Phew!I am sure you would love to know a little bit about the The Country Living Spring Fair in London last week and how it all went...It was a very busy week last week- and pretty exciting! ...The fair was pretty packed and super busy.There were more browsers than buyers and the fair had even been busier last year ..:-( I guess it's the recession which bites all of us ! ) ... but overall it was quite an exhilirating experience !!
Here's the fabulous architecture of St Pancras station near which we were staying...I just love the architecture in London, it's so amazing and impressive.
And here below is my stand for My Aunt Agatha on the Country Living Spring fair.
I am very glad I went and explored the Top Drawer Trade fair in January in London , as it showed me a stand without spotlights really does not stand out enough- so I decided to go for two spotlights .
Here below you see a bit of the hustle and bustle of the fair, it's sometimes a real stampede of people! And the fashion and the accessories the ladies are wearing are really something else- a real pleasure to look at!Not for nothing they call London the fashion capital of the world!
I would not have been able to do the show without my fabulous and supportive mother-in-law to be, Theresa.
She decided to come with me at the spur of the moment when I , at the last minute realised that just manning one stand all by yourself could actually be quite difficult- as when you have to leave the stand for a break, or to chase things up.What a woman !
She was just so great to have around, as she has a great sense of humour, a good business sense and a super sweet disposition- and she is great with people.
We had some great and fun people around us on the stands in the same area,all with fabulous products.
We were right opposite
Zinnia Shoes.
Aww!! Aren't these fabulous?I have stood opposite these shoes the whole show and I
can't tell you how hard it was to resist them and how people love these!!You must check out their website!!Nagi, the fabulous chap who runs the business, was super and so supportive as this was my first year and he was full of handy and insightful tips about pricing, body langauage and running a business.It just makes the whole thing so enjoyable when you have great people around.
Next to me was
Whinberry and Antler
I was so impressed as this was their first show and the stand looked super and had loads of sales and interest.
It was all really lovely with a rustic feel and so very well done.I think they did spectacularly well.
Then at the end of the row was
St Gabriels , run by a lovely girl called Miranda.The stand was amazing and super clever , and the bags were just fabulous! You really must have a look and check out their website- this picture is a bit too small to get an idea.
Right next to us were two girls with their fabulous fake flowers, but sadly their business, "Funky Bunch" does not have a website yet!
To sum up the Country Living Spring Fair : not as many sales as I would wish- but that seems to be the case with others as well... but on the first day, and on Saturday, a lot of interest from the press, - about 4 journalist took my details and my card ( although you never know if this may come to anything but we will see..).. and some trade enquiries too, and some sales...so not too bad :-)
Here are some of my bestsellers at the fair by the way :
and
and ( Cafetiere warmer )
and
You can find all these on the My Aunt Agatha shop
here
Sunday was a crazy busy day at the Country Living fair with people queueing around the block.... and in the evening the great surprise of being visited by the assistant editor for the "Home" section of the Evening
Standard who wants to write about My Aunt Agatha ..AND a visit from the lovely lady from Country Living Magazine who would like to feature me in the "Emporium" pages.....!!!!! Yippee!!
I think it's time for a cup of tea and a relaxing evening in the garden after all the hustle and bustle in London,as the Spring weather has arrived while I was away..and then tomorrow we start with new plans and new designs!
Have a great week!
XOXO
Bea
PS I just noticed there was already some coverage about My Aunt Agatha, in a review on the Sewing Directory Website..
here is the link in case you would like to take a look!
