The Spring Fair is a trade only show that takes place at the NEC in Birmingham for about 5 days every year. It takes over all of the halls and each hall’s exhibitors follow one specific theme, e.g. Festive and Floral, Art and Framing, Greetings and Stationery etc but the one that I am going to focus on is the hall devoted to Kitchen, Dining and Housewares.
I was impressed with the quality exhibitors this year; primarily in regards to the people manning the stalls. Many years I have been accosted by local reps, but this year I have been chatting to the business owners themselves. It made a refreshing change talking to those people that were truly passionate about the products that they were selling. The one company that deserved special mention were the family running the Kuhn Rikon UK stand. They were all friendly and only too pleased to help if anyone had any questions. It did help that the products were good too. Their main items were knives and I was instantly sceptical given that the blades were multicoloured. There were a few available to test and I was very surprised. They are light, flexible and very easy to use. The blades can be sharpened by a normal kitchen sharpener or one from their range and I was assured that it was easy to get the edge back.
Another name that deserves a mention is Joseph Joseph. This is a very popular company and with good reason, their products are reliable and beautiful. The thing that makes them deserve a mention is their ethos, they are not selling to pure eCommerce companies as they want to support their local high street.
Overall, the products being showcased were good and the general public will be happy with the new ranges that will be hitting the High Street from April. However, there was nothing that was really exceptional or different. I was looking for something that screamed ‘Buy Me’ as I passed it and I didn’t find it. I suppose it is the simple fact that in the poor economy manufacturers are playing it safe and I can’t blame them.
If anybody has an opportunity to visit the show, there are still 2 days left!