I’m not sure about your plans for the start of the new season, but with less than a week to go before showUP opens its doors at The Brabanthallen in Den Bosch (3-4 September), I have booked my flight to the Netherlands (last minute as usual) and the excitement is definitely building!
Visit the English language website to register for free.
This is my twice-yearly pilgrimage to the home of Dutch Design, where you can also find the best of Scandi-chic style and also some of the best British brands, which have cottoned onto the joys of this rapidly growing trade exhibition in the BeNeLux region. It was notable at the February edition of showUP – its tenth anniversary edition – that whilst many other trade events have visibly shrunk in the past few years, this one is very much on the UP and shows no sign of slowing down anytime soon!
With almost 15,000 m2 of exhibition space and more than 300 stands – most of them yet to be discovered by the British retail trade – showUP is a great place to source for the coming autumn/winter season if newness is your mission. The event has several interesting elements like the Trendzone feature area for up and coming brands and listenUP seminar theatres, as well as the booming growUP sector for baby and children’s gifts and – new for this year – the gearUP gadget section, which isn’t just limited to boy toys!
I am also looking forward to seeing this year’s design for The Store, an excellent merchandising concept created from showUP exhibitors, where you can actually buy the products on display. This means that you’ll be able to take a few of those lovely things right back home with you after you’ve finished shopping the show.
Featured companies: Top Balvi; in the grid: Anna Nera, Aurora, Baru, Betere Producten, Bunzlau Castle, Crocodile Creek, Dhink, Doiy, Elite Tins, Gina Da, Holztiger by Harlejijn Import B.V., Kathings, Kikkerland, La N’atelier, Laessig, MeMooi, Ooley, Piet Design (2), Pluto Produkter, PoD Collection, RotPot, The Table, Sitting Suits, Joyin.
Visitors can look forward to seeing plenty of the truly innovative contemporary design for which The Netherlands are renowned, not only from exhibitors, but also the Friends of showUP, whose number is growing each year. From the best of floristry and cheese-making (very important for we Dutch!) to ceramicists, musicians, textiles artists and miniterraria makers. See more of the Friends here.
Travel to The Netherlands from the UK is simple. The nearest airport is Eindhoven, with direct flights from Edinburgh, London Stansted and Manchester with Ryanair. Then you can catch a train to Den Bosch from the airport, which will take about 50 minutes.
Alternatively, fly to Schiphol airport in Amsterdam with Easyjet, where you can pick up an intercity train to Den Bosch, which will take you an hour.
If you don’t like flying, take the Eurostar to Brussels then use the train service to travel to Den Bosch from Brussels South Midi station (1hr, 21 minutes). If you’re going by car there is ample parking onsite at the venue.
Why not give yourself a long weekend to enjoy more Dutch delights while you’re out there!
