Craft Focus - April/May 2020 (Issue 78)

44 THE CRAFTY KIT COMPANY “The Crafty Kit Company has attended CHSI Stitches every year since 2012,” comments managing director Jo Lochhead. “It was the first trade show that we ever attended, having only developed a range of products two weeks beforehand. That show turned out to be the most amazing launchpad for us, and Stitches continues to be our most successful show of the year in terms of volume and value of orders, insights and inspiration. It was at Stitches that I first met the Cath Kidston buyers many years ago, and went on to design several craft kits for the brand. “At the most recent show, I met up with the John Lewis buyers who shared valuable insights into crafting trends and the types of products that they were looking to source later in the year. Stitches is the one retail show where we will be guaranteed to come face to face with our ideal customer. As a business, we’re very focused on who we are marketing to and this person can sometimes be hard to spot at some of the other shows. “On a personal level, as someone who grew up on a diet of knitting, crochet and tapestry, Stitches is pure indulgence! It showcases a wonderful range of inspiring products and materials, and I always come away from the show with my head absolutely bursting with ideas!” +44 (0)1620 860 907 craftykitcompany.co.uk V iridian “Stitches 2020 was an incredibly successful event for us, despite the weather we cleared most of the Opal yarn that we launched at the show, which is unheard of.” Comments David Husbands, director of Viridian. “We also showcased for the first time our UK exclusive KnitPro Zing 25cm fixed circulars which proved a roaring success.” +44 (0)1173 005 244 viridianyarn.com MOUSELOFT Mouseloft’s Roger Hart comments on the show, “Many of our existing account customers stayed away and put their orders in after the show (probably due to storm Dennis). Despite this, though, we had a good show, renewing existing contacts and making many new ones. “The new designs in our Stitchlets and Paw Prints ranges were a great hit and we had a good take up of our ‘Make Me for Springtime’ range.” +44 (0)1477 533 566 mouseloft.co.uk