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Anonymous

Organisation

Sales

Communication

Atmosphere

well over priced, bad organisers, tacky and damaged stands, won’t be exhibiting with them again.
3 years ago
Norman Yap

Organisation

Sales

Communication

Atmosphere

This is my 3rd year of showing at this high end craft show (definitely not a fair). The location and the impressive marketing programme, the high quality of sets, stalls, equipment, lighting and organisation does mean a higher-than-usual price but I think it’s very good value for money. The customers that come are wealthy and knowledgeable, the other visitors include collectors, gallery owners, academic institutions and buyers from high end shops. I would ignore Joe Bloggs’ post about bad organisers and damaged stands, the large number of very satisfied exhibitors who want to return year after year is testament to the quality of this show. Most exhibitors do not understand the complexity of organising such a high end show and are used to fairs, this may cause confusion to arise as to expectations and how to present yourself to a very discriminating and intelligent audience. Those who do respond with their very best work, a positive attitude and an ability to interact with all sorts of visitors are rewarded with sales, commissions and opportunities that ordinary craft fairs may not offer to the exhibitors.
3 years ago
Nico Villeneuve

Organisation

Sales

Communication

Atmosphere

First time exhibiting at this 3 year old show. Disappointing visitor numbers and results, apparently both down from the show last year. Exhibiting high-end bespoke furniture, not enough of my type of wealthy clients. The few leads made normally take several months to come through to discussions, and so unable to give total overview of how good it was for me. Organisation good, with clarity of layout and design let down by too many messy-looking stands. I realise that my minimalist furniture lies at the design-led end of the craftsmanship spectrum, but found the show lacking in buzz, particularly the private view that I hoped would attract a wider selection of the affluent local neighbourhood. Borderline as to whether I would exhibit again.
3 years ago
Rob Jones

Organisation

Sales

Communication

Atmosphere

his was my first time exhibitng with Handmade (I was selected to be in Dan Goode’s “Curated by” section). Having visited the show last year and from talking to regular exhibitors its clear that visitor numbers were down on last year. Whether this is due to Brexit or world affairs is anyone’s guess but it did make it more difficult to sell. I had a small stand and was exhibiting my lighting collection which is never an impulse purchase. I was not expecting to make a lot of sales at the event and that proved to be the case. I will reserve judgement about the success of it as I see what comes back over the next few months. I did feel that I did not make as many contacts as I would like but it is often hard to tell at these things who just notes you in passing. Having said that I’ve already been approached by the Royal Horticultural Society to exhibit at Chatsworth Flowe Show next year and have a possible lead to sell in a specialist lighting retailer so plenty of hope. As an exercise in learning about how to present my brand in a shell scheme and how to talk to prospects about my work I’m happy to say it ticked all the boxes. I would consider exhibiting again next year but will reserve judgement until I’ve reviewed the next few months and the opportunities that come with it. I would not say I’ve been impressed with Full Circle as they mismanaged provision of panels to paint my stand. Having said that, Priyush, who runs Handmade, very quickly sorted this out for me.
3 years ago
Stephie

Organisation

Sales

Communication

Atmosphere

Really stunning show, great quality products and beautifully curated by the Handmade in Britain team. It was my third time exhibiting at the show, each year I have improved sales, gained new customers and met with previous customers. I have a range of price points with an entry level product for £10 – this helps sales, cashflow and expands my customer base. Some customers love the design and want to buy into the brand but do not want my more expensive pieces which retail at £100+. My success at the show is down to my variety of price points as well as a strong brand story and positive sales pitch. It is a full on show and can be mentally and physically exhausting – my only drawback. I will be signing up to exhibit next year.
3 years ago
Anonymous

