Axminster Show 2001

Once again it's autumn and time for Axminster to show the autumn/winter collection. All the manufacturers must be driven hairless trying to dream up some new twist to tempt buyers, but enough philosophy, back to the report. The show had the same layout as last year. However, this time our stands were located in the main hall 3, see Photos 1 and 2.

Photo 1

Photo 2

Photo 2 is a view across the hall, directly towards our display stand. The demonstration stand can be seen on the left.

Photo 3

The floor area assigned to us was greater than last year, so things were less cramped, see Photo 3.

Photo 4

The exhibition stand looked as good as usual, see Photo 4. Acknowledgement and thanks must be given to all those who helped to enable our presence there.
 There didn't seem to be the same amount of people stopping and talking this year. I spent time turning on a lathe and certainly had less interaction than last year. Several pieces of work were sold, but not as many as our members would have liked. However, how much more of a difficult market could you have, than trying to sell to other woodworkers who can all do the very same thing, any suggestions?
 George did his usual sterling job on the Ready, Steady-Turn stand. This drew the crowds very well and everybody enjoyed the show. Thanks must be given to all the turners who gave their time to help the charity.

 I thought it might be informative for our members to see stands belonging to other turning groups. This gives a chance for some comparisons to be made.
 Photo 5 shows the display on the Devon Woodturners stand. Their work was of a high standard and was well presented.

Photo 5

 Photo 6 shows the Wessex Woodturners stand. Their display was relatively small and due to space restrictions, had to be placed behind the demonstrators, which seemed a shame because it made it difficult to view some very nice items. My opinion is that this is never a good formula for displaying any craft items, the closer the public can get, the more they take an interest.

Photo 6

 One observation that comes to mind after seeing the various displays is that they all have a large degree of similarity. None of them appear to stop people in their tracks, suggestions please, the phrase something different comes to mind. this is not meant as a criticism, as I do understand that anyone involved in setting up displays like these puts a great deal of effort into finding an attractive answer. Part of the problem may be that the work of staging the displays always seems to devolve to the same people.
 Overall, the show seemed to go well, there was no competition for the best stand this year so we didn't come away with an award this time. The public came and talked to those of us on the stands and appeared to enjoy doing so. I would say this indicated an overall worthwile experience.