Top Drawer AW23 - How I got on

In September this year (2023) I took my brand Western Sketch down to Kensington Olympia for the Autumn edition of Top Drawer.

Top Drawer is a premium design led trade show for the retail industry attracting buyers from around the world looking to stock their stores.

For me it was an opportunity to get my brand discovered and increase my independent stockists, many of whom are still with me from the last time I exhibited in 2021

Trade shows are notoriously expensive and it’s really difficult to know which ones to invest your time, money and effort into. The stand alone is a big investment and cost £533+VAT per Sq Metre this year (the rate has thankfully come down considerably for 2024)

How I got on?

This was my 2nd time doing this trade show. I’d had a really great experience the first time I was there and a good feeling it would be the same again, but I was also very worried it may not be.

I’d experienced a poor trade show the previous year at PG Live and it really knocked my confidence and gave me a bit of a wobble about doing them.

I know people often say it’s not just about the orders it’s about the contacts you make and getting your brand seen and I partly get that but IT IS also about getting the orders, without them it makes wholesale quite tricky and cash flow cease, especially when you are a small business starting out it can make or break you .

Set up is always fun and challenging but I felt a little more prepared of what to expect 2nd time around . The things that stress me out the most are the shelves.

I had an absolute disaster last year with my shelves falling off the wall (I’d used command strips to attach them)

This year I bought some small picture frame brackets that I attached to each shelf and I screwed these onto the wall. This is allowed at Top Drawer and you won’t be charged or made to make the wall good after removal (this is not always allowed at other trade-shows so it’s always best to ask the organisers)

I can’t tell you the sense of relief this gave me knowing I wasn’t going to be going in each morning wondering if my shelves were still up

I don’t paint my walls partly due to time and partly due to cost as I’d be paying for the organisers to do this for me, but it’s still something I always think could maybe elevate my stand a little more and I maybe would consider it for the future

Before I wrote this I asked my followers on Instagram if there was anything they would like to know or have any specific questions about Top Drawer

How did it differ from last time ?

The last time I did Top Drawer was in Autumn 2021 (2 years previously) it was my first ever trade show and I completely launched my wholesale from scratch.

I only had a couple of local stockists before I did this. So what was different for me was I felt more experienced, I had a better understanding of my best sellers, I knew my customers better, I had a bigger collections 150 greeting cards (double the size of 2 years ago) and new products Gift Wraps and Notebooks. And I was just a lot more confident in myself.

In terms of orders, it was almost exactly the same as before almost to the same value!

I took 16 orders overall, some came from existing stockists but mostly they were from new stockists, I had lots of interest and enquiries and I followed up with these after the show, which did result in some orders being placed (something I’d not experienced in previous shows).

I sent invitations to every contact I’d ever made through the shows, just under 100 postcards which amazingly I then got visitors who came to found me with their post card and placed an order. For me this was my proudest part of the show as it was really worthwhile spending the cost of a stamp to do this effective bit of marketing before hand.

What did you spend money on and wish you hadn’t and vice versa?

I tried to be really careful about how I spent my money for Top Drawer as the cost of the stand alone is enough to break the bank and it’s very easy to get carried away!

But I think I’d probably say my gift wrap stands were the thing I wasn’t happy with.

I bought two bamboo ladders from Homebase which were £25 each and they were not quite right for the job so I think next time I’d maybe try and make something myself that my neighbour Peggy and Kate had cleverly made for her gift wrap.

Other than that as mentioned earlier I always think what if I painted my stand and spent money on that but I don’t expect it would result in more orders so I think in hindsight I did the right thing to leave the paint this time and save some money..

Would you recommend the show for someone with not many stock items?

Yes I think it’s possible to make a beautiful and impactful display with few items and do really well and take orders.

I loved Atelier Augue she showed beautiful how it’s completely possible to do this her stand and products were so gorgeous and impactful from a handful of designs

How many Cards did you have in your range?

I have around 150 Greeting Cards in my range, it’s around double the amount I had to 2 years ago

I noticed that I was taking orders of higher value than my first trade show, probably because I had a wider selection to choose from, I also had added other product areas such as premium Gift Wrap and Notebooks.

How frequently would you suggest exhibiting ?

I think it probably depends on what is affordable.

Top Drawer runs twice a year so I guess exhibiting at both times of year, would increase your exposure and find more stockists or there are other trade shows to try.

For me I’ve sort of committed myself to try and do an annual Trade Show. Partly due to family commitments, my husband uses his holiday to take over the childcare for when I do the show. And partly due to cost as I’m still quite small and its uses quite a lot of any profits I’ve made that go into it.

Was it worth it? Would you go again?

I’ve rebooked my stand V14 for Top Drawer Autumn 2024

Yes I feel it is worth doing for me, as I’ve now experienced two good shows I felt more confident to book again for next year.