8th Feb, 10
So the CGTA Gift Show ended last Thursday and boy am I POOPED! Last day at the show is always tough, as lonely exhibitors keep busy by staring at each other and the clock. Tick tock tick tock waiting to tear down the booth…
I always get a giggle when I think of that song “What goes up, must come down”. The booth I put up five days ago must now be taken down. Ha-ha! Even worse, The Boy is at work on weekdays so I had to take everything down myself. Boo-urns!
People are asking me how the show went and I’m going to be honest. It was slow.
After I got over the whole self deprecating thing all creative types go through (the “It’s not you, it’s me” syndrome), I realized I can’t even get down on myself about it because it wasn’t that people didn’t like what I make, it was that there was no traffic!
I barely had a chance to show buyers what Smitten Kitten is all about ‘cos, well, there were no buyers around to show to. So in this instance I can safely say, It’s not me, it’s you.
The good thing about slow shows, I mean after you get over the initial shock, is that you get a lot of time to rethink, re-assess and look at the big picture. For five days, I had a lot of time to look around at how things could’ve been a bit better for all of us exhibitors, should things be run differently.
Here’s the trade show scenario right now in Toronto. There were three major shows going on last week:
The CGTA Gift Show - The mother of all trade shows boasts ten halls worth of exhibits. The Congress Center (where we were) is hall 6 through 10, and the International Center is halls 1-5. There is a 10 minute drive between these two locations with shuttle buses that come every half hour or so, to transport buyers back and forth.
The majority of Artisans (like myself) are in the “Artisans Way” in Congress Center located in Hall 10, with a smattering of artisans dispersed through the other halls. Artisans Way houses about 50 companies, large and small. It used to be in the International Center but moved over to Congress (in 2007 was it?).
Even though Artisans Way has moved over to the Congress, the “Showcase Canada” featured area, where made-in-Canada companies like myself would showcase our new products, stayed over at in the International Center. Buyers now would have to go over to the International Center, check out the featured area, remember everyone they liked and then come back over to Congress to find us.
Now if you know anything about the gigantic sized nature of this show, you know it’s hard enough to even look for a bathroom, let alone trying to find a booth in a different hall in a different building all together.
The By Hand Show - When I first started wholesaling, I did the By Hand Show. By Hand has about 100 exhibitors. It used to be located at the downtown Convention Center which is a 45 minute drive from the CGTA which means the rare, super-keen-on-crafts buyer, might take the time to come see us. This year, By Hand has relocated to the Sheraton Hotel, which is much closer to the CGTA.
By Hand shows used to be twice a year, but then switched to only once a year and now back to twice a year again (I think). Like myself, a lot of artisans who used to do By Hand Show have since moved on. The few artisans I’ve talked to seem peeved about the lack of traffic, poor choice in show locations (it used to piggy back with another show where Dollar stores go and buy their stock), and inconsistent scheduling of shows through the past few years.
The MODE Show - MODE is across the street from the Congress Center at the Doubletree Inn. It represents everything and everybody under the sun who make jewelry and accessories. The wait list to get into MODE is about two years I hear. It’s the only wholesale jewelry and accessories show in Canada.
The setup at MODE is a bit chaotic. There are smaller rooms in bigger halls, bigger rooms in smaller halls and some exhibitors along hallways of the hotel. I’ve been to the MODE as a buyer a few times years ago, and it’s super easy to get dazed and confused. MODE represents just fewer than 300 companies with about ?? of them who’s products are handmade and/or made in Canada. I’m not sure if all the Canadian companies are all in the same area. They did give props to Canadian makers in their newsletter but didn’t showcase them as a category on their website. I guess it’s something you have to look for once you’re at the show.
Here’s my question. Why are all the Canadian-made companies exhibiting ALL OVER THE PLACE?
At the very least, shouldn’t the individual show organizers (CGTA, BY Hand, MODE) be grouping the handmade categories together in the same building??
