Caroline Kennedy

An Irish Show Jig
May 14, 2007

I recently went to a local gift show — The Ireland Show, held at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Secaucus, NJ. Produced in association with the North American Celtic Buyer’s Association (NACBA) and supported by Enterprise Ireland, this show is relatively small, compared to the major national gift shows such as Atlanta, Dallas, New York, Chicago or LA, and it is targeted mainly at a very focused retail buyer — the Irish-American gift store. This is not the first time that I’ve been to the show. After all, it is sort of in my own backyard. It is an interesting show and it has a very different feel to it. The exhibits are set up almost like little shops in the individual hotel suite rooms, which I can only imagine harkens back to what the early years of gift shows were like when reps set up shop in local hotels.

The small size of the show, more narrowly defined product mix and more focused buying audience lent a certain element of intimacy lacking at the large shows, as well as a more relaxed atmosphere. Buyers at The Ireland Show are like family and greeted and treated almost as such.

What I experienced at this show, reinforced my opinion that you shouldn’t rule out attending a local show because it’s small and will have nothing of interest to offer that you haven’t seen elsewhere. Have I said this before? Yes! When I reported from Boston. And it’s worth repeating: local shows are worth investigating for unique resources you may not find at the major shows … yet. Also, the smaller the show, the less frantic the pace, and the more time you can spend with the reps and vendors building a relationship. That may in some way explain the sense of family that I felt.

I had some interesting conversations and saw some lovely things that I will discuss in my next posting later this week.

Posted by Caroline Kennedy on May 14, 2007 | Comments (1)