The British Toy & Hobby Association (BTHA) is excited to announce that all exhibition space for Toy Fair 2025 is now sold out, several months before the show takes place. Any companies still looking for space are encouraged to apply online and join the waiting list now. Visitor registration for Toy Fair 2025 will open in late September on the Toy Fair website, www.toyfair.co.uk, when the floorplan and exhibitor list will also be live for planning.
Posted: 19 September 2024
Aberston, a brand-new online marketplace for creatives and independent retailers, has been launched.
Aberston is an online B2B wholesale marketplace that connects independent retailers with independent brands selling unique, unusual and creative products.
Serving as a bridge between talented artisans and local gift and homeware stores, Aberston offers a curated selection of handcrafted goods ranging from artisanal jewellery to bespoke fashion pieces and everything in between. With a focus on celebrating craftsmanship and individuality, Aberston aims to create a thriving ecosystem for independent makers and retailers.
Founder and Director of Aberston, Djamel Benziane, says: "We're proud to provide a space where makers and retailers can come together to celebrate craftsmanship and build thriving businesses."
Posted: 19 September 2024
INDX is back and better than ever. Expect a calendar packed with buying focused events, a fresh market approach, and a completely revamped look and feel. Plus, a new website and revamped brand identity.
The following events will proudly claim National titles starting in 2025: INDX Kids becomes the INDX National Kidswear Show, INDX Man becomes the INDX National Menswear Show and INDX Intimate Apparel becomes the INDX National Intimate Apparel Show.
The following event titles have been revamped to better reflect the inclusivity and diversity of their product showcases: INDX Homewares becomes INDX Home, INDX Beds & Bedroom becomes INDX Beds, and INDX Toy & Gift becomes INDX Toys, while INDX Furniture, INDX Woman, INDX Sports & Leisure, and INDX Gift Food show titles remain unchanged.
Posted: 12 September 2024
Autumn Fair, the UK's leading seasonal trade event for Home, Gift, and Fashion, has once again solidified its position as a key order-writing trade event, drawing in a high-calibre of decision-makers and influential buyers. This season saw a 6% increase in buyers actively looking to source and buy new products, a 20% rise in the number of buyers with sole or joint purchasing responsibility, and 30% brand new buyers, underscoring the event's continuing importance for the retail industry.
Posted: 12 September 2024
Ethical jeweller Lily Arkwright has announced the opening of its first Scottish showroom in Glasgow, bringing its stunning collection of lab-grown diamonds, moissanite, and ethically sourced coloured gemstones to a whole new audience.
Lily Arkwright has been at the forefront of the ethical jewellery movement in the UK. Specialising in sustainable lab-grown stones, the company offers a lab grown, conflict-free and environmentally conscious diamonds.
The new Glasgow showroom provides a welcoming and convenient space for customers to explore Lily Arkwright's collection. With expert staff on hand to offer guidance and answer questions, visitors can find the perfect piece of jewellery for any occasion.
"We're incredibly excited to open our first showroom in Scotland," says Philip Dawson.
Posted: 9 September 2024
Top Drawer, the UK's premier design-led buying event, opened its doors for the A/W season yesterday. Welcoming buyers and store owners to embrace the 'whirlwind of change' that is the current retail climate. This edition showcases more than 500 exhibiting brands across the most in-demand lifestyle sectors.
The show's flagship sectors–Home, Gift, Greetings & Stationery, Play, Craft, Fashion, Food Emporium and Wellbeing–are complimented by Launchpad, a presentation of emerging brands from across all sectors who are new to the market.
Event Director, David Westbrooke said: "Top Drawer has a long, proud legacy of presenting store owners and buyers with products that will set their offering apart from the rest, and resonate with their customers."
Posted: 9 September 2024
The Gift Fair is thrilled to launch its Future Star Award. This award celebrates newcomers with exceptional potential to the UK Gift industry.
This award will provide a launchpad for talented entrepreneurs to show off their wonderful products in way they might not otherwise have the opportunity to.
This year, we were spoilt for choice so two wonderful companies have been selected, it was just too hard to pick one! The Gift Fair Future Star awards go to Cheeky Legends www.arrthi.com for their colourful and cheeky greetings cards and Little Roglets www.littleroglets.com for their beautifully painted animal collection.
Cheeky Legends was created by Arrthi Little, a cartoonist based in Hampshire creating entertaining characters in her signature style 'Cute, Chubby, Cheeky'.
Posted: 4 September 2024
The Gift Fair is an online gift tradeshow, set to take place from January 8th- February 28th, 2025.
Organised by Fabian Santoro and his team, this exciting platform hosts trade shows that work around you not the other way around. The platform is not like anything you've seen before – it's not a website, directory or meeting scheduler. Every aspect is designed to make trade shows faster, cheaper, easier and better. You can speak to real people in real time via instant messaging, video chat, exchange business cards and much more.
You can find established brands like Professor Puzzle, LifeCharms and Swing Cards as well as the hottest newcomers like Cosmic Cuties and BangoBerry.
Posted: 2 September 2024
Autumn Fair, retail's leading seasonal showcase for Home, Gift and Fashion, opened today and saw thousands of buyers walking the aisles looking to discover the latest products and hidden gems for their stores.
The four-day show is the key seasonal buying event for many independent businesses across the UK to refresh their store and stock up shelves in time for the festive period, and reports from a busy first day indicate positivity, plenty of order writing, and highlighted the importance of seeing products and people in person.
A huge variety of big name retailers, department stores, garden centres, activity centres and independent retailers attended including Tesco, Poundland, Elphicks, Blue Diamond, NHS, Willows Activity Far, Willowbrook Garden Centre, Blue Tiger, Leonards Hardware and Island jewellers.
Posted: 2 September 2024
This Sunday, the NEC Birmingham will come alive with the return of Autumn Fair, the UK's largest seasonal showcase for Home, Gift & Fashion. Running from 1st to 4th September 2024, this year's event promises to be a hub of inspiration and opportunity, with over 800 suppliers presenting more than half a million products. With 30 per cent of brands exhibiting exclusively at Autumn Fair, it's the ultimate destination for retailers looking to discover the latest trends and stock their shelves ahead of the festive season.
Posted: 29 August 2024
