Home & Gift, Harrogate

My first vendor visit took place at Harrogate's Home&Gift fair on 17th July 2012, where over 1000 hand-selected key exhibitors showcase their brand's new product lines to help buyers stay ahead of the Christmas competition.

We were not necessarily looking for Christmas stock, or even to make deals at all, but instead to informally touch base with current suppliers, talk to vendors who we would like to stock and also to see if there were any interesting new brands that we had not seen before.

It was amazing to see the relationships that the company has formed with vendors, making the show less business and more pleasure.

Below are a few of the brands I saw exhibiting at the show who stood out to me;

HEYLAND & WHITTLE
Heyland &Whittle pride themselves on the fact that everything is hand made using the very best natural ingredients including essential oils, herbs and spices to create a sulphate and paraben free range.
www.heylandandwhittle.co.uk

WILD OLIVE

An emerging new brand that collects the best quality, sustainable ingredients from all over the world and use traditional methods to make wonderful hand-made soaps, candles and body products in Derbyshire.

The product offering provides both practicality, with items such as 'Dog Soap' and a fun quirkiness with 'Bath Tea Bags' and 'Luxury Bath Melts' in the shape of delicious ice-creams.

NO animal products, products tested on animals, sulphates or parabens are used.

www.wild-olive.co.uk

 

SRANROM

Igniting the senses and replenishing the skin, the Harmony range has been specifically created to reconnect the mind and body with the beauty of nature. Using a different magical part of superior Thai herbs and plants, four 100% natural collections work to rebalance, re-energise and restore. 

www.sranrom.co.uk

NATURA LEIGH

This was the last brand we saw of the day and probably my favourite of the show.

Everything about the brand is natural and hand made, designed to blend craft and home fragrance.

Flower buds are used to lovingly decorate the soaps by hand and little gingham ribbons are knotted around the tops of liquid soap bottles, which look like they have come straight out of an Alice in Wonderland "drink me" scene.

Their new collection collates French Chambray fabrics and uses them to wrap the gorgeous soaps so that the scent is able to ooze through the fibres.

www.naturaleigh.co.uk