SPRING FAIR WANTS YOUR STORIES! Spring Fair, the UK’s largest home, gift, fashion trade show which celebrates its 75th anniversary on the 2nd – 5th February 2025 at NEC Birmingham, needs your help to bring together a Hall of Fame compilation of nostalgic memories, pictures and great stories from the show’s 75-year history. The Hall of Fame will be brought to life at Spring Fair, offering the show’s community the chance to reminisce and remember seven decades of its history as well as a snapshot of memorable past events and current affairs between 1950 - 2024. The show’s timeline, a large digital screen of pictures and stories, and a selfie wall to capture the industry’s biggest trade show gathering in 2025, will create a celebration of retail’s past and present. Were you an exhibitor or visitor in the 1950’s, 1960’s, 1970’s, 1980’s, 1990’s, 2000’s…? Do you have any memorable stories or pictures to share? Were you at the show in 1975 when Queen Elizabeth opened it at the NEC? Do you have any great then & now pictures from the show or of your stands? Can you chart any memorable moments at the show that stick in your mind or defined your business? Did you make new connections with brands or retailers that you still work with today? What were the highlight product launches over the decades? Are any products that became best-sellers still available today and how have they evolved over the decades? Are you also celebrating a big anniversary in 2025? If so, Spring Fair would love to hear from you. Please send your memories and pictures to Reka Rasko at reka.rasko@hyve. group to be considered. Soraya Gadelrab, Event Director of Spring Fair says: “This milestone event will bring the retail community together – to celebrate the past, present and future of retailing and put the spotlight on the people and businesses who have made Spring Fair a part of their retailing journey. We would love to receive all your memorable memories and pictures, and we will create a place where the community can take a nostalgic look back on the years gone by. I can’t wait to see pictures from the past and hear your stories.” Spring Fair’s 75th edition runs from 2nd – 5th February 2025 at NEC Birmingham. Visit www.springfair.com for more information. Walk the coastal path at Giving & Living With its prime location at Westpoint in Exeter, Giving & Living is renowned for being the leading show in the UK for coastal gifts and souvenirs, unique on the exhibition circuit for its dedicated Coastal Path. This makes it an essential show for retail and hospitality businesses that are located close to tourist hotspots and want to fully tap into the tourist trade in those areas. Whether it’s puffin art prints or seascape greetings cards, seashell jewellery, driftwood sculptures or souvenirs, the Coastal Path at Giving & Living will reveal a treasure trove of brands and products, many of which are unique to the show, due to run from Sunday 12th - Tuesday 14th January. Of course, the wider show is as varied as the beautiful British landscape and our incredible towns and cities. Whilst the Coastal Path is a major theme of Giving & Living, complementing this unique product trail is a strong countryside focus which taps into the show’s audience of garden centres, farm shops, heritage centres and other rural tourist destinations. Cathedral towns, city museums and souvenir shops are also well served by the versatile and eclectic mix of exhibitors who understand local markets and different consumer demographics. Mike Anderson, Managing Director of show organiser, Hale Events, says: “Our unique location close to the beautiful coast at Exmouth means the Coastal Path at Giving & Living is one of our most crucial show sectors. This special focus attracts an eclectic mix of buyers, with many visitors from the hospitality trade attending the show alongside our vital independent retail audience. “We also want to show people that the coast in general, and particularly in the South West, is about more than just beach life. It also taps into a wide range of outdoor and indoor activities, from hiking and bird-spotting to surfing and cycling, as well as offering countless heritage opportunities; visits to stately homes, museums and castles, show gardens and historic piers. This is especially true during seasons when the weather is less than ideal, which we’re well used to in Britain!” With so many exhibitors who are exclusive to Giving & Living, it isn’t just buyers based in the South West who can benefit from paying a visit to this very special show. The Celtic heartlands of Wales and tourist hotspots all along the south coast of England will also find plenty to love, whilst visitors from further afield can look forward to discovering brands and products that they won’t find at any other show. If you’ve never been to Giving & Living before, 2025 might be the year you realise what you’ve been missing! Attendance is free for trade buyers. Applications to exhibit at Giving & Living are still open and you can find out more information by calling T: +44 (0)1934 733 433, emailing mail@hale-events.com or visiting the website at www.givingliving.co.uk. 15 NEWS & EVENTS
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTA0NTE=