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Industry News
On The Eco Trail Top Drawer Ups Its Eco Focus The Giftware Association’s chairman Jeremy Corner (and managing director of Blue Eyed Sun) will be curating this year’s eco trail at Top Drawer, which takes place at London’s Olympia from September 8-10. “I’m honoured to be curating the eco-trail at Top Drawer which is made up from an exceptional group of suppliers that are leading the way in facilitating this important shift in consumer behaviour,” comments Jeremy. “The world is rapidly waking up to environmental concerns and the need to consume more consciously. Retailers, suppliers and supply chains are vital to this change, both in the actions they take and the way they share their stories to spread the word. I respect Top Drawer’s decision to recognise and support brands taking action in regards to sustainability. It is certainly reflective of the steps needed to be taken by the industry as a whole.” Blue Eyed Sun will be exhibiting at Top Drawer on stand P31. Visit www.topdrawer.co.uk Above: Top Drawer eco trail exhibitor Bear Essentials’ handcrafted wooden sunglasses and wooden watches. Left: Eco trail curator Jeremy Corner.
DesignTalk Debuts At Top Drawer Autumn Following its successful January debut, Top Drawer’s DesignTalk - a dedicated seminar stream for interior professionals and design-led retailers - will debut at the show in September, presenting specialist advice, trend analysis and discussion from leading interior designers. The seminar programme will complement the popular RetailFest programme. In addition, MR. and the MR. Lifestyle product trail will be making their debut at the show, having successfully launched at Top Drawer January. Other show highlights include Pulse, co-locating with both Top Drawer and Spotted for the first time, which will be turning the spotlight on emerging talent and new brands. Returning meanwhile, will be the PaperAwards (see right) and the Spotted Award highlighting industry innovation and trends. In all, ten curated sectors - Home, Gift, Fashion, Greetings & Stationery, Play, Pulse & Spotted, Craft, Food Emporium, as well as the brand new Retail Clinics - will enable visitors to discover the latest trends and gain expert advice. “Top Drawer has always been at the forefront of industry trends and cutting-edge content,” states show director Alejandra Campos. “The co-location with Pulse, which is known for presenting the next wave of design talent, makes for the perfect complement to our existing offering. With the amalgamation of the two shows, visitors will have the ability to explore the largest presentation of commercially-ready emerging brands and design, as well as the industry’s bigger, more established names.” Top Drawer will be taking place at Olympia from September 8-10. Visit www.topdrawer.co.uk Above: Men will have a big focus at Top Drawer in September, with the Men’s Society among the exhibitors. Left: Top Drawer’s show director Alejandra Campos.
Down Memory Lane Currently celebrating the company’s 30th anniversary, Arran Aromatics founder, Janet Russell, has been interviewed for a special Channel 5 documentary, where she will be speaking about Arran Aromatics’ heritage. The programme will be shown later this year focusing on a behind-thescenes look at how the company started and how it has evolved.
Top Drawer’s PaperAwards Up The Ante The winners of Top Drawer’s PaperAwards will be announced prior to the show which takes place from September 8-10 at London’s Olympia. The categories are Best Stationery Design, Exciting Use of Colour, Emotive Design and Engaging Print, with seven finalists in each category - one more than previous years - due to the calibre of entries that impressed the judges. Commented Top Drawer show director Alejandra Campos: “The entries this season were some of our most exciting yet and I’m thrilled for retailers to see the exciting Greetings & Stationery offer at the show this September.” Retailers are currently being asked to vote for their favourite entries by visiting the Top Drawer website www.topdrawer.co.uk Each winner will receive a prize worth more than £1,000. Above: Alphablots have been shortlisted in the Exciting Use of Colour category.
Double Triumph Gift retailer MOOCH, which has a shop on St Giles Street in Northampton, as well as newly opened stores in Olney and Towester, and a concession in Bell, triumphed at the recent Retas greeting card retailer awards in July, hot on the heels of having won The Greats Best Newcomer Midlands, North and Northern Ireland category in May. (See Mooching Around on pages 37-39). Other winners on the day included John Lewis, (winner of the Best Department Store Retailer of Greeting cards category) and Blue Diamond Group (winner of the Best Garden Centre Retailer of Greeting Cards category) which was also crowned Greeting Card Retailer of the Year. The event took on a ‘Frida Fiesta’ theme after the Mexican artist Frida Kahlo. Above: Rachel and Paul Roberts, co-owners of MOOCH, triumphed at The Retas Awards.
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