Shopping AmericasMart in Atlanta

“You should go to the Atlanta gift show in January,” a sales rep told me. “You’ll find brands there you’ve never heard of”.

“I’m too busy with other things in January,” I said. “I can’t go.”

“You have to go the Atlanta market,” a friend from church told me. “When I had a store, I did all my Christmas buying there.”

“It sounds good. But I don’t think I can go this year.”

“Let’s go the Atlanta market,” my co-worker Jen said late last year. “I want to go.”

“Umm… ask Harlan.” Jen got approval from the boss, we shuffled around our schedules, bought tickets, and packed our bags to attend AmericasMart, America’s biggest gift show and one of the largest trade shows in the world.

Normally, shows are where retail buyers like Jen and I make appointments with current reps and place orders. But for our first visit, we went mostly to research new vendors. With three buildings at least eighteen stories high, and seven million square feet of displays, featuring vendors from large corporations to small family businesses, AmericasMart is a gleaming tribute to the triumph of capitalism.

Of course, like all cities, Atlanta has two sides. After flying into the Hartsfield-Jackson Airport on January 11— our flight was delayed for several hours thanks to the FAA ground stop— we rode the MARTA train to our mid-town hotel. Outside the train station, I was fumbling with my phone, trying to decide which way to our hotel, when a strange man walked up and deliberately bumped into Jen. He then stood there and smiled at us, as we stood frozen with our suitcases. We wanted to walk away, but we didn’t know what direction to walk in. He looked homeless and maybe drunk. Should we try to talk to him? Yell for help?

“Hey! You know these ladies?” A MARTA security officer suddenly appeared, with two other officers close behind. “Come with us, bro,” the officer said to the man, leading him away from us, as another officer helped us with directions.

Terrific. We’d been in Atlanta less than an hour before we’d needed rescuing.

The next day, rather than taking the provided shuttle from the hotel, we decided to walk since it was a mild morning and only a mile to the show. Jen is an excellent travel companion— instead of worrying about the incident the evening before, she was enjoying herself. “Oh, look, a homeless camp! I’m going to take a picture!”

Once we reached the skyscrapers of downtown, we could see other buyers and sellers on their way to the show. AmericasMart has permanent showrooms that are open year around, plus hundreds of “temporaries” for the big show weeks, like the one we were here for.

After getting our badges in the lobby (only pre-registered buyers can attend), we split up to explore the show. I started at the top of the gifts building and began to work my way down.

There were beautiful, huge showrooms featuring furniture, fine art, and holiday décor of all kinds.

There were vendors showcasing gifts like florals, vases, soaps, books, Bibles, stationary, toys, mugs, T-shirts— thousands and thousands of items so common in gift shops all over the country.

One floor featured cash-and-carry vendors— small items you paid for and took with you, mostly costume jewelry. Oddly, there was even a large booth doing a good business selling hair extensions.

Getting around the market was complicated. Bridges connected the three buildings to each other, but only on certain floors. Some escalators went up only part of the way, and you had to find your way to the next set of escalators. The elevators were running, but so crowded you had to wait and wait.

On the second day, I visited more booths featuring new vendors and novelty items. We were headed home the next day, and I was trying to walk through all the floors (I didn’t quite manage that, I ran out of time).

There were floors filled with fashionable clothing. One shop was selling pieces that had been used on mannequins in displays. Most were priced at ten dollars. “Oh, after shopping all day for others, now I can buy something for myself,” I said to the clerk.

“That’s exactly what I told my husband,” came a voice from the changing room, making everyone laugh, including the husband holding clothes for his wife.

On one floor, gold and diamond dealers displayed their wares in glass showcases. One showroom featured fur coats. It was like a shopping mall on steroids with a dash of old world bazaar.

At the top of Building 3, the escalators led to a floor where formal dresses are usually featured, but the showrooms were empty, waiting for next season’s styles. It was a bit spooky, so I hurried through to take a bridge to Building 1, but took a few pictures of the silent floor.

Last week over lunch, I told my prayer partner, Kristen, about the show. Kristen used to work for a giftware company and would help set up displays for the shows. “I have so many memories of being in that building late at night. We would put up walls and paint and sometimes work until the wee hours of the morning. The week before the show, the place was a mess, with workmen everywhere, and pallets of stuff sitting in the halls. And yes, we’d take the MARTA.”

She added, “It’s fun to talk with someone who understands what these shows are like.”

True, I understood about the vast building, but I hadn’t thought about the hours of work beforehand.

January is almost over, and while I still have plenty to do at the office, I’m glad I took the time to visit AmericasMart.