The fourth annual Ultimate Home and Garden Show returned to Plant City with something new.
The show, held at the Strawberry Festival Grounds Grimes Hall July 8 and 9, was rebranded with Shabby Chic vendors and Home Decor Market on top of the 100-plus home vendors and Florida Licensed Contractors. It also had a plant expo to add more diversity to the event.
Veteran vendors like Kay Tonini, founder of Vintage Journey Market, said the addition of Shabby Chic will only continue to make the attendance for the event grow.
“You can go to Home Goods and get a knock-off but the quality won’t be half as good,” Tonini said. “You can just do so many things and people categorize home shows as simply coming to get your roof updated, but it’s so much more.”
Attendees could purchase items ranging from furniture to jewelry cleaners, and mingle with experts for advice on home remodeling and repair.
Though the event was advertised until 5 p.m. both days, vendors had begun to pack up by 3 p.m. Sunday due to dwindling crowds.
One vendor, Amy Plant, founder of Amy’s Things, which specializes in pallet wood and repurposed wood signs, said it was unlike what she had expected.
“This is our first big show, we’ve done a few smaller ones here and there,” Plant said. “It was a lot slower than we expected… Most people I would say didn’t come here to buy, they were looking for ideas.”
Andre Corriveau, a vendor for Tampa Woodcrafter, was one of the many first-time vendors at the event. He said the customers seemed to enjoy the show in general and that many stopped to admire his hand-carved cutting boards, which require several days to make.
“For my first show, I enjoyed it,” Corriveau said. “I met a lot of interesting people and had the opportunity to see a lot of local artists.”