Organisation

Sales

Communication

Atmosphere

Clean stands, smart electrics and good lighting & heating… BUT not enough wealthy visitors (far too many ‘its lovely but over my budget’ comments), terrible security (from set up though the show to pack down I was only asked to show my badge once!?) and a few of the stands were of questionable quality. I thought the signage on site was totally lacking.. where were the signs elsewhere in the gardens to point people towards the event? Not to mention in the local area. Really disappointed in the complete lack of social media coverage for the event. The coffee was massively overpriced for exhibitors. After spending such a large amount on the stand fee, with no guarantee of making sales, I think half price coffee for exhibitors wouldn’t go a miss!
3 years ago
wesley_rosie

Organisation

Sales

Communication

Atmosphere

I exhibited at this show with ArtsThread’s Emerging Makers stand, which was in a separate room off of the marquee, along with Craft Central’s selected makers. This was not a good location and I think the overall layout for the show would have been better if the makers were all under one tent, with the cafe facilities in the sectioned off space, rather than at the back among the stands. For makers with a smaller budget, I would recommend joining an organisation stand, however I suggest you inquire first as to where you may be placed at the show.

Having said this, as a first time exhibitor, I did reasonably well, making very good contacts for future shows and coming away with sales and a commission. Unfortunately, this did not quite cover my stand fees and for this reason I am currently apprehensive as to whether I will re-apply next year. I would like to review this after a few months to see if any further business is generated from my presence.

The overall advertisement for the show was impressive, although there could have been more of an online presence, and further signage or information provided by Kew Gardens would have been better.

The shell scheme was by far the best I have seen, with clean fabric covers and contractors on site to help with hiding electrical wires and re-positioning lights.

Loading and unloading bays are limited and the close-down of the show was very chaotic, due to only having 3 hours to pack away, but helpers and trolleys were around if you needed them.
Private exhibitor toilets and a large storage space for stock was provided, very close by to the marquee, although food and drink ‘deals’ for exhibitors only brought the prices down to match high street coffee shop prices and I personally would have liked to see a much more reduced rate for exhibitors.
3 years ago
Anonymous

Organisation

Sales

Communication

Atmosphere

Handmade at Kew is a premium high cost show. It is one of the most expensive shows for exhibitors. For this reason you can expect very high quality; the location, the building and it’s sets, stalls, equipment, lighting and all the accessories. These were all very good indeed, as were the security staff and organisation in general. Some things were less good. I heard a lot from visitors that the signage was not clear. I understand that Kew Gardens is an old institution and may be less flexible but signage is paramount to a good show, especially one that costs so much. Handmade at Kew is in it’s third year now, this issue should have been resolved before the event. I also heard a lot that the free ticket codes did not work online. I was surprised that Handmade at Kew didn’t send just 1 group email to all exhibitors to tell their contacts that the website was down but that they could bring their codes or equivalent email to the reception instead. – lazy. I also think that asking for feedback on a website such as this is lazy too. There is no structure, which means less people will respond (only 7 so far after a week). A better feedback form would be one that you could quantify and one that reveals the organisers own concerns and issues. For example one with specific questions that you can make comments on and rate as well. Can you imagine trying to evaluate or measure conclusions from the ramblings on here including my own?!

I was also surprised that Handmade at Britain Twitter account didn’t re tweet #handmadeatkew tweets until the week of the event – social media before the event is really important. Or perhaps they didn’t like my previous tweets about my exhibition ready work. In any case I’ve worked with lots of galleries and shows and this one tweeted much less about exhibitors. Perhaps there were too many exhibitors to accommodate online. If you looked online, Sculpt at Kew looked like an event prior to Handmade at Kew but they were actually running at the same time and they clashed in my opinion – too much to see and indeed tweet about. Also online it was not clear that a ticket to Handmade at Kew would get you into the gardens as well but a ticket to the gardens would not get you into Handmade at Kew.

This was my first Handmade at Kew show and I did not quite make the cost of my stand back. An unwelcome hit on my business. I thought it was my inexperience at high end shows but I discovered that everyone, (including some very seasoned exhibitors) on my row was struggling with sales. I had a lot of time to talk to them because there were not enough visitors coming by. Or maybe there were too many stands. It took a good 45 minutes for visitors to make their way up to the back end of the show where we were and they were often distracted by tea and coffee at the nearby café. There is only so much craft you can see after all. I think the tickets should have allowed entry on all days of the show because you would never see all the stands in one day. Or have less stands. Also access for visitors at the back would have been fairer on exhibitors showing there.

