Dear sisters,
I’m back from my big trip to the Atlanta gift show where I celebrated 10 years of partnership with Demdaco, the company that manufactures my gift products. It was such a sweet, loving time.
As always, they did SUCH a great job styling my section of their showroom. It was just…..magical. Having not been to the gift show in many years, it felt like a bit of a reunion. I was able to connect with many of the good people who work at Demdaco, and it made my heart just really happy.
Note the bike that has been yarn bombed! This was another KRR area that blew me away. That couch! That trunk! The colors!
As part of our 10 year celebration, I did some live painting at the showroom. I used to come to the shows a lot, but I stopped coming about five years ago because I always, and I mean ALWAYS, got sick. I think my body, especially my nerves, just got overwhelmed by all of the stimulation. This time around, I did things differently, really focusing on taking care of myself, pacing myself, and making sure I had a lot of downtime.
And yep, part of my self-care was painting in the middle of the tradeshow, at the Demdaco showrooom. I can’t tell you how soothing it was to sit there and just paint for a couple of hours while the hustle and bustle of the show went on around me.
One of the many highlights of the show was being interviewed by Jane at Gifts + Decor Magazine! We talked about my journey into art and the unexpected path to licensing. Really sweet.
This is Dave K., the co-founder of Demdaco. For those of you who have followed me for a long time, you might remember way back when I interviewed Dave K. here on the blog in 2011. He is one of the very best humans I know. I haven’t seen him in a few years and it was so good to see him.
I remember just before The Kelly Rae Collection™ launched 10 years ago, he predicted that it would change the industry. I wasn’t sure what he meant at the time, but as those first few years unfolded, I understood. It did change the industry. And it changed my life. I am really proud of the work we’ve done together by putting good things, inspiring gifts, and meaningful work into the world.
This pillow is one of the new pieces from our latest launch. I love it so. It really speaks to my passion for giving ourselves permission to let the hustle go.
We made a super cozy blanket to go with the pillow. Isn’t it sweet? For those of you wanting to purchase either of these goodies, you can find them (along with the rest of my products) over on Demdaco’s website.
And for those of you interested in seeing behind-the-scenes videos and views of the showroom, click over to my Instagram account and check out the Highlighted Stories!
XOXO!
