William Gee joined the thousands of people who attended the 2015 Craft, Hobby & Stitch Show at the NEC in Birmingham yesterday. People from the sewing, knitting, yarn and crafts industry were out in full force at Europe’s largest creative crafts trade show, to promote new products, as well as network with new and old friends. The trade show once again proved that our industry is booming, full of bright ideas and thriving creative spirit.
On what was a blustery and rainy day out, the NEC once again proved to be a huge success, bringing in not only the big players – Groves, Fiskars, Prym, and the like – but also attracting smaller boutiques and independent shops from around the UK. We walked around the fair and were greeted with great smiles from many old friends of William Gee.
Packed with workshops, seminars, and catwalk shows, this really was the meeting point for the creative crafts trade. Upon arrival, everyone visiting the event was given a large Groves giveaway bag – convenient for storing any brochures and samples picked up throughout the day. Unsurprisingly, Groves had the largest stand in the best location possible – you couldn’t miss them. We began talking to sales agents and met up with the director Andrew Groves. He showed us new product lines and we spoke about our customers need for piping cord, which is soon to be back on our shelves.
Next came Fiskars, who, on a backdrop of white and orange, displayed their cutting range for 2015. One item that stuck out was their new rotary cutter and ruler, which has been adapted since their first version. They are now intending to release a square ruler, in addition to their rectangular ruler, as a result of their customer feedback.
Our suppliers Gutermann, Vilene and Prym were on show, the latter displaying all the sewing essentials a hobbyist or professional could ever need. We caught up with Leonard, our sales agent at Prym, who spoke to us about various new product launches. He introduced us to the European sales manager, who ensures that William Gee are at the forefront of any new releases from the German powerhouse of sewing supplies.
Before the day was over, there was just enough time to do some further networking, and having walked past McCall Pattern Company, we thought we’d drop in and say hello. We managed to have a quick chat with Jackie and Marilyn who shared with us their new pattern catalogues by Butterick, McCalls and Vogue Patterns. We know there’s a need to stock dressmaking patterns – both online and in our haberdashery shop; as of next week we’ll be stocking over 500 patterns and we can’t wait for you to see them.
All in all, the 8 hour return trip to the Craft, Hobby and Stitch Show was a complete success, and we can’t wait to visit again next year for the 2016 show.
We’re thrilled to announce that we’ve partnered with Tree Nation, the platform to reforest the world & fight climate change! Home to over 90 planting projects in 33 countries, Tree Nation is a non-profit organisation that helps people & companies offset their CO2 emissions.