The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

Hello friends. What an exhausting week we had! We finally arrived home last night at 10.00 pm after a delayed flight. Sorry for not updating my blog during my week at Life Instyle but I didn't have internet access. This turned out to be a blessing as I went to bed at a decent hour and slept like a baby each and every night.

Here are some photos of our stand that was located in "The Dungeon" as many of my co-exhibitors appropriately named it. No thrills or plush carpet here. Unfortunately, the exhibition was located on many different levels and difficult to navigate. Many visitors did not find us which was quite disheartening to the 40 new exhibitors in Hall 2, especially since we did not pay any less for the disadvantage.

On a positive note, we did meet some lovely interior decorators and retailers, both new and established that we would not have otherwise met. We will be very busy following up with them and with others who didn't make it to our stand over the next couple of weeks.

We also had some media inquiries so will keep you updated as things happen. Many people liked our framed fabrics and asked if we were selling them. Sorry but no. However, I will be posting a tutorial soon on how you can frame your own!


I was happy with our stand - good. The sign made it in one piece - good. My lovely table did not, a chunk was knocked out from the side of the top - bad. Boo to the freight company that we used. We had many problems with them but that's a story for another day. Names have not been mentioned to protect the guilty.

Thank you to all the lovely bloggers that stopped by to say hello to me - all good. Lara, Tegan and Lou from Ink & Spindle, Nic from Yardage Design, Davia from Davia Designs, Lara and Emma from Harvest Textiles, Karen from Eco Inspired, Kylie from Blue Ginger Designs, Alyssa from Lyssy May and Emma from Up in Annie's Room. I do hope that I haven't forgotten anyone!

I also had fun meeting all of my lovely and talented neighbours - all good. Some I knew and others I didn't but I will introduce you to them later this week.

The ugly was the traffic congestion and the miserable weather - cold, wet and windy! (sorry Melbourne but it sucks). We waited 50 minutes in the cold rain on day 1 (minus umbrella) for our cab. Luckily, one of my neighbours (thanks Danielle) manned our stand until we got there. I took a blow-dryer from the hotel with me to dry myself off.

The good - Melbournians really are the nicest bunch which I greatly admire since the cold would personally make me quite cranky. The best - coming home to Brissie and the lovely warm sunshine! Yes, I am a wuss.

Pretty Swatches

I am so relieved that our boxes for Life Instyle were picked up today by the freight forwarders. Unfortunately, my sign did not make it (see previous post). The pvc wood glue that I used was not a success so I don't even want to look at working on it again until Friday. I will have to pack the sign in our suitcase now.

What has made me happy today is seeing all of our fabric swatch cards coming together. Thank goodness for Pam who has been helping me as she has been sticking hundreds of fabric swatches onto these A4 sized cards. Using double-sided tape is quick and easy and works well with fabrics. Don't they look pretty in their multitudes?

We have more preparations to do tomorrow but I do have my monthly facial to look forward to at the end of the day which is a blessing as the pre-show stress is playing havoc with my skin. What are you looking forward to?