Despite the current cold snap, buyers were out in force this week at London’s Top Drawer, with exhibitors reporting a successful show.
“Top Drawer was our first big show since launching the company three years ago and it exceeded expectations,” said Kate Banks, founder of Coral and Mint. “I had some pre-show nerves but I needn’t have worried. We opened a huge number of new accounts and met some really interesting people, with everyday jewellery a top seller for us.”
FYG’s founder and managing director Demi Pendakis launched a brand new range, The Botanical collection. “It has that country living feel and is already proving very popular with garden centres,” highlighted Demi.
At Cotton & Grey, co-owner Claire Sowden reported that retailers were buying across the range. “We also had more bespoke orders, something that we are expanding.”
Explained Susan Mitchell, brand development manager at Mclaggan + Co: “It was our first time at Top Drawer for two years, and it was good to come down from Scotland to see existing customers as well as our customers in the South, as well as, of course, to meet new customers on the stand. As a company, we’ve been around for 50 years – we unveiled our new brand identity on the first day of the show – so it was lovely to see people discover us. We launched some new designs and products and saw lots of interest in our in house designs as well as in our licensed products.”
Highlighted Claire Davis, managing director of Bottle Soc: “We found that buyers were looking for new ideas at the show, and with no-one doing what we’re doing, it gave us an edge. We took orders on each of the days and made a lot of very good contacts.”
Added Julianne Moore, owner of MiMi, which has stores in Hartley Wintney and Wokingham: “There was a good cross-section of exhibitors at the show. We were looking for suppliers within the sectors that we work in, and it was good to see new companies such as Bramblewood Soaps,” with Bramblewood’s founder, Laura Cullen, commenting: “Top Drawer was my first trade show and it was amazing. It was great to meet and speak to so many retailers and to get their feedback.”
Greg Rose, co-owner of Maybugs, which has stores in Bexhill on Sea, Eastbourne and Hailsham, said that he found the show “very busy and lively. We noticed that a lot of people were trading, and buying rather than browsing. We were at the show to look for small, unique indie businesses rather than the bigger brands – the cherry rather than the cake – so we headed for UAL and Launchpad to discover the new talent and to some different products.”
Meanwhile three trends for 2024 were highlighted in the trends area of the show, created by The Better Trends Company. They were Sunset Haze (the feel of a Mediterranean escape), Have Your Cake (bold typography and hand drawn illustration) and Summer Solstice (influenced by eco awareness).
Top: Trend predictions for 2024 from The Better Trends Company.
