New Show Director Takes the Helm
Rebecca Mercado
BALTIMORE (August 25, 2011) – The Buyers Market of American Craft will celebrate its 30th anniversary with a new show director at the helm: Rebecca Rosen Mercado will guide the premier wholesale market of handmade and American-made products into its fourth decade.
Exhibitors and buyers can expect innovations from Mercado, who brings to her new role the benefit of experience working at the Buyers Market and in key departments at The Rosen Group, the trade show’s parent company founded by her trailblazing mother, Wendy Rosen.
“Rebecca will bring fresh energy and new ideas to the Buyers Market,” says Rosen, president and CEO of The Rosen Group and publisher of AmericanStyle and NICHE magazines. “She will help us attract the next generation of exhibitors, and she’ll be working with me to identify and open new markets for their American-made products.”
Mercado, 31, joined The Rosen Group as the show’s jewelry manager in 2009. She expanded the Green Exhibitor program and helped launch the company’s newest trade show, NICHE: The Show, held during Jewelry Week in Las Vegas. She also has assisted at Buyers Market shows and worked in the public relations department during the past 15 years. From 2004-2006, she was an assistant editor at Crafts Business magazine. She earned a bachelor’s degree in English with a minor in art history at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.
“I have literally grown up with this company,” says Mercado, “and I have a lot of respect for what the Buyers Market and its mission mean to our artists and retailers. It’s easy to stay motivated when you’re working with such a passionate group of people.”
“Right now, we’re at a crossroads in the business of craft,” Mercado adds. “We all have to be leaner and nimbler than ever to stay relevant, while our industry faces the toughest economic challenges it’s ever seen. But you make it work. That’s the joy of collaborating with resourceful, creative people every day. That energy is contagious.”
Mercado replaces Christine Kloostra, a 10-year Rosen Group employee who began directing the Buyers Market trade shows in 2006. In September, Kloostra will become the marketing director for the Detroit Institute of Arts. To ensure a smooth transition, Kloostra will continue to serve as a consultant for the Buyers Market.
In her new role, Mercado will also oversee NICHE: The Show.
The 30th anniversary Buyers Market trade show will take place February 18-20, 2012, at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia. The Jewelry Preview will take place Friday, February 17, 2012. For information, send an e-mail to info@rosengrp.com or call 800-432-7238. Learn more at www.BuyersMarketofAmericancraft.com
CONTACT: Jean Thompson at jeant@rosengrp.com or call 800-432-7238, ext. 218
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