Thursday 22 July 2010

Harrogate Home and Gift Show

So Harrogate is over and now I'm home I can share with you what's been going on over the past few days and to start this has been our home for 4 days - West Park Hotel.



This was our walk down to the show - not a bad way to start the day, sadly the same can't be said of the way home as it seemed to rain every day, once we set foot out of the show!




So here is Jeff, my husband and sales man extraordinaire! He was a natural and was a huge contribution to our success at the show. Being our first show, we had no idea what to expect but apparently according to our experienced neighbours we had a very good show! We certainly exceeded our expectations, coming home with a full order book, lots of genuine enquires, interest from a department store and a number of agents primed and ready to sell dots and spots across the country now the show is over.




I really thought that that would be all we would come away from the show with but I was wrong. I truly believe I have made some very good friends who were happy to share their wealth of experience with us novices. So as a small way of saying thank you, I thought I would share pictures with you of their stands and work - click on the links and visit their websites to see more!


Lucy was new to Trade shows too so we both shared the experience together!
I loved her clean, fresh designs and this was mirrored in her fabulous, contemporary stand.




Directly opposite my stand was the fabulous Gina of Cornelious Potts and Uncle Monty, kept company by her lovely mum! She and her sister design, make and hand finish all the beautiful detailed cards.She was extremely generous, sharing so much information and experience with us and even pointed an agent or two in our direction. So thank you very much Gina!





To our left was the talented Abigail Mill - again with a wealth of experience and advice. She makes the most beautiful cards and textile prints.
A lady with huge energy, at the end of the Harrogate Show Abigail went directly to the Tatton Garden Show where she is currently exhibiting until Sunday. I don't think I could match such stamina!





Yasmin of YTR Design was probably our youngest neighbour but still had many more years experience than us - I tried to repay all the advice we received with a lesson on how to twitter! Nice to see her as one of my new followers!



Last but not least was FlyTrap a family run business - this was their second year

The cards feature the work of 7 artists spanning 4 generations from one family.


There is still so much more that I could share with you but I will have to do another post!

We had a fabulous first show and will be signing on the dotted line for next year very soon! Now I'm back home and the reality of juggling 2 children and family life, with the huge mountain of work that lies ahead of me, is starting to set in! HELP!



Becky
x

14 comments:

SparkleSmith said...

excellent. Looks like you had a fabulous time and so pleased you came home with a full order book. Well done, now have a quick rest before all the making commences :)

WinnibriggsHouse said...

well done to you and all the very best for a fabulous future. Your stand looks great and your'salesman' suitably enthusiastic.
Jenny x

Vintage to Victorian said...

So pleased for you, Becky. You've obviously had a fantastic few days in Harrogate and, as you say, made some wonderful friends.

I'm sure your feet won't touch the ground for the next few weeks!

Well done to you both.

Sue x

Anonymous said...

Becky it looks absolutely BRILLIANT!! It looks like you've been doing it for years, very polished!
Well done, you really deserve all the orders and interest you got, your work is fabulous!
Katie

Flower Girl said...

What you have achieved is amazing and you (and Jeff!) should be truly proud! Well done - you're an inspiration! Rxx

Elizabeth said...

I'm so glad you had a great show, your stand looked marvellous and it was lovely to meet you both!

Martine de Regt said...

How nice to read you had a great show!
Thank you for sharing the pictures, it looks lovely :-)

joy said...

Well done Becky and Jeff, onwards and upwards now! Welcome back to the real world, so pleased to hear you had such a good show.
joy xx

KC'sCourt! said...

CONGRATULATIONS! And Well Done! Looks like you had a great time.

Aimee said...

The stand looks great, well done with the orders.
I went past the signs for the show on monday, and thought of you as I was on my way to Skipton.
Aimee x

Unknown said...

This is wonderful Becky. I don't think you could have done any better do you?! And I can see from your tweets that you are likely to expand into premises when you find some. You've really been inspiring to me - and lots of other aspiring business owners, thank you X Gabs
Oh and well done Jeff!! can I rent him?

Vintage from the Village said...

Great news, your head must be bursting !
Just posted you a little order. No rush with it, you sort the 'big ones' out first !
Best wishes
Sue

Amy said...

Looks fab Becky. Sounds all very exciting and well worth the hard work. Keep wondering myself whether it is time to bite the bullet and do a trade show but it is such hard work isn't it?
Your stand looks lovely so hope you get lots new business from it :)
Amy x

Lockygirl said...

Wow! Truly inspirational! Thank you for sharing. Finally gave up the day job for good on Friday.... no more teaching for me. Would love to hear any bits of advice from you re trade shows. Lovely blog too!