Craft Focus - Apr/May (Issue 66)

what the industry thought DIZZY & CREATIVE This was the first year at CHSI Stitches for Jay Hooper and Carol Kennedy of Dizzy & Creative. “The show went really well. The pre-show information was good and helped us to prepare well,” says Jay. “Customer feedback was fabulous and we received so many compliments about our work. The highlight was taking our first order!” dizzyandcreative.co.uk SOLOCRAFTS SoloCrafts unveiled a range of new lines at the exhibition. “The show was a good one for us, we had a huge number of new lines from across our brands including cross stitch, tapestry and Diamond Dotz,” says owner, Emma Strothers. “The highlight for us was meeting with a potential new brand looking for representation in the UK. It is early days, but we feel their products would make a great addition to our offering.” solocrafts.com CYGNET YARNS Cygnet launched its new Helter Skelter chunky yarn at this year’s show, and the product proved immediately popular. “We had one of our best years yet,” says Alexie Shackleton from the company. “There were so many new visitors, but it was great to witness lots of people coming back to Cygnet after seeing all the new products we have to offer. Our stand had a fairytale theme and we were thrilled with the feedback we received.” cygnetyarns.com HANTEX “We have been exhibiting at Stitches for 20 years,” says Paul Smith, director of Hantex. “Customers that visited our stand loved our products, and we enjoyed catching up with Andrea and Tracy from Craft Focus .” The company has a wide range of new launches available this spring; find out more in our Hantex profile on page 44 of this issue. hantex.co.uk HERITAGE CRAFTS Heritage Crafts launched a range of new designs from its Peter Underhill and Karen Carter collections at this year’s event. “We were delighted at the positive feelings and enthusiasm towards our products,” says Susan Ryder, managing director. “We came away with lots of new accounts, some of which are existing stores which are adding cross stitch to their offer, as well as many new shops that plan to specialise in the medium.” hcrafts.com 38 craftfocus