Spring Fair 2010

[Jonny2morsos]

Well I went yesterday and glad I did not do the usual two day visit as I would have been severely disappointed.

There was not a great deal to see and the two biggest stands were Wessex Pictures and D & J Simons BUT they were very busy and all the exhibitors I spoke to were very encouraged by the business thay had done and the level of enquiries received. Looks like those who did go were spending so hopefully this will result in more exhibitors next year.

All in all it was good to go and talk to suppliers and catch up with latest trends, however, from home to being inside the hall was only two hours. Would I have travelled from further afield....probably not.

Anyone else go and have any thoughts?

John.

[guzzijim]

I'm not attending the Spring Fair but I am going to Focus on Imaging @ the NEC

http://www.focus-on-imaging.co.uk/exhibitors

The main purpose is to test and buy a Canon 5D Mk.2 hopefully at a discount! Last time I attended I bought a 5D Mk 1 at a really good show price.

Arqadia have a stand there, as do some frame suppliers Cadremount, Border Frames, Artvue Canvas, DIY Frames are just some, won’t be buy any frames though only stealing there ideas!

We may have two Canon 5d Mk 1’s for sale soon if anyone’s interested. About £750 each.

Arqadia have a stand there, as do some frame suppliers Cadremount, Border Frames, Artvue Canvas, DIY Frames are just some, won’t be buying any frames though only stealing there ideas!

We may have two Canon 5d Mk 1’s for sale soon if anyone’s interested. About £750 each.

[guzzijim]

.......and Hotpress

[Framerpicture]

This years Art aand Framing section at the Spring Fair is a shadow of its former self.If I was going just to visit Hall 3 I would have been bitterly disappointed. I always find these shows quite difficult to navigate but this year it was harder than finding your way around the FATG website....Suppliiers who we used to find with the rest of the publishers are now spread around various halls
It left me with the impression that this section of the Spring Fair may well be on its last legs but i suppose everything changes.

[BaBaZa]

From a suppliers point of view the Spring fair this year has been excellent. Art & framing is now in a much better position(Hall 3). There is a real buzz in the hall which is has been lacking in recent years. Some of the missing suppliers have already said they will return next year.

Mainline will be back next year so long as Art & Framing is in the same hall.

[Trigger]

We went to the Spring Fair on Sunday - arrived at 9am and left just before 6pm! A full and happy day spent wandering around. We spent most time in Hall 3 as we do cards in our gallery and we were really thankful not to have the long trek from hall 12 to hall 3 as per previous years. Putting the art and framing section in Hall 3 worked really well in our opinion and there was much more of a buzz this year than there has been recently. Yes there were a few suppliers missing, but those that were there were really up for doing business. It is not for everyone but we sourced some new things for the gallery and caught up with some familiar faces. Also had a useful and helpful chat with Merlin on the Simons stand (thanks Merlin ) - now we just have to save our pennies for a CMC

Trigger

[Not your average framer]

I had a good look at the substantial range of new mouldings on the Simons stand. Many of these will fit well in my plans for 2010. I liked the new Sardinia, Driftwood, Regent, Seville and Picadilly ranges.

There's additions to their Wrap range with very realistic looking wood grain finishes and the prices are good too. I don't normally bother with wrap moulding, but some of these will suit customers out to save money and they look good too, so I'm getting some to try.

The Richmond range has some nice new colours added to the range. There's a very "Bling" Mirror moulding called the Sovereign range. I like the darker silvers in this range.

Simons have added to their range of Emafil mouldings and I'm gonna try a few of those too!

Mainline have some nice additions to their Polcore range which I liked too!

For me it was well worth the 500 mile round trip.

[LeFrisp]

I went on Sunday and Monday. It was my first time and while Im glad I went and I got a lot from it. I have to say however I was a bit disappointed by the compactness of the framing area. I had expected more to be there.
Will I go again next year.... dont know Jury is out.....

[huntvambo]

I did two part days at the show but I'm only 25minutes door to door and I combined one visit with a stock up visit to Loin's.

Personally I was disappointed with the show, but I normally am with any trade show, for me unless I'm looking for something specific I tend to wonder round a bit aimless.

It was very useful to see new and old moulding in the flesh as it were. Had a good look at CCM mount cutters on all the stands, I can see that's going to be a difficult decision but one I hope to take sooner rather than later.

Sat through several of the seminars and have to say that John Palmer's Specialist Glass was excellent, very informative, very accessible and did a very good piece on reduced % mark ups for higher value glass and how you make more for less, bearing in mind one the "hot" forum topics of the past few days. Lyn Hall's Fabric Framing was also very good for me as was Mal Reynolds who also covered the topics originally planned for Vivian Kistler.

One thing that I still struggle to understand is how one "respected" person can state you should never do or use so and so and then in the next presentation some other "respected" person will say that's what they did or used, completely contradictory. For someone new to framing but wanting to do the best job, be competitive and value for my customers well ...

[Roboframer]

John Palmer's Specialist Glass was excellent, very informative, very accessible and did a very good piece on reduced % mark ups for higher value glass and how you make more for less,...