Gift Focus inc Attire Accessories - Page number 15 - July/August 2021

15 NEWS & EVENTS AUTUMN FAIR TO RETURN IN SEPTEMBER 2021 ALONGSIDE MODA Hyve Group is delighted to announce that Autumn Fair will return to the NEC Birmingham from 5-8 September, 2021. Following their Refuelling Retail manifesto, Autumn Fair will be designed to reinvigorate the industry, providing the essential networking and product inspiration that we have all missed during this time apart. Bringing an even more exciting proposition to the halls of the NEC Birmingham, Autumn Fair will be co-located with Hyve Group’s fashion trade show Moda. Situated alongside Jewellery & Watch and Fashion (JWF), Moda’s co-location will provide even more crossover buying and selling opportunities, creating a definitive fashion destination within the UK’s leading home, gift and lifestyle trade show. Working in line with Hyve Group’s Safe and Secure guidelines, Autumn Fair will provide a space for Covid- safe trading, networking, inspiration and more, as the retail industry gets back up and running. Autumn Fair promises to provide a compelling line- up of exhibitors. Already signed up are such names as Hawthorn Handmade, Joe Davies, The Art File, The English Soap Company, Kidicraft, Dcuk, Kikkerland, Ashleigh & Burwood, East of India, Paper Salad, Rush Design, Hill Interiors, Pacific Lifestyle, Ultimate Products, Rex International, Richard Lang & Son, Korbond Group, Price’s Patent Candles and many more. New exhibitors on the line up include: Willsow, Chalk UK, Bachmann Europe, Peony & Pine, Emotional Rescue Scream Pretty, Brands Ltd, Emily Victoria Candles and Rainbow Design. Visitors and exhibitors can visit the Autumn Fair website to find out how to register their interest or apply for a stand. Visit www.autumnfair.com h+h Cologne @home deemed a success The digital version of h+h cologne @home came to a close with very good overall results which led to contented faces among all of the participants. The level of internationality was also worthy of a leading trade fair: more than 3,500 participants from more than 70 countries ensured a lively exchange on all three days of the trade fair in the scope of numerous chats as well as audio and video calls. The mood among the approximate 100 companies from 29 countries, who took part was correspondingly good. They particularly praised the professional quality and the trade visitors’ great interest in personal discussions. Hence, the chief operating officer of Koelnmesse, Oliver Frese, considered this to be confirmation of the digitalisation strategy of the trade fair: “h+h cologne @home underlined how much potential our digital event platform holds. Both the companies and the trade visitors recognised these opportunities and made intensive use of them. Our customers won’t have to do without this additional digital offer in future either.” Hedi Ehlen, executive director of Initiative Handarbeit was also impressed with the outcome of the trade fair: “Everything that was offered on the platform over these three days was simply fantastic!” The huge interest shown in the event programme of h+h cologne @home demonstrates how important the intense mutual exchange is not only for the companies, but also for the entire community. Some 40 speakers ensured full seminars and an active participation on the stage and in the virtual workshop rooms on all three days. The streams from the stage, but also the product presentations of the exhibiting companies regularly attracted interested viewers, who particularly took extensive advantage of the opportunity to chat live and pose questions. And the popular workshops that sold out very quickly also met with an excellent response. Indeed, significantly more tickets were sold for some of them online than would have been possible on-site due to lacking space. This digital enhancement is also an option for the future. The next h+h cologne is scheduled to take place from 18-20 March, 2022. For further information, visit www.hh-cologne.com Home & Gift goes ahead in 2021; co-locates with Manchester Furniture Show Home & Gift Buyers’ Festival organiser Clarion Events has confirmed the show will be going ahead as planned on 18-21 July 2021), across the Harrogate Convention Centre (HCC) and grounds of the DoubleTree by Hilton Harrogate, and will be strengthened by the co-location of its sister show Manchester Furniture Show. The combination of the shows brings together over 70 brands, and over 5,000 specialist furniture and interiors buyers to help celebrate Home & Gift’s 60 th Anniversary. The show will offer the retail industry the first and largest in-person opportunity for buyers and brands to unite and do business in over a year. Exhibiting brands are eager to return to in-person trade, with many saying they are ready and willing as soon as the opportunity presents itself. Echoing the same sentiment, 87% of buyers said they would attend the physical show in July. Neil Thomson, owner of independent Harrogate shop Inger & Rae said, “It’s really important to catch up with existing suppliers and meet potential new ones. Of course some of this can be done online, but it is no substitute to actually meeting with people, seeing and handling the goods and building trust. We can’t wait!” Show director Russell Rule said, “We are delighted to be able to run Home & Gift as planned this summer, co-located with Manchester Furniture Show, as we know that the industry has been waiting a long time for this opportunity to meet, network and do business at everyone’s favourite summer show.” With safety remaining paramount, Abigail Quesnel, senior operations manager added: “Safety is our priority, and we are working closely with the Association of Event Organisers (AEO), which is liaising with the government directly on live event guidelines to ensure the best possible experience for exhibitors and visitors alike.” Russell adds, “We can’t wait to welcome the industry back to live events, and in the meantime we look forward to sharing our fresh modern look and our new digital launch, REVEAL, very soon.” Visit www.homeandgift.co.uk