SPRING FAIR 2004:
Today was the 2004 Spring Fair held at the NEC in Birmingham and we had a great day! Not only did we get inside information and a sneak peek at all the new products for Spring, but we also met some great people plus got some cool freebies! We left Kettering at about 7:30am and arrived at the NEC at about 9:00am after horrendous traffic all trying to get to the car parks in time for opening.
Read it all or click on the links below to go to your favourite collectibles:
Little Bundies - a great new range!
Lickle Ted - cute new teddy
Collectible World - Me To You Figurines
Gosh - BOTD, Creature Comforts and Tipi
Carte Blanche - Me To You Tatty Teddy
Depesche UK - Diddl and Friends
This picture shows just part of ONE of the fifteen halls open for the Spring Fair - Hall 5, Toys and Gifts. In the centre of the picture you can see Ty's huge heart balloon! This photo was taken from the top of the staircase, showing you the vast size of the halls!
After arriving and getting our passes sorted out, our first stop as usual was the Ty Europe stand. From the distance we could see that familiar Ty heart balloon drifting high above the sea of stands. Just below the balloon, signs showing a picture of the new UK exclusive that we all couldn’t wait to see! The Ty stand, in its usual place, had the same metal framework as past shows which, today, was not only decorated in classics and other Ty products, but also with British flags and photos of the exclusive bear. As we walked closer to the stand there was a sudden rush of excitement as we spotted the display of the new bear. Jack, the new UK exclusive, is white and covered in little Union Jacks with a clear nose, containing the image of the British flag. He celebrates his birthday on 14th June. The signs around the stand state that Jack is a show exclusive meaning that only retailers attending the Spring Fair will get the chance to order this bear. However we heard conflicting rumors that Jack will not be a show exclusive but there is very limited stock – only tyme will tell which of these is correct. On display there was all the new February releases plus a decorative pink tree with all the little Basket Beanies hanging on. We also heard that Baby Boy 2004 is out of stock and so soon after being introduced!
Normally our next stop would be Chubbley Ltd but unfortunately we could see no sign of them. I was really disappointed about not seeing Chubbleys as I haven’t yet seen last months introductions, let alone this months! Chubbleys don’t seem to be in the spotlight like they used to be.
After the Ty Stand, we wandered around for a while admiring some of the other stands. We came across some other great products such as ‘Little Bundies’ which are small collectible dolls made individually by a 15 year old girl. For more information visit: http://littlebundies.com/
There was also a cute range of bears called ‘Lickle Ted’ who reminds me of Tatty Teddy. They shown all sorts of glasses, key-rings, plush bears and more collectible items.
Boyds had a great stand. They included many new products from their Spring range with the plush all dressed up for Easter. Also, there were new ‘Teabearies’ on display in both cups and saucers, and mugs! The Razzbearies were the most prominent new line – cute bears wearing t-shirts with funny embroidered quotes such as “I’m not 50, I’m 49.99” and “Be happy – dammit”
One of the most surprising stands was from Fountasia. Fountasia is the company behind the Quarry Critters and I was expecting to see similar grey plush and products as before but I had a shock when we visited the stand! This time, Quarry Critters, are not the usual quarry-grey colour – Quarry Critters are multicolored! Sporting many different pastel colours, the Quarry Critters plush are not only cute, they are bright! Also new, are Quarry Critters greetings cards! The figurines were as cute as ever, but seem to be developing more over the past year. Now Second Nature Design seem to be experimenting with different designs including small sections of colour which contrast well with the grey figurines, such as a dog with a bright red bowl, or the polar bears standing next to a leafy green tree. They also seem to be developing the designs, for example there is now a set of bookends featuring the polar bears, tea-light candle holders, plus some characters which hang on the front of shelves with their legs (and paws!) hanging down below.
Collectible World had their Me to You Tatty Teddy pieces on display, including the very hard to find Special Moments and the new March introduction Breakfast in Bed, which will be a limited edition of 3500. I had seen photos of this piece and I must say it’s so much nicer in real life, plus a lot bigger! Breakfast in Bed will be sold at £27.50. Other than that, there were only already introduced products, but it was nice to see the pieces out of their glass cabinets.
A new addiction of mine is the Bean Bag Bears and I just had to go along to their stand and look at the bears! I was shocked to see how many different bears there were, plus some of the other ranges that Skanson Giftware produces. The new February introductions include 3 bears, Squeaks the mouse, Alina the Prima Ballerina, and Windsor the Palace Guardsman. I also saw one of the ‘Big Kids’ which is about twice the size of a Cuddly kid. We were told there will be more promotions to come soon, and one includes winning one of the new Waggs Cuddly Kids. There will also be a special promotion giving collectors a free Bean Bag Bear once they have purchased 10 Bean Bag Bears. Each customer will get a record card from their retailer and will have a box stamped for each purchase. When all 10 boxes are stamped, you will be able to redeem your free bear! The guys from Skanson Giftware were very friendly and helpful and we learnt a lot about the bears!
