Behind the Scenes at Top Drawer London: My First Trade Show

In September 2025 I exhibited for the first time at Top Drawer London, one of the UK’s largest and prestigious trade shows.

I'm Jennie, a surface pattern designer from the UK and I produce bold, colourful accessories like make up bags, tote bags, homewares and fabric by the metre, all featuring my hand painted designs. All my products are printed and made in the UK and my brand is all about joyful, feel-good design and creativity that can be enjoyed every day.

At the beginning of 2025, I decided that I wanted to expand my business into wholesaling and licensing. Because my products are made in small batches and feature my unique hand painted patterns, they are ideal for retail buyers and companies seeking something fresh and eye-catching for their customers. So early in the year, I made the big decision to exhibit at Top Drawer, the UK's leading design-led trade fair which unites brands and buyers from large and small retailers and companies.

So, if you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to take your small independent business from the studio to a big trade show, then this post is for you. I’m going to take you behind the scenes of my Top Drawer London experience and share lessons I learned.

Preparing for the Show

Preparing for Top Drawer takes weeks of planning, careful organisation, and a lot of coffee! 

I signed up for the September show after visiting the January show, feeling very excited and motivated. A few weeks later however, I began to have serious doubts as to whether it was the right time for my business and honestly whether the considerable investment would be worth it, so I did nothing for the next 6 months!

I only started planning seriously for the September show from June, when I received by email my Top Drawer Exhibitor Manual and it dawned on me that I needed to start immediately.

Feeling very overwhelmed by everything that I needed to do before the show, I asked ChatGPT to create a preparation checklist with timelines. It was great and proved to be invaluable and as I diligently worked through it ticking off tasks, I felt less overwhelmed and panicky.

Deciding on my product range to take-I don’t have a very big range of products; makeup bags, tote bags, hot water bottles and fabric storage buckets, so deciding what to take wasn’t difficult. I took examples of each product in my different bold prints that reflected my signature bold, colourful style. I also wanted to show some other surface pattern designs that were available for licensing, so I decided to produce examples of how these designs could look on other products such as tea towels, scarfs and cushions.

Design and order printed materials-I decided to produce a printed full wholesale catalogue with product photos, descriptions, wholesale prices and my wholesale terms and conditions. This took longer than I thought even though I used a template from Canva, but I was pleased with the result and felt that it showed off my colourful accessories very well. In the end I printed 50 copies which proved to be about the right amount. I also printed lots of postcards with images of my products and bookmarks with 2 of my most popular patterns. These were very popular and were a nice reminder of my brand to visitors to my stand.

The biggie: design stand layout and styling- this was the scariest task. My stand was only 2m x 1.5m x 1.5m. Luckily my daughter is a graphic designer and works for a company that does events, so she helped me design my stand with a scaled layout including positions of hooks and shelves and graphics. As my tote bags, makeup bags and homewares are very colourful and patterned, we decided to keep the stand white (also saving money as you must pay the organisers to paint the panels back to white). We did decide however to have some large colourful vinyl floral motifs to break up the white areas of the stand and make it stand out. 

Early version of my stand layout and preparation checklist

Order stand signage, graphics, shelves and props- although your stand comes with signage, all exhibitors choose to have their brand logo and colours on the walls of their stand, so I ordered wall vinyls of my logo, retail display shelves, hooks and picture frames to showcase some new pattern designs for licensing. 

Logistics- Top Drawer London produce a checklist of tasks for exhibitors covering things like drop off, parking, accommodation, lighting, insurance etc. I recommend booking drop off and pick up slots and car parking in the Olympia car park well in advance. I decided not to book accommodation in London as I could easily get a train in on the days that I wasn’t driving.

Sharing that you’re going to be at Top Drawer- My ChatGPT assistant had put in my checklist to send press releases and images to trade magazines, so that’s what I did and surprisingly they were accepted and published in Progressive Gifts & Home and Gifts Today I also uploaded my product catalogue to the Top Drawer website in advance as you never know who may be browsing before the show. In fact, a couple visitors to my stand had seen my products on the Top Drawer website. Top Drawer will also ask you to submit images of your products for promotion so I took the opportunity and to my surprise my Midsummer fabric storage basket and Midsummer toiletry bag were featured in the digital and printed show programme. I also posted on social media behind the scenes of my preparation and products I was showing and Top Drawer were very good at sharing these on their Instagram Stories and feed.

