helicopter flight. Thankfully our – moderately insane – Kiwi pilot limited the aerial acrobatics, despite enthusiastic encouragement from one German co-passenger.
Just as I was taking the rugged, rich, red terrain for granted, we got a brief view of Lake Mead, then the Hoover Dam; a staggering man-made barrier to the Colorado River.
We then saw more of Lake Mead; the USA’s largest reservoir. Alarmingly, disappearing fast, due to the huge expansion of Las Vegas and the resulting rise in water consumption.
Next, we approached the west-side of the Canyon, weaving our way along for some miles. You can’t really appreciate the scale from these shots but trust me, it’s simply awesome.
We ditched the helicopter, so to speak, at one of the more remote airports I’ve seen. After negotiating the obligatory gift-shop, we took a bus ride to the Grand Canyon Skywalk.
The glass-bottomed horseshoe structure sits 4,000 feet above the base of the Canyon. I’ve mentioned Karen’s height issues before but, despite this, she navigated all the way round!
The next stop afforded even more impressive 360 degrees views of the area. We picked a nice spot to have lunch, with a backdrop I couldn’t possibly do justice to with these pics.
Pretty slack clock-watching, and some over exuberant photo-taking on my part, meant we nearly missed our flight. We watched the shuttle bus (we should have caught) pull away.
We made it though, and watched the sun set flying back. Couldn’t capture it too well but you get the idea. The day ended with some spectacularly bad gambling at the Bellagio
Been meaning to post for days but I’ve just been too busy! Now the show’s almost over, which is making me a bit sad. It’s been great in so many ways but physically exhausting.
Bad shoe choices meant my feet suffered both at the booth and in line at Starbucks! So much so, the last two days have been ‘sneaker days’. Fairly casual here so no problem.
Anyway, just thought I’d share a few random bits from the show. First-up, we’ve been amazed by how friendly, welcoming and (generally) non-competitive people have been.
I can’t possibly mention everyone so I’ll apologise in advance. Canadian folks Wean Green and Today I Ate A Rainbow have been lovely. We’ve chatted and waved lots!
Next to them, Lex Modern, who came and said hello. This Arkansas-based husband and wife team design great wall-art and named the business after their son, Lexton. Sweet.
We’ve had plenty of chats with our own next-door neighbour, Katharine, owner of bag business, gogogear. She lives in Malibu Beach, CA. Much like our home town I’m sure!
Special mention also for Helen at numsi, who had the traumatic experience of having to move booths, after being stuck in a really bad position. New spot and booth look great.
Badges have been central to the whole experience. Exhibitors’ (like mine, pictured) are pink, buyers are purple, or yellow (for online), reps are green and media are orange.
A bit confusing initially, then great for quickly spotting what people are looking for. We’ve had a healthy mix of buyers and media at our booth. “Cute line” seems the consensus!
Oh, must mention these ABC chips, which were handed out at the start of the show. Very Vegas. Unfortunately, I don’t think I’ll get very far with them at the casino tomorrow!
So many more people I could mention. So much more to say. I need to recoup and reflect first though. Once we’re done at the show, a relaxation day; woo-hoo! More soon…
Our second set-up day is over and now we’re (sort of) ready for the action. Tomorrow signals the start of ABC proper and, in all honesty, we really have no idea what’s in store.
Our booth (6124) is compact, to say the least. Being UK-based makes shipping out lots of stuff cost-prohibitive, so we’ve kept it simple and it’s ended up looking okay…we think.
We also snagged a fairly decent spot in the press room, using the familiar face of Milo – from our website – to (hopefully) attract some media attention. Fingers crossed…
We’re finally here. After lots of deliberation, followed by masses of preparation, we’ve made it to Vegas for the biggest event in our industry, the ABC Kids Expo. How exciting.
Almost as exciting is the fact that it’s our first trip to Vegas. It may not be our vacation spot of choice, but everyone says you have to visit Vegas as least once. So here we are.
After setting up at the LV Convention Center, we walked The Strip, taking in the sights and sounds of what has become the epitome of Las Vegas. It’s simply jaw-dropping.
Not to everyone’s architectural, not to mention ethical, taste, but it just can’t be ignored. It’s pretty vulgar in many places, beautiful in a few, but it’s got ‘fun’ written all over it.
