Craft Focus - Page number 24 - October/November 2021 (Issue 87)

24 BCTF Online 2021 Delivers for Makers BCTF Online 2021, which ran from 27 th June-1 st July, welcomed close to 1,000 verified retail trade buyers to the five-day digital event, plus hours of unique content from an expert line-up of speakers. The event attracted 888 buyers in total, who viewed thousands of catalogue pages and images, watched hundreds of videos and created hundreds of favourites during the show. This resulted in an extremely busy show with exhibitors receiving instant alerts whenever an action was taken by visitors to their profile page. The BCTF Awards tradition was proudly kept alive with the 2021 winners announced on the final day of the online exhibition. With exhibitors able to link all their images directly back to their own e-commerce sites, BCTF Online delivered exceptional SEO benefits in an age where companies need to use every possible tactic to drive traffic to their websites and generate vital online sales. The event also featured a valuable content programme, with speakers from The Giftware Association, National Association of Jewellers, ACID, Design Trust and Design Nation sharing their expertise throughout the event. Many exhibitors reported that trade orders were placed during the show, which was a welcome boon to everyone, but especially to those who’d experienced a worrying slow-down in trade over the lockdown period. Event organiser, Matt Miller of Kerrison Exhibitions, said: “The online events launched by BCTF during the pandemic have provided a vital platform for British designer-makers to continue trading under very difficult market conditions. Our digital events have also widened the scope and reach of the show in terms of both exhibitors and the retail audience, offering a great complement to our physical exhibition, which will make an extremely welcome return in April 2022”. The next edition of the British Craft Trade Fair will be a live show taking place at the Yorkshire Event Centre in Harrogate from 10 th - 12 th April, 2022. For more information and to register for BCTF 2022 visit the website: https://bctf.co.uk/ CHSI Stitches announces new 2022 dates CHSI Stitches, the leading trade event for the craft industry will run from 27 th -28 th February, 2022 at the NEC, Birmingham, following its postponement from September. The organisers of the show have confirmed a line-up of leading retail experts and features to support creative industry businesses. Keynote speakers include Cate Trotter, one of the world’s top retail experts; Andrew Davis, business development, communication and marketing expert and Miya Knights, ranked one of the top retail technology influencers. These speakers and more will be providing essential insights and advice plus leading campfire sessions to give the opportunity for questions to be answered. The 2022 edition of CHSI Stitches will see a range of experts from outside of the craft sector providing their expert advice, insights and solutions to retail, technology and marketing challenges facing the creative industry. A series of networking events at the show will connect buyers and suppliers. There will be opportunities for visitors to participate in discussions with craft industry thought leaders. The new 2022 dates will better facilitate face-to-face networking and enable European exhibitors to attend the event. The show will take place over two days, allowing business to be conducted between suppliers and buyers with a focus on networking with industry peers. CHSI Stitches brings together the creative craft industry for informative and thought- provoking educational content, access to the new products and unmissable business seminars. Steve Mitchell, Event Director said: “We’re incredibly proud of the speaker programme that we’ve lined up. We want to provide our industry with the opportunity to learn from our expert speakers and empower visitors to use the best practice advice to grow their businesses.” Now an important annual reflection of the industry, results of The Craft Report will be revealed at the show. This year’s report will reveal new trends from the last 18 months which has seen the popularity of crafting surge. For more information visit www.chsi.co.uk. To discuss exhibiting options contact Steve Mitchell on +44 (0)1425 460 811 or email stevem@ichf.co.uk