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Furniture Collection Debuts At Home & Gift
Industry
NEWS
Some 25% Of Exhibitors Are New To The Show Following on from the success theT of the Manchester Furniture Show at Harrogate’s Home & Gift last year, this July’s show will see the debut of the Furniture Collection which will be taking over both Hall Q and the Kings Suite at the Harrogate Convention Centre. Exhibitors include Gallery Direct and Bronte by Moon. Across the show, some 800 brands will be exhibiting, to include Joe Davies, Enesco, Wild Things, Hot Tomato, Best Kept Secrets, VENT
for Change, Marmalade of London, Carrie Elspeth, Wrendale Designs, Reeves and Reeves, Sea Gems, Talking Tables, Jellycat, Caroline Gardner, Roka and Chalk. Some 25% of exhibitors will be brand new to Home & Gift. A new networking platform, Browse & Meet, will also give buyers the opportunity to see new products in advance, enabling them to create their own Product Wishlist. Buyers will also be able to message companies and request appointments with exhibitors on-site. Networking opportunities include The Sundowner drinks on the first night of the show (July 17), as well as Gin on The Lawn. Home & Gift will take place in four marquees and seven halls spanning Design-Led Gifts, Home & Interiors, Jewellery and Fashion and the Food Emporium, along with the Furniture Collection. Above: Visitors enjoying the Gin on The Lawn event at last year’s show. Left: Networking at the Sundowners get together.
Jubilee Giftware A Sell Out It was red, white and blue all the way, as gift retailers put their all into celebrating the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee at the beginning of June. “Most of our gifts sold out well before the event,” confirmed Karen Ritchie, owner of The Rowan Tree in Budleigh Salterton. “All the Emma Bridgewater and Sophie Allport Jubilee mugs went almost straightaway and, unfortunately, limited supply meant no reordering. However, we had a fabulous display of Jan Constantine hand embroidered cushions in our window which were a great fit for the celebration. We also did well with locally made doggie bow ties in a Union Jack design, matchboxes of seeds to plant in celebration of the Jubilee and Sophie Allport tea towels.” Also ringing up Jubilee sales was Samantha Gibbs, owner of three Nest stores in Broughton Abbey, Stoneygate and Thurlaston Garden Centre. “We went all out with the red, white and blue theme,” confirmed Sam. “Among out best sellers were Gift Republic’s Royal Gardeners Mini Plant Pot, Talking Tables’ Union Jack inspired picnicware, and red and blue summer scarves and bags.” At Mooch Gift & Home stores in Bewdley and Stourport-on-Severn, red, white and blue themed ‘The Best of British’ windows were dressed in Union Jacks all featuring the Jubilee logo. “Party products trade was brisk, with the majority of stock supplied by Talking Tables,” confirmed co-owner Jon May. “We also saw strong sales for The Great British Quiz in a tin from Apples to Pears and the Jubilee limited edition mug from Moorland Pottery,” he added. “There was real a buzz about town with excitement in both Poynton and Chapel-En-Le-Frith,” reported Sarah Halsall, owner of two Hand Picked By Henrietta stores. “We totally underestimated the quantities of Jubilee products having sold out earlier than intended and had to swap our displays to a Father’s Day focus,” she added.
New Gift Shop Opens in Derby A brand new gift shop, Wooden Spoon The Gift shop, has opened in the Derbion shopping centre, Derby, a sister store to the Wooden Spoon cookshop. With limited space, and the opportunity to expand the gift side of the business, owner Lee Smith was delighted to acquire the premises nextdoor. "After five years in Derby, and our giftware ranges continuing to increase, we acquired the adjacent shop and put a doorway in the wall between the two units,” explains Lee. With licensed Harry Potter themed products a big seller for both stores suppliers include Half Moon Bay, Universal Games and Pyramid International - other popular brands include giftware lines from Gisela Graham, Heathcote & Ivory, Sass & Belle, Chilly’s Bottles, Portmeirion, Cath Kidston, Laura Ashley, Captivate Brands and Denby. Above: The new Wooden Spoon The Gift Shop in Derby’s Derbion shopping centre opened in June.
Flying The Flag Among the many gift retailers celebrating the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee was Aga Marsden, owner of Highworth Emporium in Highworth. The shop, well known locally for its bespoke balloon service for special occasions, went the extra mile for the Jubilee, creating a statement 4.5 x 2.5m red, white and blue Union Jack flag outside the shop featuring 300 balloons. “The response we had was amazing,” enthused Aga. “We had BBC Radio Wiltshire, the Swindon Advertiser and a local magazine coming in to interview us and to take photos. People came into the town specifically to take photos of our balloon flag.” Below: Highworth Emporium’s Union Jack flag made out of balloons.
Above: Jan Constantine’s Platinum Jubilee cushions took centre stage at The Rowan Tree. Left: Mooch featured the Jubilee logo in all its windows.
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