autumn fair at NEC

[arthur.daley]

Hi All

Not sure if anyone drops in here much but......

I have just finished a real greasy spoon breakfast at Corley on the M6, should be at the NEC in half an hour to see whats on offer at Autumn Fair International.

Anyone else been or going?

Arthur

[pisquee]

not tried for Autumn or Spring Fair yet, we usually do Pulse, Home and Gift, Scotlands Trade Fairs, sometimes Top Drawer.

[Andrew]

Seems like only a month or 2 I was at the Spring Fair. Nearly missed this one if I hadn't seen it mentioned here. Suppose I had better pop up over the next couple of days.

[socialgiraffe]

I was close yesterday!!!!

Was going to a trade show that doesn't start until next weekend, I just got the dates wrong!! Saw The Autumn Fair but didn't register to go to that instead... muppetry

[mrs maggot]

giving it a miss this year, i have too many trade fairs to fit in, and TBH we get so many mailings from them anyway, i seem to see most stuff without leaving the workshop.

[pisquee]

We're seeing a rise in wholesale orders from people who just see our stuff on the exhibitor list on the show website - more shops doing that instead of bothering to go to the actual show, and they do this and put an order in before the show to beat the queue of orders!

[mrs maggot]

i think its also worth pointing out that this show is where shops go to shop, rather than where home subbers go for a day out, although unfortunately as with most trade shows now the amount of people who attend that are not genuinely in need to being there is growing, and can often be heard in the comments made on the stands in "how much for just one"

a few years ago we went on the last day into the furniture side, after an invite from a picture framer who had some work in there and there were some amazing bargains in there, as a lot of the furniture there they would rather sell it off than arrange to take it back

[pisquee]

My wife does 'shopping' at the last day of shows, whilst I am on the stand - she gets loads of bargains- some stuff at wholesale price, and other things she swaps for our own products at like-for-like values.

[arthur.daley]

Its been interesting looking around, flavour of the month in the interior design section has to be polished aluminium lights on tripods - sort of thi g that Drew Pritchard flogs for a gazillion quid.

Had an interesting conversation with a couple trading under the name of hookies - mirrors, lamps, fram3d photos and the like. They had a shed load of classic blqck and white framed photos for sale. I recognised a few of them and one in particular as being a Bob Carlos Clarke print - they tried to tell me that they had purchased the original photo at a flea market in Clignacourt in Paris and that it dated fromthe 1920s! On being asked where the rest had come fro m - all from the same flea market, all originals. Including a copy of Denis Stocks iconic James Dean in Times Square in the rain. Twits!

[liannef]

pisquee, do you sell to trade? I would be interested in seeing what you sell as we only go to the Spring and Autumn fairs.