Spring Fair 2010

Someone once told me that if you went to every single day of the Spring Fair you still wouldn't manage to see everything.

Before yesterday I didn't believe them. Now, the ache in my legs and the catalogue of exhibitors and stands that I didn't even know where there have proved me wrong.

Yep, yesterday I ventured over to the NEC to visit Spring Fair 2010, billed as one of the worlds major retail buying events. It certainly lived up to the hype taking over the majority of the halls in the NEC with sections from Kitchen and Homeware to Floral, Festive and Fireworks.

While it was interesting to see Christmas trees and festive decorations in February I was more interested in the fashion accessories hall. There was a huge selection of jewellery suppliers ranging from precious metals to the more funky plastic and glass designs all the way through to novelty pieces but, I have to admit, I was slightly disappointed by the lack of variety as far as other accessories were concerned.

There were of course a selection of handbag and luggage stands but nothing that really jumped out at me. Hats, gloves and scarfs were around but again, nothing to write home about. And, as for belts, which of course were my main interest, there was very little.

Some stalls had belts as part of their collections but I could only find one stand that was really dedicated to the humble belt. Thankfully, it was quite a stand.

At the back of the display was what looked like a huge multicoloured wall built of perspex bricks. Upon closer inspection it became clear the the bricks were actually stacking display boxes and the colour was provided by the belts inside.

The stand belonged to Kaliber Marketing who were using the UK show as part of the launch for the "Tie Up" belt. A combination of plastic and rubber these Italian designed belts are fully recyclable, water proof, hypo allergenic and metal detector proof - so no waiting at airport security!

The "Tie Up" company was born out of a wish to show that even the fashion conscious can be Eco friendly and the belts have been a huge success in Europe. In fact, the company have now taken the Eco friendly basis of their product one step further by developing the "Bio-belt", a belt made out of fully biodegradable materials.

To find out more about the "Tie Up" belts and see what all the fuss is about visit Kaliber's website by clicking here

As for the rest of the show I would highly recommend a visit, especially if you have a home and gift section in your store. But, if it's fashion and accessories you're after I don't think it will be your one stop shop so keep your eyes out for more market focused shows such as Pure and Moda.