For example, let’s say I’m a store owner who carries Canadian made product. A lot of different categories like accessories, bath and body, home decor but all Canadian made. Do I really have to go to register at three different shows, sign into three different websites and mailing lists, and shuttle back and forth between ten different halls and locations to shop for my store?
Or let’s say I’m an artisan who hand makes my jewelry in Canada. Do I pick the Jewelry focused show or the Artisan focused show? Do I really have pay membership fees, wait on wait lists, pay for and exhibit at three different shows in different locations just to find the one right show for me? How many years will that take?!
As a small business, it’s tough enough to stay afloat in a difficult economy, let alone have the budget to try out one costly show after another. Think Goldilocks and the three bears. In the bears’ house, Goldilocks had to try one thing after another to find the perfect fit. This bed is too hard; this bed’s too soft… except now imagine that Goldilocks has to pay an upwards of $2000 every time she tried out a bed. I’m pretty sure she’d be out of pocket money quick quick.
I have talked to a few artisans that did well at each one of the three shows, but not nearly as many as the ones I have talked to who are not coming back. To the exhibitors who had a great show, I’m truly, sincerely happy for you. Way to go! Keep doing what you’re doing. Good for you for having found your perfectly comfy bed! Hang in there while the rest of us keep looking.
Why are there three organizations all offering up their own versions of the Artisan’s Way? 50 exhibitors here, 100 there, I mean there really aren’t so many of us that you can’t just put us all in one place. Shouldn’t there be that one no-brainer show for artisans to exhibit at and for buyers to attend? After all there’s strength in numbers right?
I mean look at the One Of A Kind Show. Twice a year, always the same location, great selection for all types of shoppers and all in one location, no need to get back in the car and go somewhere else.
Is it the lack of organization? Do they not see the problem? Or maybe it just doesn’t even register on their radar. For every small business that drops out because they can no longer shoulder the booth fee, another bright eyed and bushy tailed newbie is ready to fork over the money.
I truly believe there is a disconnect with the way these shows are set up. As a product designer you do that a lot. Look at something and try to think of ways to improve its design. Creative types are problem solvers by nature I guess.
The fragmented shopping environment for Canadian-made products makes individual companies weak. The discombobulated set up means companies are getting lost in the shuffle and buyers are getting fustrated.
The obvious answer is that we should all do the same show. Yes but which one? There’s not enough room at the CGTA for all of us, so maybe the CGTA should gracefully bow out of the Artisans Way game, and we can all do the By Hand Show. But can we trust the By Hand Show in the long run? I mean they’ve moved and moved again, they can’t decide how many shows to run each year. What if they decide to have no shows in Toronto at all one day? Then what??
I don’t have the answer, I couldn’t even decide whether or not I should’ve written this post! First of all, misinterpreted, this could come across as the ranting of a sour grape. It certainly is not my intention to play the blame game here. We had a slow show and that’s O.K. I mean we’re not bullet proof but it does happen once in a while, so we hope for the best and plan for the worse.
Second of all, should I admit to the world that I had a slow show? Would it deter potential storeowners from buying my product? Or discourage other small businesses who might have considered signing up for a show not to do one? I don’t know what the fall out may be from this post but it was more important to me to be honest than to walk on eggshells.
I don’t think this posting should deter a potential buyer. They, of all people, should know that slow sales happen to the best of us. Sometimes things are just beyond our control! It doesn’t make you weak; it helps you grow and makes you stronger. It gives you an opportunity to refocus, re-assess your game plan and move forward.
Oh and boy have we got plans I tell ya. Big plans for 2010! Moooowa-ha-ha-ha (insert evil laugh here).
As for other creative types who might be a bit shocked at the reality of the trade show circuit. They should know that being your own boss and running your own business is not all dandelions and unicorns (or as The Boy likes to call it “Dandy-corns and Uni-lions”), that the reality of it all can be quite yucky at times. I hope they learn not to be discouraged by having a bad showing, that it’s not always their fault and that we need to buck up and move on.
Which is exactly what I’m going to do right now! I’m going to buck up and move on… well after I hug my kitty and watch Ugly Betty… ooh and then Project Runway is on…
