The Inside Scoop: Our First Time at Vegas Market

Last week, Ahmad and I went to the home market in Vegas for the first time. Before I even get into the details I want to start from the beginning. When #DearAhmad lost his job due to covid we had no idea what our next move was. Thank heavens we were debt free and had a healthy savings which I think is why we weren’t as concerned when he got the call that they were letting him go. We alway new he wouldn’t be working in corporate America forever, but was just riding it out because we were comfortable. We both agreed that he needed to take some time to think about next steps, and since he was doing photography on the side he was still technically working but was able to open up his availability. We had no idea that people would be booking all day, so it was such a blessing because his photography business instantly went full TIME. We had joked about opening up a photography studio for him to shoot in because several of his clients rent studios for their shoots, and we figured this could be a way for us to grow our business. It was just a thought, but Ahmad is a person that acts fast and had our realtor find us a few possible studio locations. If you haven’t watched, we documented the entire process over on my YouTube channel, so check it out! After finding a space we both loved, we prayed about it and literally in days we were signing papers and locked in. I have personally always loved home decor and wanted to be interior designer, so this gave me the chance to explore, be creative, and design our studio. We were working with an older space that had a generic kitchen and we ripped everything out and created our content creation studio.

People kept asking about the aroma in our studio, and it was an expensive candle that Ahmad would always light before his clients came in. That is what sparked the idea of creating our own candles, and we continuously sold out. I told Ahmad we should really tap into the home decor market because not only are clients asking about our candles, they are now asking about home decor pieces in the studio and furniture and we are directing them to other brands when we could build our own brand. So we started doing our research, came up with a plan and within weeks we were purchasing inventory. We worked with our marketing team on executing videos, and a launch party and let me just say to God be the glory because our launch was a huge success and we sold out of so many pieces! We had no idea that we could move pieces the way we did, so this was the perfect push we needed to taking our business to the next step with attending market, learning the process, and being able to expand our vendor list.

Ok now on to the actual market…. We actually knew nothing. We went on YouTube to learn some of the tips and tricks on going to market and literally went in blindsided. Let’s just say it can be overwhelming by all the vendors, purchase order amounts, and of course all the home decor that you want. We went in with a budget (of course I went over) and realized that the options were endless. I went in with one vision in mind and left buying things completely opposite because everything was such an inspiration.

For Spring/ Summer we are adding in GREEN as our pop of color for the seasons. They will pair well with our neutral tones that we always will have as core pieces, but I wanted to give you all something that can add a little color to your home. Neutral pieces are great because they are like a base, and can evolve and be moved around and always go with your aesthetic. Adding a pop of color is like adding in holiday decor during Christmas. You put it out during warmer weather, then take it down when it starts to get cooler out.

For Fall/Winter we are sticking to our true brand with neutral tones, natural materials, and adding in a few vintage pieces to give your home some added warmth.

To see more of our trip to market you can watch our YouTube video HERE. Make sure to show us some love and subscribe to our channel & give us a thumbs up!!!!! We are going to try really hard to pop out more content with 2 videos a month!!!

Check out our home decor STUDIO COLLECTION by shopping our site HERE! Can’t wait to see what you guys love from the site!!!!! Use code SAVE10 for 10% off!

XO,

Shay