Introduction

For many years my life was a constant parade of arts and crafts shows, cake exhibitions, culinary competitions, trade and retail shows. 

I’m not only a YouTube influencer but a product designer, an artist, a cake decorator, an international judge and an expert in my field and this has taken me to some of the biggest shows in the world. 

Pandemic

Being immersed in so many creative fields and being part of a huge artistic community to me was exciting, challenging and my normal life, however one fatal day the world changed and my reason for living was ripped away from me as it was for so many others as the pandemic hit. 

Obviously all face to face activities, large gatherings and enclosed events were put on hold with no answer to the question of when will life return to normal.

Changes

Those were long years with losses of life and many of us still carry the shadow of those years as either physical hurdles or mental scars.

So much was changed in the world of business and those small eclectic, one of a kind suppliers, paid the price with the loss of their much loved businesses.

Yes, many large companies also failed to survive however I morn the loss of the small businesses most as they offered the unique items, a family history in their respective field, a core of knowledge that is now gone forever.

Walking through the doors of a large creative show was to walk into a world of magic and wonder, I would stroll along the isles watching demonstrators share their passion, manufacturers explaining new designs and I would always leave inspired.

It took a few years and the larger shows have started to come back, but I feel some of the magic has gone, I don’t see as many demonstrators, fewer new products, less hands on classes.

There lurks the ever present hand sanitiser bottle, those who still wish to protect themselves by wearing a mask are a gentle reminder that we tread carefully back to a new form of normality. 

The majority of the smaller unique traders have been replaced by stands of large bins full of sale items where it’s obvious that traders are trying to clear warehouses of older stock to try and recoup any investments they’ve made. 

The larger companies normally do not go to the shows if their products can be found on other retail stands, but they are still feeling the impact of fewer small trader stands.

Financial Impact

Because of the added precautions and measures that have had to be implemented by show organisers prices at events have soared. The cost of a retail space at a large show has escalated to the point where even if a trader has sold well they may never break even or make a profit. 

For the general public attending a large arts and crafts show, sewing show or cake show etc have also seen their expenditure increase in a time when we are all struggling with the increased cost of living on pre pandemic wage structures.

As an example, a long time friend and I would go to the NEC (National Exhibition Centre) Birmingham every year to visit the Art fair, the Christmas fair, Cake International and Bake International, these four shows would all run in halls next to each other over a four day period.

Because of the distance we would spend two nights in an inexpensive hotel close to the exhibition centre, I would drive as fuel is a fraction of the cost of a train ticket.

With the increased ticket prices, hotel prices, fuel prices this year we spent £200 each just to attend the shows and that was before we’d even fed ourselves or purchased anything.

Reference

ICHF Creative shows in the NEC (National Exhibition Centre) Birmingham, United Kingdom.

Summary

Sadly 2023 is the last time we will both visit the shows in Birmingham NEC, we feel we would rather stay at home and spend that £200 each on supplies we order from the internet which offer us a much wider range of goods delivered directly to our door.

Granted there are hand made items that only appear at the shows which we will now miss out on, but those suppliers have dwindled in numbers and have been replaced by bulk import stands buying goods from China which are mass produced, a lot of which are inferior in quality.

My friend and I have decided if the smaller local arts and crafts shows start to re-emerge then we will do day trips to them, sadly the magic has gone and I fear it will be a long time before the larger shows can once again offer the excitement and innovation they once did.