The lovely BIDBI ladies were in Harrogate, flying the flag high for BIDBI at Home and Gift. They tell us about their time there and their best bits!
Rachel: My favourite part of the show was being able to look around the different halls; there were so many, all filled with gorgeous jewellery and giftware. I’ve just moved into a new apartment, so I made sure I got plenty of new independent contacts to decorate it with! It was great to see a lot of businesses' A/W range to see upcoming trends.
Lucy: I always love the moment just after set-up is complete – taking a step back and looking at the stand we’ve created is a nice feeling and gets you excited to start the show the next day! I also really enjoyed seeing Lauren in action at her first BIDBI trade show – despite being jet-lagged from a trip to Vegas, she was on top form and really got stuck in straight away.
Lauren: My favourite part of the show was having the opportunity to meet existing clients who came to visit us at the stall so we could put faces to names but also meeting lots of new potential clients. Also loved the fact our stand was opposite Cocoba chocolate, and we had free chocolate all day every day. I love Harrogate too, so it was really nice to be there for a few days.
Lucy: We were exhibiting next to some really lovely and interesting stands which in turn have become potential clients. I think for most people, bags are more of an afterthought or something that they only consider when they see us and all the eye-catching bags that we make – that’s why it’s so important for us to make an impact and keep exhibiting at the shows.
Lauren: It was great to meet up-and-coming designers and hear about their ideas and projects. I am excited to see their artwork printed on our bags. We also met someone from Pure London, and this would be a great event to provide our bags for, so I am excited to see if this goes ahead. We met some really lovely people on the stands surrounding us, and by the end of the trade show, they had all come to us to enquire about bags for their businesses. So, we had enquiries from many visitors but also a lot of exhibitors too! I am a huge gin fan, and it was great to discover new gin companies exhibiting around the show and being able to try out the different flavours.
Rachel: One thing that made the Home & Gift show for me was the lovely people in the surrounding stands. We almost made a little community on our row, so it was always a pleasant environment to be in even when the show quietened down. I spoke to some big names like Monsoon and Office Outlet (the old Staples), so it will be interesting to see how their interest pans out in the future!
Rachel: We had a nice Airbnb in the heart of Harrogate Centre, so I spent a lot of my time eating and drinking in the fabulous restaurants and bars. One night, Home & Gift actually put on a ‘mingle’ night and hired out Revs de Cuba with lots of free booze, which was so good! There was so much wine; I felt like I had red wine coming out of my ears, brownie points to the organisers! We also recently printed some Jute Bags for the Yorkshire Soap Company. It was great to actually get the chance to visit the shop (which is absolutely amazing and highly recommended); the girls in the shop were so nice, and the bath bomb range was insane!
Lucy: Harrogate is a lovely town to stay in, and walking down the high street, it was great to see we had produced bags for nearly every store (Molton Brown, The Yorkshire Soap Company, L’Occitane, the list goes on!). In the small amount of free time that I had, I did a spot of shopping and enjoyed lunch in the park in the middle of the heatwave.
Lauren: On our lunch breaks, we walked into the centre of Harrogate for food, and it was nice to look around the boutique shops that Harrogate has to offer. On Monday evening, we put our heels on and took full advantage of free drinks at Revolution de Cuba. All we had to do was show our exhibiting pass for the show, and we had access to unlimited wine all night – great times. We met up with a few other exhibitors too, and it was a fabulous night.
On Tuesday evening, we headed out to Gino De Campos restaurant for dinner and drinks. The food was amazing; I would definitely recommend it!
Lauren: I will be at Top Drawer in London in September for the full show – looking forward to this. Any excuse for a trip to London.
Lucy: Up next for me is Top Drawer on 8th–11th September in London – one of my favourites!
Rachel: The next trade show I will be attending is Autumn Fair. This will be an interesting one for me as it's mainly retail and design-based, which aren’t necessarily my sectors. However, I will be able to branch out and potentially merge my target client range. Autumn Fair also has three new sectors: Contemporary Gift & Living, Fashion, Jewellery & Accessories, and Home, which are all right up my street, so it’ll be good to see what’s out there.
