Gallery

On Monday I was asked if I would like to help out at the Copenhagen based tradeshow Gallery. As I had been to a couple of tradeshows before and really enjoy meeting new people and selling, I agreed.

Gallery is the place where a large amount of apparel and footwear brands showcase their latest collections (This time it was Spring/Summer 2012). The tradeshow is primarily for existing Scandinavian account holders and stores that want to become account holders. However, over the three days, I met buyers from the UK from the likes of ASOS, Oi Polloi, Hip and Oki-ni.

The show had a great vibe to it. Norse Projects had a fairly large stand, so it was nice to be in a spacious environment. Plus, it was cool because the California Sports family were next to us. (California Sports is the showroom that is below the Norse office. Brands that are represented include Norse Projects, Penfield, Obey, Armor Lux, DC Shoes, Nixon watches, Alife, Herschel rucksacks, HUF and a bunch of others.) So, we were pitched next to Penfield, Armor Lux and Obey, which was fun!

I took a quick walk around when the stand was quiet and saw what other brands were doing. Nothing much stood out to be honest. The highlights were Mark McNairy, because his stuff is pretty directional and just a little bit different, and Grenson shoes, who showed their classic high quality footwear.      

In Copenhagen, Fashion Week is basically a massive excuse to party. Thursday night there was an Adidas party, but we didn't end up going. Instead, we went to the meat-packing district (which is 5 minutes walk away from our flat), and met up with the European reps for Vans. We went to a couple of bars then I went home, because I knew I still had two days left at the show. 

On Saturday night, Streetmachine (the skate / streetwear shop owned by Norse) threw a street party outside their shop to celebrate their collaboration with Obey. Check it out here. They covered the street in grass and everyone sat down in the road just hanging out! After that, Obey threw a party to celebrate the opening of Shepard's art gallery in the meat-packing district. We had a quick look around and saw a lot of his paintings and prints, which were pretty cool! Then we went to the party, which was pretty fun. There were DJs and Danish punk bands playing throughout the night… and free beer courtesy of Tuborg! 

Saturday was the final day at the show. It was pretty quiet, but I am stoked to say that I completed an order practically by myself! It was for a shop in Sweden called 'YO GALLERY', which is opening in a few weeks time.

Norse Store threw a party on Saturday night, but I was way too tired to attend. The last day at Gallery really took it out of me, so I was exhausted and went straight to bed when I got home!

Overall, the experience I have gained over the past three days has been amazing. Now, a day of rest before getting back to the office on Monday morning!