Well, everything arrived in one piece for the Modello Designs booth at the  HD Boutique Show (other than all the things that still needed to be assembled on site. that is), and after two days of sweating in an un-air conditioned convention center (they never have the air on when they have the loading dock doors open) we had-A TENT!

We (me and Barb) stuck vinyl stars on the outside, mirrored stars on the inside, finished off the large mirror’s decoration, hung still sticky canvases, hot-glued 40′ of beaded trim, laid tiles, hung doodads, made multiple shopping runs for last minute details like additional lights and flickering battery-operated candles, and phew! we had it done.

True to form, in the shower on the morning of the first day of the show I was already plotting how completely differently I was going to design NEXT year’s booth, but in the meantime there was THIS year to attend to.

“So, you do textiles?” “floor tiles?” “cabanas?” “custom mirrors?” “table bases?” Yes, yes, we do ALL of that, OR “we provide custom patterns for decorative surface finishes”. We witnessed both light bulbs going on and blank looks. It’s never easy to explain how you do “everything”, is it?? But, we did, hundreds of times…..

Like, “no, we don’t do punched tin lighting fixtures, but we CAN lasercut acrylic mirror into any shape….

…or do really cool custom canvases for wall hangings, cabana/tent “walls”, or faux granite/marble inlaid tabletops…

….as well as patterned patinated custom mirrors that are self-framed with a gilded decorative border….

….or tell a story about love.”

After all that ’splain it felt really good to drink Caribbean-inspired cocktails and relax poolside at the elegant Mondrian hotel on the intercoastal in Miami Beach.

We didn’t provide the patterns that they used for the amazing sandblasted pattern in the decorative concrete decking…..but we could! Remember, we do EVERYTHING….

Bottom line: Miami is a pretty cool place to visit, with a frenetic energy that could come from the exotic, sensous, highly latin-influenced culture-or the drug trade. The scenery is beautiful, the food is tasty, and the water is warm. The HD Boutique Show was officially a success for us, with lots of great contacts, feedback, and potential future projects…pitching a tent there was well worth the effort…..and I’ll be back!