Hundreds of card, wrap and stationery publishers return with force to industry-leading showcase at Spring Fair International 2014
Spring Fair International 2014, an i2i Events Group exhibition, will offer the largest showcase of Greetings & Stationery available to the UK market in 2014.
Greetings & Stationery is the strongest growth area for the forthcoming edition of Spring Fair, with 282 publishers already signed up at the time of going to press, compared with 250 at the same time last year.
With its own dedicated Hall (4) at the heart of The NEC, this essential sector of Spring Fair will present a
huge variety of paper products, from direct to retail and wholesale greetings cards, wrapping paper, gift bags and boxes, tags, bows, social stationery and luxurious gift stationery items from both British and international publishers.
Giants of the UK’s world-leading card and wrap publishing industry will be present at the show, including leading suppliers such as: Hallmark, Ling Design, Santoro Graphics, The Great British Card Company, Roger la Borde, Nigel Quiney, Woodmansterne, Penny Kennedy, Eurowrap and Caroline Gardner.
For the 2014 event there will also be an influx of new exhibitors, with 69 publishers already signed up to join Spring Fair for the first time ever or following a long absence. New for 2014 are: Fourth Wall, Moinho, Celebration Crackers, Yorkshire Envelopes, Agnes & Cat, Alex Underdown, Dandylion Jack, Ma Nubiah, Pink Bubblegum, Kate Guest, Buddy Fernandez, The Art of Dance and Sabah Designs.
International exhibitors you can look forward to seeing include: Avanti Press, International Crackers, Sheetal Mercantile, Santex, Centrum, Kunming Goodluck Trade and Shindo Textile Europe.
Group Product Director of The Great British Card Company, Nick Adsett, commented: “Spring Fair is a great show for GBCC. It allows us to showcase our Christmas offering, we do great business on everyday, Occasions & Relations, and humour, and we all enjoy catching up face-to-face with our retailers, including our Export customers. The 2014 show will see some exciting new developments on Bebunni too, as the licensing programme begins to gather pace.”
At the heart of Hall 4 the Cardgains Village will once again provide a buzzing social point for the exhibition, with dozens of the buying group’s member suppliers set to join this large group stand.
A number of first class art Licensing agencies and individual artists will also be present within this sector of the exhibition, providing a wealth of inspiration for companies in search of their next winning design.
Also located within Greetings & Stationery for the first time will be one of the five UK Trade & Industry (UKTI) Villages making their debut at Spring Fair in 2014*.
i2i Events Group, has forged a strengthened partnership agreement with UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) designed to inspire and support UK-based SMEs in their efforts to succeed in overseas markets. The partnership will boost international representation at Spring Fair, providing British suppliers with an entry point to international markets and offering a broad variety of pre-event and onsite benefits.
An Export Theatre designed with invaluable networking opportunities in mind will be located within the International Buyers Lounge in Hall 4, also featuring a beautiful showcase of British-made products to entice overseas retailers.
More inspiration can be found at the Trend Bar & Seminar Theatre, where Blue Eyed Sun founder Jeremy Corner will provide trend insights into the greeting card, gift and stationery markets on Monday February 3. Jeremy will provide key information on the products, price points and styles that will be trending in these product areas in the coming season to help inform your buying, also offering invaluable advice to retailers looking to buy into this product area for the first time and how to introduce the right ranges for their stores.
Visitors in search of refreshments can head for the Greetings Bar for a drink and a bite to eat while they take stock of the fabulous products on display in Hall 4.
Images from top: Wrendale Design, Kate Guest, Almanac Gallery for The Great British Card Company, Blue Eyed Sun
