World Market Center Las Vegas announced that the biannual Las Vegas Market, along with Gift+Home and Vegas Kids, will be packed with new product releases, showroom openings, industry insights, and provocative seminars, January 24-28. There will also be unforgettable parties, cooking demonstrations, wine tastings, art and design exhibitions and other opportunities on tap during the industry’s first major “total home” event of the year. World Market Center Las Vegas has selected the following items as top events for Las Vegas media to attend.
MONDAY JANUARY 24
“First Look”
10 a.m., in World Forum Building B, 16th floor
Want a fast track to what’s new and exciting at Market this year? Let the pros do the legwork with “First Look.” Celebrity designer Monica Pedersen (HGTV) and home products/trends editor Julie Smith Vincenti will guide a virtual tour highlighting new products at Market, including products from Vegas Kids and Gift+Home. Also be sure and check out the “First Look” exhibit in the lobby of Building B for the hottest products from market.
Heather “Dooce” Armstrong
10 a.m., Building C, Suite 324
Heather Armstrong, mommy blogger and humorist, was featured by Forbes magazine among 30 honorees as one of “The Most Influential Women in Media” for 2009. Armstrong knows what the parents in her generation want, and she’s at Market ready to share that insight with youth furnishings buyers and designers.
“Las Vegas Design Divas”
3-4:30 p.m., World Forum, Building B, 16th floor
Hospitality, design and Las Vegas. Those words haven’t always gone hand in hand. It wasn’t until the 1980s that hospitality design in Sin City began to emerge. Learn about the evolution of design through the eyes of four Las Vegas designers who watched—and helped—the fashion-forward landscape change. With “Las Vegas Design Divas,” WITHIT brings together Leslie Parraguirre, Anita Brooks, Margo Silverman and Ann Fleming to paint a picture of Las Vegas design, including stories about some of the biggest private names in the hotel and casino industry.
Cooking Demonstrations & Wine Tastings
Mon., Tues. and Wed. – 2-3 p.m., Building C, Suite 576
Watch and learn tantalizing cooking demonstrations from Chef Sterling Burpee, who will use Gift+Home exhibitor’s gourmet products to create delectable creations. Immediately following, Master Sommelier Larry O’Brien will host a wine tasting.
“Dream Big” at Las Vegas Market
6-8 p.m., Grand Plaza Courtyard
This opening reception highlights one of the most profitable categories within home furnishings: mattresses and bedding. Prepare to be entertained by a special choreographed “Salute to Bedding,” (remember the bed-jumping scene from Emmy-award winning “Glee” set to Van Halen’s “Jump?”) along with delicious cuisine, cocktails and desserts. The reception also features a special preview of the Better Sleep Council’s new Suite 7 web series.
TUESDAY, JANUARY 25
Movie screenings: “Saving Lieb House” and “Bob and Denise”
6:30-8 p.m. at Las Vegas Design Center, Building C, room C352.
Learning from Las Vegas was one of the most influential architectural books of its time when it was published in 1972. Now, authors and architects Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown are the subject of Bob and Denise, a documentary by their son, Jim Venturi. A preview of the unreleased film will be screened along with Saving Lieb House, a short documentary, also by Jim, following Robert and Scott Brown as they scramble to save their iconic pop-art creation, Lieb House. A meet-and-greet reception with Jim Venturi will follow. RSVP to events@lasvegasmarket.com to ensure a seat.
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 26
“One Good Chair” Design Competition
1-3 p.m., in Building C, C176
Can less really be more? The annual One Good Chair design competition will demonstrate how minimal materials (and packaging) can—and do—result in maximum comfort and design with its “minimum|maximum” theme. Prototypes of the finalists’ designs will be on display all week, thanks to contest sponsors World Market Center and the Sustainable Furnishings Council, and the winning chair will be announced, followed by a panel discussion moderated by organizer Lance Hosey.
THURSDAY, JANUARY 27
“Design Icon” Honoring Christopher Guy
10:30-11:30 a.m., in Building C, C176
Known for his elegance and sophistication, Christopher Guy never ceases to amaze. He join the ranks of past design icons, including Juan Montoya, Vicente Wolf, Roger Thomas, Vladimir Kagan and Larry Laslo to be honored as Winter Market’s Design Icon. The seminar will be followed by a reception in the Christopher Guy showroom at Robert Allen C101. RSVP to designicon@lasvegasmarket.com.
ALL WEEK LONG
Must-See Exhibits on C-3
Throughout the week, Building C, Floor 3 (Suite 301) will be the epicenter of creativity and innovation, filled with forward-thinking exhibits and art-in-the-making.
Straight out of Scandinavia, the “17 Swedish Designer” exhibit features the work of 17 Swedish women designers, representing a cross-section of design media, including industrial, graphic design, furniture, ceramics, glass, metalwork and textiles.
Nearby, reach for the stars with “Roger Thomas: Green Room at the Oscars,” which was commissioned by Architectural Digest in concert with The Oscars in 2010. Thomas, who is executive vice president design for Wynn Design and Development, takes you on a visual tour of the A.D. Green Room through this ongoing exhibit, which includes one-of-a-kind, hand painted upholstered furniture, exquisite embroideries and original art.
For a taste of vintage Vegas, take in “Vegas Spectacular: From the Stage to the Strip,” featuring a photographic retrospective from the renowned Las Vegas News Bureau archives. Curated by Brian “Paco” Alvarez and presented by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, the display showcases ‘60s Vegas, from the architectural exteriors on the Strip to the excitement happening within.
Another special exhibit, “Sketches from the Robert Venturi Print Collection,” is on loan from the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego (MCASD) and features a limited-edition portfolio of 26 prints signed by the artist. The display is the perfect bookend to the screening of Bob and Denise (see Tuesday event, above).
Watch art in action with the first-of-its-kind Trash = Art exhibit. Organized by Las Vegas artist Stephen Spann, the interactive exhibit showcases Spann, with the help of volunteers from the community, transforming broken bits of furniture, metal, glass and scraps into art.
For a full calendar of market week’s press events, showroom receptions and seminars, visit www.lasvegasmarket.com.