I went to my first trade show this weekend, the NY International Gift Fair. It was a very good experience. Previous to attending I had made phone contact with a highly recommended rep who agreed to show my line - if I could demonstrate that the local stores were giving me orders (not a problem). At the fair I spent a good while searching-out all the toy and puzzle companies I could, noticing how they set-up their booths, their volume of customers, trying to eavesdrop on sales/negotiations, etc. when all of a sudden someone called my name. It turns-out my rep, who I'd never met before, had read my name from my badge and wanted to talk! That alone was worth the trip. i'm planning to see her again at the Toy Fair in NYC in Feb. I promised to bring my samples to show her. She's only seen photos so far.
It was also great to get a feel for the culture of the fair/industry. I liked it. It couldn't be more different from what I'm used to, which is lots of geeky guys talking shop. An interesting example was when I went to thank a seminar speaker who was nervous that she had been boring people. I assured her that if people weren't interested, they'd just leave. She looked horrified, as if I'd just suggested making puppy soup, and told me that "...people are much too polite to do that...." Well, not where I'm from. Of course first they usually pause long enough to first tell you that you're an idiot...
There were lots of examples of the importance of design. One of the first booths I went to overwhelmed me with the quality of their products and I couldn't stop complimenting them on their designs. Then I learned that they were the Philadelphia Museum of Art and felt like an idiot. On the other extreme were several factory and craft booths showing nice, but undifferentiated goods like thermoses or wooden chess sets.
Overall I'd say the biggest plus was feeling like I'm beginning to be part of a different world and like this is possible. It's a pretty heady feeling. Thanks for helping me get on this road.
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