While walking around Hall 5, the Toy and Gift hall, we spotted some great new products from Gosh, who manufacture many plush products including Tipi, Bang on the door, Pink Panther, Forever Friends and Creature Comforts. New BOTD items include a Caterpillar who had some groovy legs, the Queen Bee, Giraffes, Unicorns and Fairy dust girl. Also on display were Lion and Hippo plush which were about 1 meter tall! Creature Comforts include Circus animals: Muzulu and Toto the monkeys, Alvin the bear, Ivana the Lion and Mr Tickles the Seal.
One of the best stands of the day was Carte Blanche in the Greetings Hall. As they did not attend the Autumn Fair in September, I was really looking forward to seeing the new products today! As we walked around the outside of the two story walled stand, we noticed a TV built into the wall. We began to watch what we thought was a video of Mike Payne (aka Miranda) drawing Tatty Teddy. It was only when I noticed that where he was drawing had the same carpet as the Greetings hall and the blue staircase looked very similar to the one inside the stand, we realized that Mike Payne was actually there! It was then a frantic rush to find him as we dodged retailers and Carte Blanche reps. We were so shocked that he was there. When we noticed him, he was concentrating on a Tatty Teddy drawing on a flip chart with black and red marker pens. We realized that he was taking requests from collectors and we were in awe as he drew ours! I got some great ideas from talking with him about greeting card design (as I want to go into the business when I leave school). A little snippet for you – Mike Payne always starts with the nose when he draws Tatty Teddy. We even got some free art classes about drawing eyes and also cats! He also told us that it’s not him who draws Tatty Teddy anymore. He drew the originals but another artist now draws Tatty Teddy, Steve Mort-Hill. Steve Mort-Hill’s new range ‘Bobbles’ was also on display from Carte Blanche and it is cute but very different to the Me to You range.
Big news from Tatty Teddy though – there will be a new range out starring ‘Teddy Big Foot’ who is sad, alone and has no friends, all because his feet are huge! I am positive this will be a big hit. He is absolutely gorgeous and he has a special poem written by Mike Payne which will melt your heart! He is chocolate brown with super soft fur, a dark brown patch over one eye and a leathery nose. The range so far will include cards and plush.
Thank you to Mike Payne! He was very friendly and funny and a super nice guy! Thanks for the artwork!
Again, the Diddl stand was the most impressive, although the Carte Blanche comes a very close second. It was great to meet up with all the guys from Depesche and have a chat about all the new products. I also met the Australian distributor who was visiting the UK. Everyone was friendly and fun as usual, and the products were great! The first thing I saw as we walked up to the stand was the giant Diddlina! She was huge and so soft. Owen told us that this Diddlina was actually one of the suits which visit retailers for a little while for promotional events. I also loved the key-rings, which are long chains including three of the characters. I loved seeing the new School ranges. I am a huge fan of Diddl stationery and school supplies, as everyone in my school can tell! I loved the Diddlina lunchboxes and I'm planning to get one to take my lunch to school in! There was also a range of bags and plush which were so summery, covered in multicolored boxes containing an image like a strawberry or Diddl's overalls! I was also told that Pimboli will now be manufactured with the super soft material similar to Diddl and Diddlina which have been made with this fabric for a few months now.
I'll be here for days if I talked about ALL the great new products, so see below all the irresistible Diddl goodies!
THANKS TO EVERYONE AT DEPESCHE,
ESPECIALLY OWEN AND BECKY! YOU GUYS ARE GREAT!!
We had a great day out as usual. It's amazing how different the companies are. We concentrated on about a dozen stands and glanced at 100's more. It really made me notice the differences, not just in products, but also in the ideas of the companies and the interaction with the staff. Depesche UK has always been very welcoming and friendly, Mike Payne from Carte Blanche was also great and I had a great first impression of Bean Bag Bears. I think it is the people that make the difference. We also bumped into our friends, Richard and Lyndsey and we had a chat about the products and companies.
For all of you who know about my artwork on www.thatsjustpeachy.com, visiting the NEC has also opened my eyes to the business world, the collectibles and the products and it's made me re-think what I want to do with Orly and encouraged me to work hard. Who knows, maybe one day I'll be exhibiting at the NEC? Hope so!