Trade Fairs

Well they are interesting aren't they? The most interesting factor was how many people I already knew. I didn't realise how much I had been getting about recently. It was lovely to catch up with you all. I also got to meet new people, which was great. There are a lot of people trying to do a lot of interesting things in craft right now. I hope they are all successful.

I nearly had a significant purchasing accident. There was a stand there for the sock wool I really like. I want more of most of the ranges, and they had a special deal if you bought 50 balls. Yes I really do like it that much. I decided that honesty was the best policy though and asked them about more sensible ways to buy wool. They were very helpful and quite happy to try and win even a little customer. It was really heart warming, and guess what, I will go out of my way to keep buying their product.

There were a lot of traders who assumed you weren't a real business customer. This is a sure way to lose my business. I want to be in a position to sell things like wadding and wide backings to my customers, I am happy to meet their minimum order requirements so I would say I am a valid customer. If they don;t want my money I will take it elsewhere. I was also disappointed by the wholesale cost of some fabrics. Our wholesale prices before VAT are more than the retail prices from the USA. It is cheaper for me to buy from retailers in America, pay shipping and taxes. Sadly that will be how I do it. I can't afford to subsidise the whole UK fabric trade. I will obviously continue to support my local quilt shops though, what would I do if I couldn't get my emergency fabric fixes. So next time you go shopping here and are upset about the cost, please be assured it isn't the shops making a huge profit. In fact I would say their prices are remarkable reasonable given what they are working with.

I also came away with a lot of new ideas. There are materials I want to play with, and new designs to refine. It has been a very valuable day and will be trying to get to this event again.