The Handmade at Kew Staff were not that easy to communicate with before the event and seemed rushed on sight, which is understandable but as an exhibitor or ‘customer’ of Handmade at Kew I expected more and I thought the customer service was poor because of this. I have had 1 enquiry since the show from an interior designer but other than that I did not meet any collectors, retail shop or gallery owners, or perhaps they did not say. I am pleased to say I have been part of a prestigious show and that will benefit my profile in the future but overall I am disappointed. Handmade at Kew invited me to join the show but I have come away unable to trust their judgement.
3 years ago
Malcolm

Organisation

Sales

Communication

Atmosphere

It was my third year exhibiting with Handmade at Kew and This year was my best year at the show with an increases on sales from last year and a decision to put more expensive work paid off. I did change my position in the Marquee this year and I did think that helped, However I sold well in the previous years too. Yes the foot fall was down this year but one has to remember that the economic situation is not helping us at the moment. We are in a very different economy than we were pre the Brexit vote. I found that the team are all very helpful and setting up and taking down the show went well as they have lots of Porters to help you move work to your transport. It is worth Tipping these guys as they remember you and will help on the way out.

I too would ignore Joe Blogs’s Comments as the organisers are very helpful and the stand was of the highest quality the cost of the stand includes light and a plug socket which other shows add on. So in reflection I think the cost of the stand is very fair as you know what you are paying for in advance. The Organisers also let you pay for the stand in instalments which I find very helpful. It is a very high end show and I think this year the quality was much better. I will certainly be exhibiting with them again. I did hear that a lot of people were unhappy with sales and footfall and I can understand that they may not come back because of that, but the standard of the show and the organisers is not to be faulted.
3 years ago
Maria Charlston

Organisation

Sales

Communication

Atmosphere

It is very hard to give this fair anything more than 2 stars. Everything was fairly good about Handmade at Kew except the main point which was sales!! All the bells and whistles in the world won’t make up for the lack of sales unfortunately. Too many exhibitors fell well short of sales to make a profit. I gathered that there were substantially more stands added this year than previous years and so the lesser number of customers and increase in stands made sales like pulling teeth . I would advise any future exhibitors to do the fair with their pieces starting at 120 pounds otherwise there is no point.
3 years ago
anonymous

Organisation

Sales

Communication

Atmosphere

Good experience but a bit hit and miss. I think the promoters could have done a better job at marketing because I didn’t see many posters about this event prior – also many who came there said the same
Thing.
Had a good Thursday and Friday but Saturday/Sunday people just came to «have a look” and not conscious buyers (in my opinion)

The organisers themselves were nice and I thought it was a decent event overall. I don’t know if I would do it again though, perhaps not
Quite my market.

Also the food provided was really nice but so expensive and
Such small dishes! none of the exhibitiors could afford the food here and there was no alternative! This was a big complaint from everyone!

I hope next time exhibitors will get a decent discount or alternative food options, and at least some tap water available ! (£8 for a tiny salad bowl and £1.50 for a 0.33l water is just ridiculous)
2 years ago
Katriina Seppala

Organisation

Sales

Communication

Atmosphere

Well organised but to few custemers found the fair this year.
2 years ago
Niki

Organisation

Sales

Communication

Atmosphere

Beautiful show, beautiful location. Some fabulous products made by talented designer makers. Customers are quality and although a lot of visitors come to look you do get those that spend. It’s my second year with Handmade at Kew and looking forward to exhibiting next year.

Set up and break down are organised very well with lots of bodies there to help carry heavy boxes. I read someones comment on bad display but I thought the stands were presented very well and professional.

Some lovely customers who really appreciate handmade.
2 years ago

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Handmade In Britain – Kew

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