Merchandising: Heimtextil International Trade Fair for Home & Contract Textiles

Position: Photography Director

Portfolio: Interline, Inc.

Industry: Furniture & Decor Retail

Year: 2014-2017

I traveled to the Heimtexil International Trade Fair for Home & Contract Textiles in Frankurt, Germany with one of the company owners to discover potential merchandising opportunities, meet with new vendors, order samples of newly designed textile products, and photograph emerging trends.

In addition to soaking in an endless supply of visual inspiration including colors, patterns, and textures, I enjoyed speaking with textile artisans and learning about the Portuguese take on thread count, Canadian goose feathers that fill Swiss-made duvets, and the Brazilian alpaca farm where my favorite blanket was sourced.

The best part of the market was waiting in anticipation for the boss to finish negotiating the logistics of container weights, shipping ports, and competitors before giving me the go-ahead to shop for samples and coordinated collections that I thought would make a good addition to the Scandinavian Designs brand.