Review of Hobby Crafts Show, NEC Birmingham March 25th - March 28th 2010

Hi All

I have just returned from the Hobby Crafts show at the NEC in Birmingham (UK).  Having visited the same show in November 2009 I had high expectations.

I found this show a bit staid compared to the November show, there seemed to be less exhibiters and fewer visitors.  This surprised me as, this time, I visited on the first day of the show.  There appeared to be less of the big well known companies exhibiting and many smaller companies - which is great, except they all seemed to be selling the same things.


 I cannot in all honesty say that shows are good for getting bargains. I saw the same items for sale that are available in local craft shops and, in most cases, they were more expensive or, at best, about the same price.  It is great though to be able to see the products of so many craft companies in one place.  My best buy was a Papermania multi-purpose heat tool for £9.99 instead of £14.99. I will do a review of the heat gun when I get a minute.


I also bought a Bowshaper from Keepsake Card Craft, and I met and spoke with Babs and Kathy, the celebrity owners of The Glitter Girls company.  I have to say that both Babs and Kathy were lovely.  We had my young niece with us and they were fantastic with her.  Despite a long queue, they both signed a photograph for her and she was in Glitter Girl heaven.   I can't say that we received the same treatment on other stands, in fact, I would go as far as to say that some of the stand staff were downright miserable and rude; rather short sighted when you consider the amount of money they pay for their stands!


I am going to give my award for the friendliest and most enthusiastic stand holders to Brian Goodwin of the National Gold Card Company and to his lovely and very glamorous wife.  Despite the fact that it was five minutes to closing time and  we weren't going to be buying their 'hot foil system' (because my mum had already purchased one and was passing it on to me), they were patient and so friendly.  Their system is easy to use and a fraction of the cost of some of the machine systems I have seen.  You will be seeing more about this system very soon because it is one of the first products I will be reviewing over the coming weeks.



Also worth a mention is; www.penniesworth.co.uk, the website does not do justice to the beautiful papers and card that they sell - and they are very reasonably priced.  Their staff were knowledgeable and polite - we spoke to one young man on their team and he was unsure about the technical aspect of our questions but he quickly went off and found another member of staff that could answer our questions.


Despite the fact that the show did not seem to have the same buzz as the November 2009 show, I still found it enjoyable, I saw lots of interesting products and I learnt a lot.  I am looking forward to the November 2010 show all ready!


I will be reviewing the products mentioned in this post and more over the coming weeks. 
Stay posted.
X Kim