Sourcing the best for you, one city at a time
Looking for inspiration for the new season ahead and wondering how and where we choose our amazing products? Wonder no more! Our lovely Directors, Dan and Ali, along with our buyer, Lizzie (also lovely) embark on sourcing trips across the world to source sustainable, ethical and high quality products that satisfy our wholesale customers in search of treasures that fit their own brand and customer profile.
It may sound glamourous, exciting, even luxurious jetting to the other side of the world for a week here and a few days there but it’s definitely not. Travel itself can be uncomfortable and very tiring and a sleepless 13 hour flight can set you off on the wrong foot for a 3 hour long meeting straight off the plane, just ask Dan! Food in far flung corners can be interesting at best and barely identifiable at worst. That said, snake and Szechuan scorpions can actually be pretty tasty. Again.. just ask Dan.
After a while, all the walking (30,000 steps in a day is not uncommon) and super fast appraisals of suppliers and products while walking down countless aisles takes its toll and you can quickly become a little snow blind and find yourself in need of a fleeting sit down to refocus. Thankfully, you are rarely far away from a coffee (albeit a very poor one, we’re spoilt in the West!). Unfortunately, a ‘Western’ loo as opposed to a squat pan can take a little more finding as they are in very short supply and very high demand. If you can find a western loo that hasn’t been used as a storage cupboard for the janitor then Congratulations, you have reached God level Buyer status and shouldn’t find it too difficult to find just the right product in a sea of mediocrity!
You do very quickly get the knack of identifying a suitable new wholesale supplier. Firstly, the products need to feel on brand for GI and attract us from the get-go. A sort of love at first sight. There has to be a firm level of confidence in the quality of the product and the supplier. Is the supplier the manufacturer (good) or merely a middle man (bad)? At first glance, are there enough products to allow us to fill a shipping container and, if not, is there scope to modify and create new custom products? What are the supplier’s capabilities or willingness to help us to create exactly what we want? Do we already have a reliable supplier for similar products who we don’t want to upset or are we looking to replace a supplier who has run their course? All this happens in the 5 seconds it takes to walk past a stand and, if all the boxes are ticked, then we will engage in conversation and invariably be offered a bottle of water, a coffee, a mini Snickers, a Ferrero Rocher (if you’re lucky) or a soft prawn flavoured biscuit (if you’re not so lucky). We know first hand how tough it is when a trade show buyer walks past without coming onto your stand, it can be a little demotivating. This is where a smile and “No thank you” in their language goes a long way.
Trade fairs offer a wonderful space to meet and reconnect with a multitude of suppliers specialising in every material under the sun… wood, glass, metal, ceramic, resin, bone, shell, wax, jute, linen, you name it, we’ve seen it.
Finding a supplier with an open mind to develop our hare-brained ideas certainly helps to build a firm bond, it shows we are both invested in making a relationship work and the reward is ending up with a product in the right style and finish, to the right specification and fit for purpose, all of which are important when the intention is to create a product with style and longevity – some wholesale products are still in high demand after many years, while others have their day in the sun and are moved on for younger, prettier things.
After a mentally and physically exhausting day a trade fair seeing and creating new products on the fly, you would expect to want to slink off quietly into fresh sheets and freezing air con for an early night. Sometimes, though, there is a certain draw to the continuous hustle and bustle of the city and a well deserved G&T. Being away is such a feast for the eyes, it can feel as if you’ve lived 3 weeks after being away for just one! Despite suffering a healthy dose of jet lag and full body fatigue, it is of course also a lot of fun experiencing a whirlwind few days of a completely different culture, enjoying an unfamiliar degree of hospitality to us in the West, with delicious cuisine (if you’re brave enough to embrace it) and walking through a cityscape far removed from the bright lights of Shaftesbury!
These products were sourced during our buying trip this year, and we can’t wait to share them with you as part of our SS26 collection launching in January 2026. The range includes beautiful new hand block-printed table linen, along with fresh designs in lampshades, bags, and multifunctional candle holder vases.
Favourite part of the buying trip
Asking all three what they love about their buying trips, and the answer is unanimous!
For Ali & Lizzie, there is a real thrill being totally immersed in new products and concepts and not just seeing trends emerge a season or two before they hit the high street but also having an actual influence on them. It’s similar to being kid in a toy shop once you find an exciting new supplier and the possibilities are limited only to your imagination.
Or are they…? Dan gets a kick out of product design, understanding what is possible from a production point of view. Sometimes a new product in our mind’s eye is just not possible due to the limitations of materials or machinery. Talent is normally not a constraint as suppliers can generally find a way after much head scratching. It’s satisfying to improve a design to reduce unnecessary material and cost, or to increase strength or simply to make it more ‘GI’.
All three of our buyers particular love to see old suppliers, to catch up and share a laugh over a prawn biscuit. As Lizzie puts it “We communicate with suppliers mainly over email until our buying trips roll round and it’s always lovely to see how they’re getting on in person, see what’s new and just catch up in general, it’s always so nice to see a friendly face on the other side of the world. All the walking is really tiring but I wouldn’t change it for anything!”
