Craft Focus - Dec/Jan (Issue 76)

58 A new direction What prompted the decision to launch Crafter’s World? Having launched a couple of trade exhibitions in my events career, I have learnt to read market conditions and retail circumstances. The groundwork for the decision to establish Crafters’ World came from a lot of conversations with potential exhibitors who no longer wanted to use trade shows as a sales and marketing tool. Many told me that the internet was a lower cost, easier solution, while the lack of return on investment compared to the effort required to exhibit was another common response. However, my wider experience of events across the UK showed me that highly focused targeted trade events are thriving! So, with that in mind I spoke with a few exhibitors and their response was in complete agreement with my instincts. How long has the show been in the pipeline? The show hasn’t been long in a formal pipeline – I would say the serious planning began in June 2019. Finding a venue, agreeing a date, compiling a format and then getting my business partners to agree to the launch has made it a busy six months. Fortunately, all the experience, contacts and skills required can be found in the team at We Do Your Do. How will the show differ from other exhibitions? We have taken the view that the show will be a complete break from all that has gone before – a new venue, a different time of year, a shorter duration, a vetted audience and an education-led experience with greater return on investment for exhibitors. As I mentioned before, targeted trade shows in retail are doing very well in the UK. These events face the same high street and digital challenges as the UK’s creative craft market and have evolved to work with this changed environment. You’ve chosen to run the event in early autumn – why? A lot of thought and angst went into this decision. The golden quarter for retail still holds true with UK shopping habits. Autumn is the creative craft sector’s busiest period, but the internet and vastly improved delivery logistics mean it’s no longer necessary to place orders half a year in advance. Retailers don’t need to put hard-earned cash into stock that won’t be sold until the end of the year. There are also some very big shows in Germany in spring and quite frankly, there is no point competing with them. A trade show at the very beginning of autumn gives retailers a chance to brush up on what the market is doing, place orders and come away with information that will make this important season better than it has ever been before. Tell me a little about the venue. Ricoh Arena in Coventry is very easy to get to. It’s at the heart of the motorway network and on the West Coast trainline. It is large enough to accommodate a single trade show, has free parking and its own hotel. The staff are all about friendly customer service, which makes organising, exhibiting and visiting very easy. I have to confess that I was head of sales at Ricoh 10 years ago and it was a joy to work there. A lot of my ex-colleagues are still there, so I know Crafters’ World will be extremely well-looked-after. The industry has changed enormously in recent years – do you think there’s strong appetite for a new show like Crafters’ World? The short answer is yes. When a business like Groves decides to be the first to book Launching in 2020, Crafters’ World promises to shake up the show circuit for the UK’s creative industry. Organiser Dominic Fleming from We Do Your Do tells Andrea Ashfield why suppliers and retailers can’t afford to miss out CRAFTERS’ WORLD 6 th -7 th September Ricoh Arena, Coventry craftersworldshow.co.uk “When a business like Gr oves decides to be the f irst to book a stand, you know the market is ready to change.”