Wrapping Up The Dallas Market Trip

We are now back at Sweet Tooth, with multiple bags of catalogues, a long list of orders and some thoughts about our experience.
If someone asked me what I thought were some of the main themes at the Gift Market I would reply:  Burlap, Monograms, Collegiate and more Christmas merchandise.
It seemed that every showroom had some merchandise in burlap.  I really can't say that I know why that was so, but I will say that we did order some goodies made from burlap.  The Oklahoma basket is one of my favorites and I think it will be a big hit.
As for Monograms, apparently this will be the year when customers will see monogrammed merchandise everywhere, including many upscale department stores.  We certainly couldn't be left out of that trend so we ordered some really pretty white ceramic mugs with initials which can be used for everyday as well as holiday gifts.
Collegiate is all over the place.  Not a single category is left out of collegiate colors...and that means clothes, shoes, hats, scarves, jewelry, tailgating supplies, head bands and tons and tons more.  Sweet Tooth will be selective but you will see our collegiate section grow.
In the past few years, Christmas merchandise offerings seemed to have slowed down.  People can only collect so much holiday stuff before there is no more room for another ornament or wreath or sweater.  However, this year that segment of the market has returned.  As you can imagine, every year more young people move to their own place and begin the process of accumulating decorative pieces for the holidays.  There is always a new crop of collectors and shoppers.  This is a catagory which will always be with us.
As for conversation, there was more talk about shopping locally.  The cost of overhead for showrooms has begun to leave the Dallas Market with many unleased showrooms.  Big corporations have moved out and we have to believe that part of the reason is the internet.
It astonishes me that local officials don't see what is happening when people begin to use the internet more than shopping locally.  The city's revenues from sales tax decrease and we find ourselves thinking about cutting out services which make our city more liveable and more attractive to out of state businesses and people moving to Oklahoma.
So along with the trends we saw at the Gift Market, I am hoping that we will see another trend:  shopping locally which benefits everyone.  What do you think about that?