I was meant to write about the East London design show right after it ended but I caught a bad flu which disrupted all my work schedules. I almost thought I had to pull out of the show because I was so poorly! I missed half of Friday but luckily, other designers kindly covered for me, and a friend volunteered to help on Sunday, so it turned out okay in the end.

It was a last minute decision to do the show and it was our first public show since we opened in October. With such limited time and resources, I had to think of an effective and efficient way to display our products. In the end, I decided to print an A00 size poster of our theme illustration and I think it worked pretty well because it did catch visitors’ attention. Then I hired a table from the organiser and displayed our products right in front of the poster. Compared to other designers, our stand was quite minimal, it probably would have been better if we had some shelves; but hopefully, we will improve our stand display next time.

The overall experience at the show was positive despite my ill health. It was good to see how people reacted to our products and hear positive feedback. One designer who has done the show for years told me that this year had been the most quiet, I guess it’s not surprising given the current economical climate. However, our overall sales were better than I expected and I thought the show was a good way to market the e-shop.

The most fascinating thing for me though was to see how other designers interact with their customers… nowadays designers not only have to create good designs but they also need to be good salesmen. I certainly learnt a few tricks from them at the show and I hope that I will be as convincing and as good as them one day!