Gifted 2024
“Gifts of time and love are surely the basic ingredients of a truly merry Christmas.”
~ Peg Bracken
After a much needed week of rest and tidying my studio after the show, I am now revived to write all about it! This year I took the giant leap and decided to take part in Ireland’s largest and longest running craft fair ‘Gifted.’ I’ve never partook in such a big show before (it’s 5 days long), and the anxiety and excitement were of equal measure! My wonderful former college (Ballyfermot College of Further Education) very kindly asked me and two more graduates to represent the college at the show. I didn’t know what to expect from the event, but I can now say that I’m glad I did it. What an amazing experience!
The show is held at the RDS in Dublin at the end of every year, for over 40 years now. It is a staple in the Christmas gift-buying calendar, with customers attending habitually every year. I’ve attended the show a few times over the years, and I never thought I’d one day have my own stand at the show. I don’t take part in many shows, but this was an opportunity I couldn’t say no to. As a small Irish business, especially in the current economic climate, we have to try every path in this creative journey we take. It may or may not work out, but at least we have tried, and most importantly we gain invaluable experience along the way. This is my fourth show in the RDS, and with every event I learn more about my business, what customers do and don’t prefer to buy, and other ‘easter eggs’ of information that are gathered from a unique experience like this. I believe it’s worth doing something like this at least once, if you can.
And here’s the space I called home from the 4th-8th December - a 3x2 metre stand, with a 6ft table. It’s a bit more tricky having to work with undressed walls, as you can’t use any screws or shelves, so instead I came up with a different plan to last year’s Art Source display. I brought my products in two wheelie suitcases, and a large box. We transported everything on a trolley to make life easier. It can be quite the puzzle to solve how to fit everything into as little boxes/bags as possible, as we were located upstairs on the balcony level. Remember to think about getting in and out of the venue during set-up day, and how your products can be transported in the most productive way possible (and bring a step stool, they are an often forgotten piece of necessary equipment!).
As usual, I designed my idea in Illustrator to create a scaled visual of how best to layout my products and props. The table took all of my greeting cards and my A4 prints. And I used a standing unit to hold all my notepads and notebooks. My plan was to create a mini shop, where the customer is excited to step-in and rifle through prints and cards. My products were displayed on the left wall and centre wall, to allow people to flow in without it getting too congested. At the right wall, I sat/stood and packed orders/dealt with customers, so I didn’t get in the way of people browsing. When you are designing a stand, it’s important to think about how the customers will use the space, and to make sure everything flows, in order to create a calm experience at such a busy show.
It took us 6 hours to get to this stage! It was tiring. Putting together a stand is always exciting to see how the finished look compares to the digital plan, but it takes a lot of work, both physically and mentally. Stop for breaks, bring food with you (and hot drinks/soup) and that sustenance really helps the process move along more easily. I’m really happy with how my stand turned out - what do you think? I love how the colours of the wooden props and soft furnishings bring a cosy warmth to the space. We used two chairs from the venue, and covered them with a tartan blanket from my studio, which helps to bring together my whole aesthetic. It also offers a much needed place to sit during the show. I have hypermobility and an injured back, so I can’t stand for long periods. Having this area for sitting, packing orders, talking with customers, and storing stock and water is a necessity at such a long show (the hours were 10am to 9pm).
I used a large greeting card stand in the centre, along with a new stand I bought (to the right) which holds less cards but it fit the available space on the table nicely. I printed a little green-striped sign with my logo to decorate the print box. This box is in fact an upturned Ikea storage drawer unit, and you can see some of the drawers on the table too, which held more cards. I don’t have a big studio to store lots of props, so using pieces of furniture which are already in my studio really helps (you’ve got to be creative when working in small spaces!). The print box turned out to be a really popular area of my stand, and many customers naturally gravitated towards it, and they would take their time and rifle through all the prints. Many people mentioned how the display was neat and organised. Customers really appreciate it when the product is easy to see and easy to reach-out and handle.
I had wall decals printed for the show to highlight my brand and ethos. In my experience it’s best to have your logo/brand name as big as possible so customers walking by, or those who may not be able to get into your stand (these shows get very packed!) can see who you are from a distance. This year I had a new tagline ‘charming illustrations celebrating whimsy and tradition’ to explain more about my brand to the customer. I was surprised how many people walking-by stopped to read it aloud, which ultimately brought them into my stand. I also included a small poster which detailed a brief bio about me and my work. I placed this on a miniature easel on the standing unit, and many people took photos of it to read later. I also had this information on the reverse of my business card, which was actually postcard size and designed like a little print to take home as a memento (the little ‘Le Grá’ card at the front of the main display). Sometimes people don’t have time at the show to fully immerse themselves in every stand, so having this information is really important, as they can grab a card to read later and hopefully buy online instead (which thankfully did happen).
The highlights of the show were hearing people’s reactions to my products and display. Words like ‘cute', ‘colourful,’ ‘nostalgic,’ ‘vintage',’ and ‘different’ really stuck in my memory as these are words which I hoped would resonate with people when seeing my work. I strive to be different - to offer a unique experience which brings happiness and warm cosy feelings. Someone asked me how do I know what products and illustrations to sell? And I said, I just create what ‘I’ love, and I therefore find my audience who also love these things. To me, there’s no point setting up a shop that’s like everyone else’s - where’s the fun in that? You have to dig deep and find what it is that ‘you’ want to offer the world. When you do this, you ultimately reveal a unique concept and your own voice in the small business world. People see that and appreciate it. It’s amazing how tuned-in people are about what’s new and different. They will notice you, and they will become your customers one day, so it’s worth that time in discovering your own concept and products.
I hope you enjoyed reading about my ‘Gifted’ experience. I’ll have a YouTube video about my experience uploaded in the next few days, so keep an eye out for that! But for now, I wish you all a wonderful and magical Holiday season! Take care friends, Rachel x