We head out to merchandise and consumer shows on a regular basis to see what’s trending in the market and what manufacturers are getting ready for the coming season.  One of our favorite shows is the Rocky Mountain Gift Show, not only because it’s local, but also because of the broad cross spectrum of the retail market that it attracts.

Rocky Mountain Gift Show

The Rocky Mountain Gift Show brings together retail, tourism, jewelry, gift markets, home goods, apparel and many other specialty niches.  The fare ranges from things you’re afraid to touch to things you’re afraid to put down.  And that’s really the excitement of the market.  Not everyone wants taxidermied still life or human-sized animatronic manikins, but there’s also plenty of cute and cuddly that spans the show, as well as down to Earth and functional.

From cute…

…to creepy.

Saturday night the show hosts a banquet for all buyers and exhibitors, showcasing the fashions for the coming season.

Season fashions, courtesy of the Denver Mart.

The show is five days long.  It can probably stand to be a few days longer.  It’s hard to hit all of the vendors in this short a time.  We’ll show off some of the cool stuff we’ve seen in the next few days.

[whohit]2016-03-01 A Weekend at the Mart[/whohit]