#psmw: ten tips for visiting palm springs modernism week next year

Alright already. Enough about Palm Springs Modernism Week 2013.

Just some beautiful and original art the PS Show and Sale.
But I didn't take a good picture of the artisit. Selling for $40K.

Before I forget, and as a public service to my mid-century modern friends, I thought I would post my key learnings from attending #PSMW so that, should you venture to the California desert next year, you will get even MORE out of it then did my mom and me.

Interspersed with my tips are pictures from the Palm Springs Modernism Show and Sale, which was going on simultaneously at the Convention Center along with #PSMW.

Here is the Palm Springs Convention Center. It is an attraction unto itself.

And there was a car show being held outside the convention center, to boot. Every corner you rounded in Palm Springs for eleven days had mid-century modern eye candy galore. I was kind of blown away.

Tip #10: Wear sun screen.

Didn't the pictures speak for themselves? There were a ton of snowbirds in town (people fleeing cold East Coast, Midwest winters, and even dreary old London). The weather was unbelievably beautiful. We met zero people from our own geography and many folks from other parts of the world and other parts of the United States.

Tip #9:  Eat at Trio for dinner at least once.

The food is awesome and the atmosphere is hopping. You'll feel like your are in the know, as this is where the local mid-century modern hipsters (?) go. There are lots of other wonderful restaurants in Palm Springs but this one made the top of our list.

Tip #8: See the convention center show early in the weekend.

We got there in the last hour of the last day (it ran Friday through Sunday). The dealers looked tired and the atmosphere was quiet. Most dealers said all their best stuff was long gone.

Tip #7: Do the private home tours.

If there are any private home tours offered, go on them. We only made it to one which was the Frey House II. It was totally unique and I believe that the other homes would have been as well.

Tip #6 Do the Sunnylands estate tour.

My mom and I had seen Sunnylands about a year earlier so we skipped it during #PSMW. But, rest assured, it is a spectacular tour.

Tip #5: Make sure you have GPS.

Several of the home and garden tours were self guided. If I had not had an iPhone with me that had Google Maps on it, I would have been a dead duck. Dead. I was constantly entering addresses into the phone and trying to guide us to the next location. The tour maps were not always ... how shall I say it ... accurate.

Tip #4: See some lectures.

We left no time for the lectures and movies that were showing. And we heard from regular event attendees, there was some great content presented.

Tip #3: Avoid the bus tour.

I will caveat this. You should avoid the bus tour if you don't have tons of time or if the committee doesn't change the format. It was really long. And to be truthful, you couldn't see much. I would have loved it had it been shorter and more focused on one type of thing or the other (e.g. public sites vs. private residences).

Tip #2: Be prepared to be surprised when you least expect it.

We tacked on the Marrakesh Designers Showcase tour right at the end. I wasn't expecting much. Until we stumbled across this little time capsule from 1971.

Tip #1: Meet up with your mid-century modern friends!

Alright some of you. Why don't we meet up next year? I'll let you know as soon as the tickets go on sale.

It's a wrap. Back to our regularly scheduled programming. Thanks for indulging my mid-century modern fantasy!

Related #PSMW Posts

• PSMW 2013: Ten Tips for Visiting Palm Springs Modernism Week Next Year
• PSMW 2013: Bringing the Outdoors In
• PSMW 2013: Ten Decorating Tips from Marrakesh
• PSMW 2013: 1970s Time Capsule Marrakesh Home Tour 
• PSMW 2013: Hedge Tour
• PSMW 2013: Garden Tour
• PSMW 2013: Palmer and Krisel House Tour
• PSMW 2013: Frey House II
• PSMW 2013: Liberace
• PSMW 2013: Desert One by Jim Jennings
• PSMW 2013: Margaret Joplin Glass Garden Lights