AmericasMart® LIVE returns in July 2018 with an all-new roster of today’s cultural icons and globally celebrated lifestyle experts. The July 2018 staging builds on the successful launch of LIVE programming last year when AmericasMart® transformed the conventional U.S. summer Market experience with a new show aesthetic, linking product sourcing and selling, digital engagement and high-profile thought leader interaction.
The spectacular Main Stage in Building 3 is the epicenter of thought leadership during the Market — headlined by lifestyle legend Martha Stewart, business mogul Bethenny Frankel, and multihyphenate Trisha Yearwood — delivering a rare opportunity for marketgoers to be inspired by stories and strategies from a trifecta of forces in entertainment, design and business.
The industry’s most anticipated and important night — 2018 ICON HONORS — now takes place as part of AmericasMart LIVE. In an exclusive presentation, Arianna Huffington, founder of The Huffington Post and founder and Chief Executive Officer of Thrive Global, imprints a new mark of contemporary cultural thought leadership upon ICON HONORS, which from its founding has championed the role of independent business in the global economy.
Main Stage seminars will be streamed on AmericasMart’s social media channels as well as throughout the campus as they happen, ensuring that buyers and exhibitors have real-time access to these major influencers and as reference points throughout the year.
The show begins on Wednesday, July 11 with Crystal Vilkaitis, retail social media expert, speaker and founder of Social Edge™ leading “6 Steps to a Profitable Social Media Strategy,” followed by beloved American icon Stewart in conversation with Margot Shaw, Editor-in-Chief of sponsor Flower Magazine, sharing the most pivotal experiences building her multi-million-dollar lifestyle brand along with gardening wisdom from her new book, “Martha’s Flowers.”
On Thursday, July 12, TV host and interior designer Jeremiah Brent leads a panel “Eye on the Guy: Ultimate Home Décor & Fashion Trends for the Style Savvy Man” sponsored by The Atlantan, followed by a Q&A with TV star and business mogul Frankel, whose hustle built the Skinnygirl Cocktails empire and led her to be named one of the Top 100 Most Powerful Celebrities by Forbes magazine.
Friday, July 13, brings lifestyle gurus and authors India Hicks and Nathan Turner who share advice into tapping into creativity and the entrepreneurial spirit, moderated by Brittany Chevalier McIntyre of Luxe Interiors + Design and sponsored by the magazine and Caracole. That afternoon, Grammy award-winning artist and Food Network star Yearwood discusses a life of true southern hospitality — from the stage to the studio to the kitchen—with Robert Leleux of Southern Style Now, sponsored by IMAX.
The Shop the Show influencers — Joanna Teplin and Clea Shearer of The Home Edit, Julia and Chris Marcum of Chris Loves Julia, Hommemaker founder, interior designer and writer Orlando Soria, and Brittany Watson Jepsen of The House that Lars Built — share what they see coming next and the inside scoop on how they have created big brands in a lively panel discussion moderated by Dennis Scully, contributing editor of sponsor Business of Home by Editor At Large on Saturday, July 14. Later, Tom Mirabile, SVP of Global Trend and Design for Lifetime Brands shares “Top Trends 2018: Survival and Success in the Retail Renaissance.”
AmericasMart LIVE kicks off with The Atlanta International Gift and Home Furnishings Market® on July 10, 2018. The Market runs Tuesday, July 10 – Monday, July 16, 2018 (Temporaries Wednesday, July 11 – Sunday, July 15). The Atlanta International Area Rug Market® is Wednesday, July 11 – Sunday, July 15, 2018. For more information, visit www.AmericasMart.com/July.
A full list of Market seminars and networking events follows.
