Last week we drove out into the middle of the desert to visit the biggest trade shows of the year at Las Vegas. Unfortunately we can't show you much of the behind-the-scenes wheelings and dealings because most brands wouldn't appreciate having their Spring and Summer 2011 samples shown online so many months before they release in the stores...

Most of the brands we deal with who were showing at Las Vegas were located in the S.L.A.T.E. section in the convention center at Mandalay Bay.

A few of the brands we needed to see were right next door in the Street section of MAGIC.
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This is what you see as soon as you walk into the Street section...wait a minute...is that Derrick?

Just incase you missed that...the face of streetwear!!

Mark whipped out the iPhone to snap a photo too!

Right when you walk in to S.L.A.T.E. you're greeted by some excellent artwork from the MSK/AWR crew, courtesy of The Seventh Letter...

The NORM piece was sick...
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...and so was the RETNA joint.

The trade shows are a lot of hard work for everyone involved, whether you're buying or selling. One of the bonuses is that there are lots of good magazines available for free, as long as you don't mind carrying them around all day!

Antenna magazine had a little booth where you could have your photo taken and they printed out a fake magazine cover with you on it!

Of course Mark and Derrick couldn't resist the opportunity to be on the cover of Antenna!!

That's what it looked like...

Orisue provided hand sanitation stations for everyone - an excellent idea, considering how many hands you shake in one day here.

LRG provided recycling bins for all those empty bottles of water. Gotta stay hydrated in Vegas!!

LRG also provided cell phone charging stations...and I gotta say this was a huge help considering my iPhone battery doesn't last a full day.