Barely a month after selling our last decoration we are already talking and thinking about next Christmas (although we keep that quiet from customers!)
January sees trade fairs in London and Glasgow where you see fab new products for the upcoming year……
One of the largest gift fairs is Spring Fair at the NEC in Birmingham….it takes up the whole of the NEC which is some size!! This is where all the large (and not so large) gift companies display their Christmas ranges for that year. When we say to customers that we are away to order Christmas in February they think we’re mad! (But actually it is the ideal time as its fresh in our minds as it only happened a few weeks before.) And when I say ‘we’ I mean myself and my trusty sidekick Liana – artist, chief barista, trade fair planner and buyer!
We can only handle one day at Spring Fair and try to stick to Design Led Gifts which is still a huge area, but do-able……its surreal when we are asked ‘so when do you want delivery of Christmas?!’
With Spring Fair out of the way all the card companies come calling for us to place our Christmas card orders – yet again we remember which ‘wife’, ‘husband’ or ‘granny’ card sold the best! It is a science getting just the right range of cards….
The next thought of Christmas is at our favourite trade fair of the year in Harrogate in July. (We are smug in the knowledge all our Christmas decorations have been ordered!) This is where we see gift ideas for Autumn and Christmas……and gifts for Spring and Easter the following year! It’s a lovely trade fair with everyone usually sitting enjoying the summer weather after a long day gift buying…
There are a few other fairs usually in September in London which we dip into some years when we are looking for the latest gifts or new ideas and Scotland’s Trade Fair takes place then in Glasgow. We do enjoy this one as we now know so many suppliers and sales agents there and end up chatting our way round, catching up! We order from all the small independent suppliers who are specifically ‘Scottish’. We do try to use as many Scottish companies and small makers as possibly, but still have to go to larger gift companies for certain seasons.
Here are our top tips for surviving a trade fair:
Stamina – you walk for miles and are on your feet all day, so being comfortable is essential. Apparently at Spring Fair there are 26 miles of stands if you walked round them all!!
A Map – don’t wander aimlessly (although that would be lovely sometimes!) Have a list of suppliers you need to see.
Caffeine – to refuel! A nice lunch break is lovely too….although it can be fatal once you sit down!