Top Drawer 2019. A beginners guide.

This post is a long time coming…but better late than never as they say! Well, I have to say Top Drawer was a success for me. I was honestly pretty nervous going down to the show, as it was my first big design exhibition, and where I would be presenting my new brand Avalana, and my interior design products for the first time. I also had to wing it in terms of what I had to pre-order for my stand before the show; did I have enough lights, had I chosen the right paint colour, flooring (did I even need flooring?), did I have enough sockets for electricity, had I missed something major off? All these worries rattling around in my head on top of the usual worries – have I packed everything, have I chosen the right prints for the right products, etc.

Anyway – set up went fine, (apart from arriving to the socket having been put on the mural wall) This was easily fixed, thank goodness, a quick trip to the handyman desk and they can and moved it to the other wall – which I had specified on my diagram just FYI. I borrowed a screwdriver and a set of ladders from some other, very kind, stand owners. I must admit I did learn a lot from exhibitors on what to do differently next time. Having all the minor hiccups out the way and once my designer wall mural was up, the furniture in place and all my home decor products styled – I have to admit I was very pleased with the look of my stand.

It was so exciting to see a full room made up of all the Avalana interior products, that I had been busy designing for the past 6 months. To see them all come together and sit beautifully on the stand was a real feeling of achievement. Being a new brand at an exhibition like Top Drawer is pretty tough, you think; will people stop by if they don’t recognise the name? The answer is YES! I was really happy with the number of people at the show, there were obviously a lot busier stands than mine, who were well-established brands – but that takes time to build a new brand and I am comfortable with that. I met a variety of visitors who popped on my stand. There were people from interior design houses, retailers, independents, hotel owners and some ladies from London Zoo! A very good mix I would say.