The team at Home & Giftware Magazine was excited to attend Giving & Living at Westpoint, Exeter, although this was tinged with sadness as the organiser announced that this year’s event would be the last. One of the friendliest and most fun events in the exhibition calendar, the loss of Giving & Living is a real blow for both suppliers and retailers in this sector, especially those from the south west of England and which specialist in coastal-themed product.
Despite the well documented challenges facing the home and gift trade, this is far from being the end of the road for organiser, Hale Events, which has a number of very successful specialty food and drink shows, including Source Trade Show, Exeter, Expowest Cornwall and The Source Roadshow, Shepton Mallet.
One of the things we’ll miss most about Giving & Living, which took place in a beautiful part of the country, is the strength of their Designed & Made in Britain sector, which always proved inspirational during our visits to the show. Here we take a look at some of the highlights we spotted during our visit.
Pictured above, beautiful British made product by Stosa Jewellery, a Surrey-based business which offers gorgeous handmade pieces at very affordable prices; new lines from fabulous British maker, Stray Resin; the brilliantly named Gullz R Loud; delicious new colours from Fantasy Candles; local legend, Brian Lownds-Pateman of Babbacombe Pottery, the show’s longest standing exhibitor who first attended Giving & Living aged 6; light as a feather, hypoallergenic titanium jewellery by Ti2 Titanium – much time was spent here coveting their lovely collection; historic Devon Violets (also owned by Brian Lownds-Pateman); beautiful new art cards from Eco Friendly Card Co; more homeware from Stray Resin.
Elsewhere at the show we also found plenty of inspiration. Quay Traders (top images) had a breath-taking array of gifts, souvenirs and home decor, much of which had a unique coastal twist for which this supplier is renowned; illustrator Alex Clark just keeps going from strength to strength with an ever-wider collection that is all designed by her personally; these fabulous book shaped ceramic vases were part of the Gift of the Year showcase (Home & Kitchen category); we spent a lot of time on the Love Coco stand admiring their beautiful and fairly traded bowls, trays, coasters and candles; these Storybook cards by The Art File caught our attention – perfect for books shops, of course! – and Wrendale Designs put on a great display.
