Spring Fair comp offers £750 VIP packages as Trendhub collab is unveiled
Five golden tickets are waiting for visitors to Spring Fair as lucky winners who pre-register for the big show, that’s just four days away, will collect a VIP package worth £750 each.
Just signing up to attend the show, which runs at Birmingham’s NEC from Sunday to Wednesday, 2-5 February, puts each person’s name in the draw for to win one of five Golden Tickets to have their travel paid for up to £250, one night’s accommodation, dinner voucher for two, invitation to a lunch and learn session, lunch vouchers, personal guided tours, front row seats at all seminars, refreshments in the Buyers’ Lounge, and a bottle of bubbles.
Alongside the attractions of over 1,200 exhibitors, including a raft of greeting card names in Hall 3, Spring Fair organiser Hyve Group is celebrating the event’s 75th anniversary with a packed programme of speakers and seminars, and the latest to be announced is the partnership with leading trend agency BDA London and its smart forecasting service Trendhub.
Aiming to deliver the key trends in festive celebrations, homewares and outdoor living for AW25/26 and SS26, Trendhub’s forecasts combine the what, how and why for each season, using changing consumer preferences, emerging design and innovation.
The free trend presentations will be on the Inspiring Retail Stage in Hall 2, with AW25/26 Homeware & Festive Celebrations Trends: From Modern Modular To Raw Minimal at 4.15pm on Monday, and SS26 Homeware and Outdoor Living Trends: Evolving Households: Balancing Acts And Waste-Nots at 10,30am on Tuesday.
Terrie Isaac, head of creative at BDA London, will be the presenter and commented: “The tools we provide enable retailers to make agile, informed decisions by offering insights into key seasonal design elements – such as must-have colours, fabrics, and key product items – that align with evolving consumer needs.
“The overarching notion of Duality flows through our themes, featuring the opposing ideas of joyful experimentation and functionality, and augmented traditionalism and earthen materialism. As we explore our themes, we’ll reveal threads that run throughout the two seasons, including playful expressionism, comforting nostalgia, transformative traditionalist and raw materiality.”
Other highlights include sessions across three dedicated areas – Inspiring Retail Stage, Masterclass Studio, and the newly-launched Licensing Lab – with top names such as Theo Paphitis, Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen, Jeff Banks, Products Of Change’s Helena Mansell-Stopher, and Andrew Xeni, founder and CEO of Fabacas and Nobody’s Child, the full programme is available here.
In Hall 3 there are plenty of other birthday celebrations alongside the show’s Hall Of Fame for its 75th year with a timeline and large digital screen showing pictures and stories, and a selfie wall celebrating retail’s past and present.
Bexy Boo (stand 3S26), Lola Design (3S24), Plewsy (3S41) and Rosie Made A Thing (3P21) are all marking a decade in business, Jonny Javelin (3P34) is 25, and for Roger La Borde (3M24) it’s the big 4-0.
Cardgains will be also revealing the total raised by its 35th anniversary Charity Challenge with the presentation of the cheque to the MIND mental health charity on Monday around 1pm on the Cardgains Village (3M10/N11).
And for a fun showstopper, there’s a giant beaver turning up on Wrendale Designs’ stand 3P10-Q11 as founder Hannah Dale explained: “We’ll have a six-foot stuffed beaver to help promote our rewilding work with Wild Wrendale! We’re hoping to encourage people to take selfies and share on their socials.”
The 75th Spring Fair takes place on Sunday to Wednesday, February 2-5, at Birmingham’s NEC, and to register to attend, and be included in the Golden Ticket competition – terms and conditions apply – click here.
