Gift Focus inc Attire Accessories - November/December 2020

17 NEWS & EVENTS Hale Events post pones 2020 Exeter West point Christmas Shopping Fayre Show organisers Hale Events have announced the cancellation of this year’s Christmas Shopping Fayre due to COVID-19. Due to take place at the end of November, next year’s dates have now been confirmed, with the Fayre running at Westpoint, Exeter, from the 26 th – 28 th November, 2021. Mike Anderson, Hale Events MD said, “We are very disappointed not to hold the Fayre in 2020, especially as it would have been its 25 th anniversary! Government guidelines, and our own risk assessments will not allow the numbers of people to be in the hall that are needed to make this event a success, and it is impossible to know when and if these rules will be relaxed, and by how much. “We cannot imagine 6,000+ people in the event hall each day and we do not want to either dilute the experience for all the fantastic shoppers who fill the aisles of the Fayre each year with less exhibitors, or limit the numbers of visitors, which will reduce sales opportunities for all the stall holders. “We’re working hard on next year’s Fayre already, when we can hold it as it should be, and we’ll just have to celebrate its anniversary in 2021 instead!” Every year The Christmas Shopping Fayre sees three days of festive shopping, with hundreds of exhibitors all under one huge roof. An incredibly diverse range of exhibitors come from far and wide to take part. They transform Westpoint into an Aladdin’s cave of wonderful gift ideas and essential Christmas items. Hale Events is taking stand bookings for 2021 now and you can express interest in exhibiting via www.christmasshoppingfayre. com, by emailing hello@christmasshoppingfayre.com, or by calling +44 (0)1934 733 433 . Stationery Awards 2020 winners revealed The Stationery Awards 2020 winners have been revealed, with suppliers and retailers across the industry being rewarded. The awards are organised by London Stationery Show and Stationery Matters to recognise and benchmark good practice and innovation in the stationery sector. This year saw the introduction of new regional Retailer Awards and a Rising Star Award to run alongside the Product Awards, and over 350 entries were received. The awards were judged by a host of industry experts including senior stationery buyers from WH Smith, John Lewis & Partners and the National Trust to name just a few. Award sponsors Craft Business and The Giftware Association, as well as leading suppliers, were also invited to judge. Product award winners The Product Awards were open to all manufacturers and suppliers and as always attracted a large number of entries. The winners are a perfect mix of new products from established, well-loved brands such as the Clipbook Creative Kit from Filofax, and exciting newcomers including Belgian designer, Lily Samii, with her beautiful journal, The Gratitude List®. Retail award winners New regional retailer categories were added for 2020 in a move to make the awards more accessible and encourage entries from across the country. This led to the very first winners from the north and the midlands, Stationery Supplies in Marple and Artcadia in Shrewsbury. Rising Star award winner A new Rising Star Award was introduced to the Stationery Awards 2020 to recognise someone for their work in the stationery industry. The award is for an individual who demonstrates their passion for their business and products, as well as showing creativity, innovation and commitment to their role. The winner, Marc Sach, received high praise from all the judges for his dedication and hard work in single-handedly making his brand Fuzzballs, which started life as a web comic in 2013, a success. The judges said of Marc, “Dedication, determination and hard work have paid off for Marc and his brand is obviously loved by many! A worthy winner - well done!” “Great branding, great story and great products. Really tough market to break into and stand out, and he is on course to do this.” All the winning entries can be viewed on the Stationery Awards website: www.stationeryawards.co.uk/winners  WALES SPRING FAIR CHANGES DATES TO APRIL; CELEBRATES 42 YEARS IN 2021 The Wales Spring Fair will celebrate its 42 nd year in 2021 and it continues to grow from strength to strength, having firmly cemented its position as Wales’ premier home and gift show. This year saw an exciting first for the show when, taking on board the considerations of exhibitors and buyers, the duration changed to three days for the first time in the show’s history. With the move embraced by all, thanks to the time benefits of not being away from the office for too long, the move will remain in place going forward. The year ahead will see another change to the show, albeit only a temporary one. Taking into consideration the current COVID-19 pandemic, the decision has been made to move the show from the usual January dates to April. This means that the Wales Spring Fair 2021 will take place from Sunday 25 th to Tuesday 27 th April, 2021. Taking place in Venue Cymru, situated in the heart of North Wales, Llandudno is a beautiful Victorian town that plays host to the Wales Spring Fair every January. The move from these usual dates is another first in the show’s history, having never deviated from the beginning of the year before. The decision was not made lightly but, with the pressures of the pandemic now entering a second wave, there is hope that by moving it to April will mean there are fewer restrictions in place by then. The April dates will fall nicely between the Easter break and the May bank holidays, ahead of the busy summer and autumn seasons. Many existing exhibitors will return in 2021 including Pretty Beautiful, Cadwyn, An Unexpected Artist, Max Rocks, Vanilla Jewellery and Draenog – to name just a few. New additions to the show include Mwnci, Betibabs Designs, Celtic Treasure, Hayley Doroshenko, Coed Y Ddraig and Cwt Gafr meaning that all systems are go for the 42 nd year of the Wales Spring Fair. For more information on the Wales Spring Fair please visit www.walesspring.co.uk, w ww.facebook.com/walesspringfair, www.instagram.com/wales.springfair or contact: walesspringfair@venuecymru.co.uk or +44 (0)1492 879 771 .