Behind the scenes at the Saddle River Designer Show House

Saddle River, NJ Designer Show House-

I was a vendor there for three weeks and had a great time...

Would I do it again?

Not sure.

Thoughts-
I now realize that most people who attend these things are- 

gay men, 

women w/friends, 

or women w/reluctant husbands. 

NOT good for me, as gay men and women w/husbands (especially reluctant) do NOT buy from me.

I still would do again as I made some great connections and found a lot of new ideas from house and people I met there.

One great idea? Have a double closet in your front hall that is just a catch-all for stuff? Consider turning it into a wet bar. Take the doors off, mirror the upper portion, install a cabinet below and Voila! 
You have a counter ( sink is unnecessary) to serve drinks off of, taking pressure off main entertainment area. 

There was a great feeling of community among the vendors at Show house boutique.

Although there were awkward moments. Such as, when two vendors came to buy from me and asked/demanded 10% discount. Wouldn't have been a big deal, but I had bought from one of them at the beginning of the week and no discount was offered AND I am not one to ASK for a discount. Pondered bringing that up... and I did. The one vendor was shocked and denied that that could have happened. Really? I have the receipt WITH tax included. 

I would predict more awkwardness if I bring that in. So, I won't.

The designers were awesome and available to anyone on the tour...most days.

Brad Boles, Jill Zarin's designer/gay husband ( She often jokes on the show, Real Housewives of New York City, that Brad is her gay husband,) designed a jewel box of a powder room off the kitchen. He is truly talented, although VERY flamboyant and full of himself. Let's just say, he needs A LOT of attention. I had three weeks to observe and although he wasn't there everyday like most of the other designers, we knew when he was!

The two women who ran the showcase, Judy and Kathy, were amazing. They kept their cool under some tense situations. Such as the morning the famous author showed up at 10am to give a lecture and do a book signing. She wasn't supposed to be there until 1pm and Judy had to be the one to deal with the author, her publicist, and assistant. Thanks to Judy, the author was pacified and all was well.

 Kathy kept the vendors happy, although even she couldn't create customers out of thin air. That was the main problem, there just wasn't a good showing of customers for the tour OR us.

Maybe next year?