Trade Show Virgin

Yesterday I had a rare but deserved day out. Part of my plan for 2013 is to do a trade show but decided it might be a good idea to visit a trade show to see what it's all about.

I grabbed a couple of my crafty friends and off we went to Earls Court in London to Top Drawer, their tag line claims they are 'The UK's leading event for design-led gifts, lifestyle & fashion accessories.' Perfect!

As you can see from the first photograph, I don't get out a lot.

If I am going to embark upon the world of tradeshow there were some things I wanted to know first. For instance how much space do you get for your money (not much I found) and what sort of printed materials do prospective customers expect? I'm a sucker for a postcard but are buyers and do they expect free stuff too?

I found that there were lot's of creatives like myself there with fairly small stands just handing out business cards and pricelists, and then equally there was the other end of the scale, one stand I particularly liked was Hemingway House. It was a beautiful stand with some very special tiles:

Another eye catching stand was Dots and Spots, owner and designer Becky Peabody was absolutely lovely and gave us some samples of her paper, which I am really interested in for gift wrapping my products.

By mid afternoon I was a bit overwhelmed by the bright lights, so decided it was time to head outside for some air, so we spent the next couple of hours wandering around Notting Hill and Portobello Market.

We were getting a lateish train home so spent an hour or so pootling around the wonder that is St Pancras station. It really is a beautiful place with some pretty nice shops too.

Then we headed home, extremely tired (although Deanne kept me giggling all the way, even when I nearly gave her a black eye opening my train picnic on the homeward journey).

Thanks to the super talented Deanne of Quirky Boots for the pics in this post. We also traveled to the event with seasoned trade fairer and fellow craftsperson Louise Verity of Wall Envy Art.

The Gift Box

I have a few minutes spare this afternoon, so I thought I would share with a you little graphics project I have just finished for a new local business.

It is a postcard design for a gorgeous new shop called The Gift Box, based locally to me and set up by Deanne (of Quirky Boots and Warkton Village Craft Market fame) and her good friend Rona.

The shop is now open and I was lucky enough to pop along last week and take some snaps to share with you. I was astonished at what the girl's have managed to achieve in just a few months; the shop is a handmade haven of glorious goodies, all housed in a super-cute old stable block that they have worked so hard to totally transform. With whitewashed walls and a new floor, it is clear that a great deal of care and attention has been put into the design of the shop and the numerous vintage display cupboards that have been painstakingly painted and finished.

All of the items for sale have been cherry-picked from selected local craftspeople, many of whom Deanne and Rona know personally. There are a diverse range of disciplines making up the huge range of items on offer, all original and handmade.

The Gift Box is a brilliant showcase for local craftspeople, I can't wait to go back and I thoroughly recommend that if you are in the area you should check it out too, you won't be disappointed!