Going for comfort on the last day of BCTF :) If you are visiting I am on Stand 236!
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Showing posts with label BCTF. Show all posts
Showing posts with label BCTF. Show all posts
Tuesday, 8 April 2014
Monday, 7 April 2014
Test post!
This is a quick test post using a blogger app from my mobile :) It may work and it may not. Time to press publish and see!
posted from Bloggeroid
Tuesday, 16 April 2013
BCTF
Well I'm finally going to write about BCTF :) For those not in the know it stands for British Craft Trade Fair and is, as you may have sussed from the title, a trade fair for handmade goods. Which is excellent as buyers know exactly what they are coming to look at and that your lead times will be longer than bought in tat as everything is handmade :) It's based in Harrogate at the show ground where the Yorkshire Show is held so the signposting is already very good to get you there - the organisers also have a free bus that goes between the show ground and the train station!
I was in the newcomers section (hence the N before the stand number) so I got a 2x1 metre stand and that included a strip light just behind the yellow sign. It worked really well and the stand was bright enough - the overhead lights worked well too!
This is what my stand looked like. The main draw was the cabinet :) I could have easily sold it at least 20 times over as loads of people liked it. It was very handy in that it encouraged people to stop and then I could chat and explain that I had started my display with the cabinet and it grew from there. It also worked really well with my work and lots of visitors commented on that. I'm also glad I left the gap to the side as it enabled me to have somewhere to stand while people were looking without feeling I was hovering over them or ignoring them by standing out in the aisle. Next time though I need a seat although Helen Markham (who was my next door neighbour) loaned out her stool to the people around her so we each had a chance to sit down for a bit! I also pinched the seats belonging to Rebecca from Girl With Beads and Mel from Spring Lark!
This is what my stand looked like. The main draw was the cabinet :) I could have easily sold it at least 20 times over as loads of people liked it. It was very handy in that it encouraged people to stop and then I could chat and explain that I had started my display with the cabinet and it grew from there. It also worked really well with my work and lots of visitors commented on that. I'm also glad I left the gap to the side as it enabled me to have somewhere to stand while people were looking without feeling I was hovering over them or ignoring them by standing out in the aisle. Next time though I need a seat although Helen Markham (who was my next door neighbour) loaned out her stool to the people around her so we each had a chance to sit down for a bit! I also pinched the seats belonging to Rebecca from Girl With Beads and Mel from Spring Lark!
People were drawn to the chickens as they walked past and only then, if they stepped into the stand, did they look at the other items like gift tags and envelopes. I had an idea for the gift tags that didn't work out at all so the mini suitcase (quickly grabbed from Anya's shelf!) was a last minute idea. Next time it will certainly be something to work on.
I was really pleased with how my stall looked and I felt it really worked well with my items :) So how did it go sales wise? Well I got an order just as we'd finished packing everything up on the Tuesday and it was a sizeable order. I also have several leads to follow up this week so all in all it was worth it. I've rebooked for next year (!) and as silly as it sounds, buyers want to see you coming back again (and out of the newcomers section) so they can be confident that you are still going as a business and won't be as easily phased by huge orders and that they can rely on you! I was talking to someone whose wife runs a gift shop and she never looks round the newcomers section on principle as she has been stung by people before panicking as they had lots of orders and then the company folded!
So all in all it was worth it for giving out cards and being seen and the order was a bonus :) Hopefully some of my follow up emails will yield results too! If you have any questions about BCTF or are thinking about it next year then do ask questions in the comments and I will answer as best I can!
P.S. Some other newcomers got thousands of pounds or orders and some got none so my experience isn't representative of everyone!
Tuesday, 19 March 2013
Featured!
How exciting! The lovely Clare from Dolly Cool chatted to me on Facebook to let me know that she had seen me featured in Gift Focus Magazine which it turns out, is a magazine sent out to traders/buyers for giftware!
I've been featured as part of an article about BCTF and I'm thrilled to notice that I'm the only newcomer to be featured!
The start of the article is on the right hand side and on the next page are the featured traders.
And there's me at the top left hand side :) If you want to get a closer look then you can see the magazine online using this link :)
Better go and get cracking with some work for BCTF myself!
The start of the article is on the right hand side and on the next page are the featured traders.