My favourite building so far is The Wynn, below, along with the neighbouring Encore, both of which we can see from our hotel room. They look stunningly slick in the flesh.
Oh, we watched the obligatory music-synced water fountains of the Bellagio, which were pretty impressive. We plan on having a night of casino fun once we’re all done at ABC.
Needless to say, it’s pretty hot here – though mild for Vegas – around 80-90 during our stay; shame I only packed one pair of shorts. Oh well, we’re here to work after all
Despite Boston’s impressive haul of historic architecture, dating back longer than you’d probably think, one of its most striking buildings is this Brutalist offering from the 1960s.
Loved and loathed in far from equal measure, Boston City Hall just can’t be ignored. It displaced one of the city’s oldest neighbourhoods so wasn’t welcomed by most people.
Now though, this beast of a building is part of Boston’s landscape. At worst, it’s a great example of its type. Some even think it should be a National Historic Landmark.
Well, the other day we visited, to discuss possible warehouse premises. Inside it’s much the same. Lots of concrete. Only took one pic and it’s a bit blurry but you get the idea…
I have to say, I’m glad that buildings like this aren’t still being created but I like it. It helps document an ‘interesting’ architectural period. What do you think; love it or hate it?
Just a quick post to say we’ve arrived in Boston, for the second half of our East Coast trip. We’re staying in our favourite neighbourhood, South End, in an apartment we’ve rented…
The apartment is just about perfect. At ‘parlor level’ with jaw-dropping proportions, period features and tasteful, minimal decor. I think we’re gonna find it very difficult to leave!
If you follow our tweets, you may have noticed I mentioned we stayed at the Hudson Hotel. We couldn’t have picked much better, both for practicality and design indulgence.
We like to walk pretty much everywhere, so location is extremely important. The Hudson is very central, near(ish) to the show we attended, and handy for everything else we did.
Design-wise, it’s stunning. Unassuming from the street, just subtly stylish, it gets grander on the inside. Dual lime escalators provide a sleek funnel, opening into a lavish expanse.
Once you’re in, there’s an abundance of facilities, with multiple bars, restaurants, nightclub and a gorgeously green Sky Terrace, providing a welcome haven from the bustle below.
Impressive city views can be seen day and night, as you peer through the foliage and sip moderately priced (for NYC) drinks from outdoor seating with varying comfort scores.
We visited when last in town and said we’d come back. I’m glad we stayed. The rooms are rather compact but overall this Starck-designed boutique hotel is great value :-)
Everyone’s heard of Giggle, right? They’re a big deal, with more shops than you can shake a stick at. They’ve got three in Manhattan alone, including this one in SOHO…
…and the one below on the upper-east. They’ve also got an upper-west shop so they have it covered. All well thought out, including their ethos; the ‘giggle criteria’. We like.
We took time out to visit this beautiful Bobby Berk Home store in SOHO. They don’t sell kids products here but do online, including our stuff. Plus you can order in the shop.
Babesta also sell our products, from their shop in Tribeca. They also have a threads outlet across the street. They’re a cool kids brand who do things in their own way.
A name we didn’t know before this trip is Yoya, they run this cool West Village store, along with Yoyamart, just around the corner, technically in the Meatpacking District.
I have to admit, we didn’t go into this next store. I just had to share because I love the name, Pumpkin, a cute little children’s clothing store we spied on Bleecker Street.
Clearly Manhattan has masses of kids stores. This is just a smattering of some we know, or that took our fancy. If you’ve discovered any others you’d like to share, do feel free
No, not some tech-speak acronym to decipher. It stands for the New York International Gift Fair; the main reason we came to NYC this time. It’s held here. And it’s pretty big.
It’s not focused purely on kids, clearly, but there was a big children’s brand presence, including many of our competitors plus some reps, distributors and obviously buyers.
One slight issue with the event, as we’d heard from contacts prior, is the layout can be confusing. If we exhibited, as we might next year, we could be in one of three areas.
Very useful to attend though. We got a good feel for the event and what people are up to. It’s also given us some reassurance ahead of our first appearance at ABC later this year.
Oh, special mention for Randi Mohr, who gave us both free passes to walk the show. Mine didn’t even say ‘Olli & Lime’, making me less worried about spying on our competitors!
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