John Benjamin Formals

JOHN BENJAMIN DESIGNS PARTNERS WITH CHARLOTTE NC FASHION WEEK

John Benjamin Designs will help bring high fashion to Charlotte

John Benjamin Designs is partnering with Charlotte NC Fashion Week for their fashion week to be held September 22-24. JBD will be helping coordinate designers and sponsorships for the event.

President of John Benjamin Designs, Ben Shaul, says “We are excited to work on such a great event and believe with our expertise and relationships, we can help Charlotte NC Fashion Week elevate Charlotte’s fashion culture.”

John Benjamin Designs specializes in the bulk sales of clothing, shoes, and promotional products. They deal with sales on both the retail and wholesale side of the industry and have worked with people both nationally and internationally. With their knowledge and variety of contacts, they are confident they can help make this an exciting event.

For more information about Charlotte NC Fashion Week please visit www.charlottencfashionweek.com.

As you probably know Texas is one of the leading farm states in the United States. Once you get out of the city, you will see farms as far as the eye can see. Check out these pictures of a horse farm outside of Dallas. 

It is quite soothing to drive out of the big city into a great wide open area.  You get to look around because there are few cars on the road.  If you are ever in Dallas and need a break, I highly suggest driving out that way. 

While I was in route from Dallas to the University of Florida….. yes, I know….. a long trek….. some bad planning on my part…. I got a ticket in Waskum, Texas.  You need to be careful when crossing from Texas into Louisiana.  The cops

really prowl.  Evidently, they have 2 different speed limits in Texas.  One for night and one for day.  Be careful! They post the night speed limit on a black sign. These signs are extremely hard to see.  Plus, when I got to my hotel in Louisiana, they knew exactly what town I was talking about in Texas without me even saying the name.

When you are in Texas, keep one eye out for the great and soothing sights of the large farms and keep the other eye on your speedometer.

Where we ate:

Rudy’s Barbecue http://rudys.com/ Had the moist brisket.

Texas Best Smokehouse

What We showed to the ladies:

www.noticeonline.com

www.dyeables.com

www.benjaminwalk.com

While in New Orleans, I went to a number of amazing restaurants.  The first night I just went out walking to find a restaurant that looked good and I found a gem.  I went to a small Creole restaurant called Olivier’s.  It was the best food I had in New Orleans. I had Creole Rabbit with Jambalaya and a salad with homemade Creole vinaigrette. Possibly the best meal I have ever had!  Let’s just say I can remember exactly what I ate almost a year after so that should tell you how good it is. Olivier’s is located at 204 Decatur Street, New Orleans, Louisiana 70130. Check out their website at www.olivierscreole.com.

I went to two other good restaurants that are also “must goes.”  Acme Oyster House and The Bourbon House. They are amazing places! 

After New Orleans, I made my way over to Texas A&M, home of the Aggie.  The road between New Orleans and A&M is flat and boring.  There are not many things to see and you are on back roads the entire time. 

In College Station, I met with Delta Gamma, Alpha Delta Pi and Alpha Chi Omega to help them choose the right dress for recruitment.  They chose some great styles for their recruitment week.   

Of course, College Station, TX is like any other College Town.  It has all the chain restaurants and fast food, as well as places that are unique to A&M and unique to Texas.  Brisket is big in Texas.  The best I had while I was there was from Rudy’s. Rudy’s is like a fast food place down there but it is so good.  It is also pretty inexpensive.  I got a beer, 2 sides, corn bread, dessert, and a beer for under $10. If you are on the road, like barbecue and trying to keep cost down, Rudy’s is the place to go.

Beluga Whale in Atlanta Aquarium

In the off time in Atlanta there is a tone to do.  There are great restaurants, great bars, and great tourist attractions.  My two favorite are The World of Coke and The Atlanta Aquarium.  I highly suggest going to visit either one of these attractions.  Check out this picture of the Beluga Wales at the Aquarium pretty awesome stuff.

After Atlanta last year I drove to New Orleans. I visited a couple chapters at Tulane and The University of New Orleans.  New Orleans is a wild place.  There is great food, great bars, and great entertainment.   Cajun food is just amazing jambalaya, Creole, and other great seafood dishes.  The bars have great drinks and the jazz keeps you relaxed and entertained even when you’re alone. 

I have to drive due to the large number of samples and a number of other supplies with me to show our collections to our clients.  It sure takes a lot out of you but you get to see a lot while we are on the road.   Below is a picture from the road to Louisiana.  Lots of land covered in water and things I have never seen before.  What an experience it is to live life o the road.

Stretch on I-10 on the way to Show Dresses.

It was really cool being able to drive across a High way that was surrounded by water with little hick ups of trees and land. There is just something so peaceful about driving on roads like that.  Another cool thing about this section of I-10 is there weren’t many places for cops to hide. So traffic moves rather quickly.  It sure cuts a lot of travel time off.

My travel season starts in January.  We go down to Atlanta to visit the America’s Mart.  This is where most of the retailers go in the South East to purchase the products they sell in their stores.  It is a huge building with 15 floors stretching a whole block. So as you can picture it is one biiiiiggg building.  All the designers bring their lines for the current and upcoming season to sell to wholesalers.  It is pretty crowded with wall to wall clothes.

First I visit the lines that we already carry first.  I need to see what they have.  This way we can decide if there are any holes in our product selection.  Below are a few pictures to show you what the trade shows are like. 

The showrooms are a little hectic because there are thousands of store owners and their employees going in and out of showrooms. 

Each showroom I work with already takes about 2 hours to go through.   Imagine looking at over 1000 outfits in two hours and doing that 4 times a day and then doing that for 5 days in a row.  As you can see these events are quite hectic and everything starts to look the same.

On top of the 8 hours of looking at outfit after outfit, we go out with clients and show them some of the products that are available to them.   So yes more clothes.  It is ok I love them.

We are usually in Atlanta for about a week. And then we hit the road for about 2 months straight full of meetings with different chapters all over the country.  It is a busy schedule but it is fun and interesting.  I get to meet new people every day. And another plus is I get to travel to places I never would travel to otherwise.