Feeling like a winner

That’s a wrap for another year at the Australian Toy Fair in Melbourne. What a show it’s been!

Our stunning new twin aisle stand was awarded Best Open Space Stand by the Australian Toy Association. We can’t believe it. We used this 60 sqm stand for the first time at the AGHA Gift Fair last August. It’s moments like these that make all the hard work worthwhile. It would be fair to say that the last three years have been pretty intense.

Creating our new stand was stressful to say the least. The artwork was prepared by a designer in India. I approached him after shortlisting a corporate logo he’d created for Artiwood. We ran a competitive design tender online to source a new corporate identity. While we didn’t select his design, I was impressed by his work.

However, he ultimately proved incredibly unreliable. It took months of chasing to get our artwork files completed. In the end we forwarded them to the printer two days before the final deadline. So much for giving ourselves a couple of months to get everything sorted. Never again.

In between meeting customers and taking orders, Garry and I also enjoyed an evening of fine dining at Heston Blumenthal’s iconic restaurant, Dinner by Heston. The experience was simple divine. We honestly enjoyed every course on the degustation menu. I can’t recall the last time we walked away raving about every dish we tried.

For example, the meal kicked off with a fruit meat and toasted sourdough dish. The menu's description didn't make it sound all that appealing.  However, we were presented with a pate crafted to look like a real mandarin. It was delicious. We finished the evening with one of Heston's signature Liquid Nitrogen Ice Cream cones. The ice cream was prepared on a cart at our table, offering plenty of misty dining theatre.