Digital programme featuring Midsummer fabric storage bucket

Build Day

Having packed everything up in my car, I set off for build day which is the day before the show opens. When I arrived at Olympia and saw the stands, I had a rush of imposter syndrome! What on earth was I doing here, alongside larger companies, I thought. I was terrified but when my Director of Operations ( my husband!) arrived to help me set up, I calmed down, and we just got on with setting up my little stand.

Don’t underestimate the time it takes to set up your stand. Mine was small and simple but it still took us nearly 6 hours! Putting up the vinyls was scary but my Director of Operations did a fantastic job, and I don’t think I could have set up my stand without him. 

Husband applying my vinyl signage on my stand

First Impressions 

Walking onto the show floor on the first morning was thrilling and scary at the same time. Top Drawer London was buzzing with big companies and small independent businesses like mine from all over the UK (and beyond).

Top Drawer London, Olympia

Seeing my products displayed for the first time felt surreal. My maximalist, floral-inspired patterns really stood out, and I loved watching people pause to admire the bright colours, textures, and details. Some visitors were curious about how my prints were created and where my products were made, which gave me a chance to talk about my hand-painted process, my UK manufacturer, and my inspiration.

On the show floor there was inspiration everywhere, many stands were bursting with colour, patterns, and creativity. It’s a true celebration of design led products.

I also spotted some fascinating trends. Bold colours looked they were in, and buyers were drawn to playful colour combinations. It was reassuring to see my work fit into this wider context while still standing out as original.

Be warned the days are long and you’re standing on your feet a lot (although as a pharmacist I am used to standing all day!), so if possible bring help to cover you for toilet breaks and getting time to eat. Again my Director of Operations (husband) helped out!

The Highs and Lows

After 3 days, I had a new stockist in Jersey, bringing my toiletry bags, makeup bags and fabric storage buckets to a wider audience, so that was exciting. I had a very interesting conversation regarding a potential licensing deal with a publishing company, which could see my surface pattern designs featured in new ways. 

Seasoned exhibitors said that the show felt quiet, especially on the Sunday and the last day, Tuesday and I must admit I had hoped for more footfall on my stand. Although I collected the contact details of visitors to my stand I was hoping for more leads to follow up after the show. Fellow exhibitors who had attended many times shared a lot of good advice and nearly all said that wholesale orders generally came after the show.

Trade shows are a big investment in time, money, and energy and it can feel deflating if not everything goes as hoped. It still remains to be seen whether the cost, time and energy was worth it, but the overall experience was positive and full of learning. 

What I Learned from From Doing Top Drawer

After 3 long exhausting days of standing on my feet and continuously smiling it probably tool me another 3 days to recover and feel able to reflect and review the experience. Every new experience teaches you something new. Here are the most important lessons I came away with:

• Personal connections are invaluable-While having beautiful products is crucial, it’s the face-to-face conversations that make a lasting impact. I met buyers, fellow designers, and stockists who were genuinely interested in my products and surface pattern designs. Some led to immediate opportunities, like securing an order and a new stockist in Jersey and others will hopefully result in collaborations down the line.
• Not everyone will love your products-It’s natural to be nervous about how your products will be received. People did stop at my stand and commented how lovely my patterns and products were, whilst many people just walked past. Observing what people gravitated toward was incredibly insightful and will inform my next collections.
• Be prepared to answer lots of detailed questions-Serious buyers wanted to know the wholesale prices, RRPs, minimum order quantities and values, and carriage. Having this information at hand on a simple Q&A cheat sheet (again produced by ChatGPT) helped me feel confident and professional. I could tell that some buyers thought that my wholesale prices and RRPs were on the high side, but I had practiced beforehand what to say in this situation; that my designs start as hand painted so are unique, and that my fabric is printed in the UK and all products made in the UK therefore of high quality and sustainable where possible.
• Opportunities can appear unexpectedly-One of the most thrilling outcomes of Top Drawer was a potential licensing opportunity with a publishing company. I hadn’t anticipated it, but because my work was out there and visible, the chance came knocking. 
• Keep your B2C audience in mind-Even though Top Drawer is a trade show for buyers, thinking about how products appeal to end customers helped the story behind my brand such as designed and made in the UK.  Knowing what resonates with people who will actually use your products keeps your products relevant.

Future Plans

Following Top Drawer London, I’m back in my studio, following up on leads and sending out my wholesale order to my new stockist The Trading Point in Jersey.

I’m particularly inspired to explore new surface pattern designs, tweak existing designs, and experiment with new colour combinations to create licensing ready surface pattern designs that agencies and brands can easily use for their products.

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