And there's me at the top left hand side :) If you want to get a closer look then you can see the magazine online using this link :)
Better go and get cracking with some work for BCTF myself!
Monday, 11 March 2013
New postcards!! New postcards!!
As many of you will know I make my own business cards and while they are fabulous and I will keep making them, the idea of making lots of them for BCTF was a little bit daunting! So after speaking to two lovely friends Leigh and Tracy (who are both doing BCTF) I decided to have some postcards printed. And here are the results!
The front of the cards :) They are made from recycled cardboard so aren't shiny at all which I like.
And the back with all my details on. There is also room for people to scribble notes on - perfect for noting down which items they liked :)
And the ever important recycled logo which is essential for Swirlyarts :) I've ordered plenty so they may well make it to future events too!
And the back with all my details on. There is also room for people to scribble notes on - perfect for noting down which items they liked :)
And the ever important recycled logo which is essential for Swirlyarts :) I've ordered plenty so they may well make it to future events too!
Wednesday, 20 February 2013
Display boards!!
Things are slowly being ticked off the to do list for BCTF and one of the things I wanted to get done was display boards. Basically they are large boards with pictures of my work on so that buyers can see them over the crowds of people that will be in my booth! Ahem :)
They are A3 in size and will go up high on the walls of my booth.
They haven't photographed particularly well (the girls were facing the window and the lights were on!) but in real life the colours look great and 'pop'
Anya didn't want to hold them up hence the fake smile but I wanted her to! The boards are made of the same stuff that estate agents boards are made of - what I call corrugated plastic!
The hardest thing was choosing the images to go on there. Oh and bear in mind if you ever order these then they will need to be the correct size - so I had to send over images that were A3 in size. Luckily Matt knew exactly what to do to get them to the correct size and thus he avoided me throwing the laptop through the window in frustration :)
I used printed.com and their customer service was very good and when I asked them a question online they got back to me in 4 mins - now that is good customer service!
BCTF is starting to feel very real - now back to the to do list!
They are A3 in size and will go up high on the walls of my booth.
They haven't photographed particularly well (the girls were facing the window and the lights were on!) but in real life the colours look great and 'pop'
Anya didn't want to hold them up hence the fake smile but I wanted her to! The boards are made of the same stuff that estate agents boards are made of - what I call corrugated plastic!
The hardest thing was choosing the images to go on there. Oh and bear in mind if you ever order these then they will need to be the correct size - so I had to send over images that were A3 in size. Luckily Matt knew exactly what to do to get them to the correct size and thus he avoided me throwing the laptop through the window in frustration :)
I used printed.com and their customer service was very good and when I asked them a question online they got back to me in 4 mins - now that is good customer service!
BCTF is starting to feel very real - now back to the to do list!
Wednesday, 6 February 2013
Getting organised!
This is a scribbled together list of things I have to do/find out/think about and make for BCTF in April. I am spending today going through all of the material available and making it into cohesive sets of lists - oh as well as firing off emails to various people as I couldn't remember my stand number*! Yes I lost the piece of paper it was written down on!
*N53 :)
Saturday, 1 December 2012
New badge packaging
My old badge packaging looked like this.
They were then wrapped in plastic which protected them a bit but didn't look as good as I would like.
This is the new packaging - the cardboard is the recycled card I bought last month and the fabric is felted jumpers. I may use thicker fabric too as I think that would work. I am also planning to print the information onto the top but I can't be bothered to wrestle with the printer to figure out where I would need to place the card etc!
Do let me know what you think :)
P.S. If you are wondering what all the new products/packaging ideas are for then I am getting ready for BCTF in April - it will be my first trade fair and I am papping myself! I'm also trying to get slowly organised so that everything doesn't get on top of me in the next few months - hahahahahaha!
They were then wrapped in plastic which protected them a bit but didn't look as good as I would like.
This is the new packaging - the cardboard is the recycled card I bought last month and the fabric is felted jumpers. I may use thicker fabric too as I think that would work. I am also planning to print the information onto the top but I can't be bothered to wrestle with the printer to figure out where I would need to place the card etc!
Do let me know what you think :)
P.S. If you are wondering what all the new products/packaging ideas are for then I am getting ready for BCTF in April - it will be my first trade fair and I am papping myself! I'm also trying to get slowly organised so that everything doesn't get on top of me in the next few months - hahahahahaha!
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