Hello, so sorry to have been away from the blog for so long. The art of creating a blog is still new to me and I admit it has been put on the shelf whilst so many things have been happening in the business. So I’ve given myself a shake and figured I’d jump back in with some update on what has been going on.
The most amazing experience we have had was in February. After being lucky enough to be selected to join Theo Paphitis’s small business Sunday. We had the opportunity to enter a competition to win a trade stand space at The Spring Fair at the NEC. This is the largest trade fair in the U.K. taking over the whole of the NEC in every hall. It was amazing that we won the opportunity given to 12 small businesses.
Now this opportunity was one that we could not have dreamed of doing on our own at this stage of the business. So even though it was terrifying and exciting in equal measures. We decided to make every second count and enjoy the ride. We were given the measurements of the space we were to be allocated and then it was up-to us how we used the space. So we scoured the internet for ideas and purchased some display furniture that we could adapt to our requirements. Then after gathering diy supplies, wood,paint, glue and kitchen lighting strips. We set about creating display furniture which would hold our diffusers.
Realising having the stand painted was out of our budget and so was self adhesive wallpaper. We had the slightly crazy, slightly genius idea of creating our own. So armed with traditional wallpaper, masking tape and double side tape we covered the stand walls. If anyone else would like more details about how we did this please drop me a message. I’d be happy to give you the lowdown on what worked and what didn’t, also the time it actually took to finish (rather a long while and an enormous amount of trips up and down a ladder🤣).
We were really pleased with the finished result and everyone gave us great compliments on how professional it looked.
Being surrounded by the other winners was fantastic. They are all lovely people growing their own small businesses so we are now a little community supporting each other.
It was great meeting all of the visitors to the fair. Making great contacts and finding some amazing new stockists for our products. We gained so much information from chatting to people from all over the U.K. in a huge range of different businesses. If you get the opportunity to exhibit at a trade fair I would definitely recommend it.
Theo Paphitis came to visit our stand. It was a big boost to chat with him about my products and business. Having his team with camera crew was a little glimpse at what it must be like having the paparazzi around you 🤩
It was such a boost to our business. A huge thank you to the SBS team, my fellow stall winners, the fair organisers and all the visitors. Everyone made the experience so enjoyable. We hope we can return next year.
If any other small businesses are thinking of having a stand at a trade fair and would like a chat about what we learnt. Please reach out I’d be happy to help.
