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Please, please, please read this if you're a trader who exhibits at shows, or just someone whose contact details might be in the public domain. You might save yourself a lot of hassle and even a lot of money. I've received a letter like this after each show I have done. The first time, I didn't realise that it was a scam until almost too late, so this time I thought I'd make sure no one falls into that trap. At first glance it looks like a letter from Top Drawer - the trade show I recently attended, but if you look closely, there is a very pale logo behind showing the real origin - a company based based in Mexico called Expo Guide. Attached is a form asking for up to date contact details. A fairly routine occurrence, and you might just absentmindedly fill it in and post it back. I've circled the really sneaky bits in red. There is no affiliation to the event, and filling out the form actually means you're signing up for a three year listing priced at 1271 Euros a year, or whatever they choose to call the equivalent in Mexican Pesos. DON'T DO IT!! Burn it or rip it up, or report it, but please don't fill it in (unless you think it sounds like a good deal!?) One of the images below shows the actual terms and conditions printed so palely that they are almost indecipherable. I've edited the image to make them possible to read. In my case, the letters have been sent after Top Drawer (this is what they have to say on the matter), but I expect that they probably target attendees of any trade shows. It only takes a handful of people to fill them out and then feel sufficiently threatened by the subsequent inevitable debt collecting letters to make it worth their while. Please share this with anyone you think might be a target, and hopefully one day they might cease to exist. 
That's all a bit serious. Here's a picture of a cow to cheer us up :) 
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I survived my second trade show! I was in the Spotted Plus area - the graduated "new talent" area, which was a step up from the one in September. Some lovely new stockists, and some exciting potential future stockists, which I shall keep you posted of. Phone cases and notebooks were particularly popular, and this time I don't need to carve hundreds of bamboo pens afterwards, which is a mixed blessing! I did think I was never going to get out of the car park alive when it came to pack down, but quite a lot of junk food helped soothe the pain... Altogether, I couldn't have done it without my wonderful husband Neil, yielding a spirit level like a boss. 
This is happening!  Not only have I been handpicked for the "new talent" area Spotted Plus (which gives me double the space to display as I had in September), I've been selected by the Design Editor of The Telegraph Magazine as a featured British designer and manufacturer for their Product UK Showcase. Eek!  If you're a retailer and are thinking of visiting, please let me know and I can send you a free entry voucher.
Things have been manic lately… I’ve been freelancing back at moo.com, orders are piling up and I’m trying to prepare for another Trade Show in early January that I’ve been selected for (more on that another time.)
So, in order to catch up a bit, I’m putting all my online shops on holiday as of this Monday until the New Year. If you’re thinking of ordering something for Christmas, it’ll have to be this weekend I’m afraid! www.notonthehighstreet.com/katemoby www.katemoby.com www.etsy.com/uk/shop/KateMoby :) Beyond chuffed to have TWO items featured in The Guardian Christmas Gift Guide 2013! As in, The Actual Guardian... Check it out here! 
After seeking much opinion on social media, I decided to accept the invitation to stock work on notonthehighstreet.com. So far so good, I've already bagged one order! Yay :) Only a handful of products on there at the mo, but I'll be adding more soon. You can see my shop here. Go on, click it! 
So I've finally managed to catch my breath! Top Drawer was fab: a flurry of on the spot sales, some lovely new stockists (including Dulwich Picture Gallery, To Be Established, BritishDesignBritishMade, and Bond Street Studios) and some very exciting press interest (ahem Ideal Home Magazine and the Guardian) and orders keep trickling in! Thanks so much for all your lovely words of encouragement! Now, anyone fancy helping me carve 102 bamboo pens..? 
The other Spotted exhibitors were just lovely, I recommend checking them out!
Hopefully someone will want to nab some of these this weekend... If you are interested in wholesale orders, please get in touch! 
I'm not quite sure how it's happened, but somehow, moo have decided that I have lovely handwriting?! So if you've received any material on their latest marketing campaign for notecards, or a hand written press pack, chances are that I've jotted that down for you!      Sometimes it seems our world is more digital than anything else, and the personal touch can seem like a gimmick. Time barely allows for such niceties as a handwritten note… But it should. Many birthdays have been anticipated by deciphering envelopes, working out where they’ve come from before ripping them to pieces! Or more importantly, who they’ve come from. Handwriting is one of those instantly personal things, and almost a part of someone’s personality.
It can also be immensely beautiful and a channel for enormous creativity. As a multi-faceted designer, (or a creative jack of all trades if you’re being less pretentious!) I’m as often behind a camera lens as designing in front of a computer screen. But one aspect that runs through my design work (I hope!) is a hand drawn, natural element. Sure, things get tweaked digitally, but more often than not, it’s started as a scribble on a sheet of paper. In a full circle-type gesture, these natural elements are more often not made with natural elements. My bamboo pens started by hacking at some twigs in my parent’s garden (which had to be pruned, honest!) and a spot of whittling with a junior hacksaw and a massive knife. Coupled with some drawing ink and some sumptuous paper, and you’ve got a recipe for visual beauty! They take a few uses to bed in, and as a natural product, they each have their own quirks and character, which is half the fun. I often use them in my illustration work, but they are equally as lovely for calligraphy and handwriting. There are many people more talented at lettering work than me, but not many writing tools that you can personalise as easily. So take a break, write a letter. Keep scribbling. |
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If my blog links take you to external websites, I may be receiving a commission for sharing these products. However, please know that all my reviews are my own thoughts and a true representation, and I would never share anything that I wouldn't or haven't personally used or enjoyed.
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