A few months ago we reported on the then upcoming Pea6 road shows and, as we approach exhibition time again, we thought it as good a time as any to report on how they were received as well as letting you know who won a trip to New York.

The idea of the Pea6 shows actually came from customers of the 6 companies involved. During conversations it became obvious that they were looking for something in between the big shows such as Printwear and Promotion but it was also obvious that they didn't want to travel and so the Pea6 idea developed. Of course road shows are not new but there has, in the past, been a tendency for them to be product limited.

The idea of Pea6 was to cover a wider range of garment decoration orientated products including the garments themselves. In fact the name Pea6 came from this idea with the "P" representing print, the "E" representing embroidery and the "A" representing apparel. If you're wondering where the 6 comes in it is the 6 companies (BTC, YES Ltd, Madeira UK, Target Transfers, Sharon Lee and Grafityp UK) taking part.

It was important to make it easy for prospective visitors to get there with as little travel as possible so the organisers decided on venues spread around the UK finally settling on Leeds, Dublin, Belfast, West Bromwich, Newcastle, Scotland, Ipswich, Home Counties and Bristol. They also varied the day of the week on which the shows took place with some mid-week and others being held at the weekend. Many visitors were very much in favour of the latter decision especially small to medium size businesses who find it difficult to get away during the working week. But after all the build up etc was the idea successful?

According to visitors and exhibitors alike the answer is an unreserved YES.
Especially for one lucky visitor who won a weekend in New York - but more of that later.

For the exhibitors John-Paul Burton of Your Embroidery Services Ltd. said "Doing these road shows was definitely worthwhile for all concerned. From our point of view we were all able to meet new prospective customers. For the visitors it was good opportunity to look at other forms of garment decoration as well as speak on a one to one basis with garment suppliers. All in all it was a good experience."

Robin Bull of Target Transfers added "Pea6 was a fantastic opportunity to get out and meet our customers across the U.K. and it certainly lived up to expectations. It was particularly advantageous to hold events in Ireland, Northern Ireland & Scotland and touch bases that are often a bit too far for people to travel to the usual event haunts. It was a great success for Target Transfers, and we are already looking forward to Pea 6 2011". This seemed to be the general feeling with positive comments all around but the comment from Toby Pache summed it up when he said "Quite simply, I was incredibly happy that Sharon Lee took part in the 2010 Pea6 road show! It enabled us to meet with our customers, on their time and in venues convenient to their home town".

Of course the most important people at any exhibition or road show are the visitors without whom the days would be long and boring but this was not a problem with PEA6. All of the venues saw good numbers through the door although it would be fair to say that the shows held on a weekend faired better. Two shows that went down particularly well were the ones held in the north and south of Ireland. With the difficulties and extra expense of crossing that small stretch of water many shows in the past have bypassed the emerald isle but the organisers of Pea6 were determined to include these venues in the itinerary. It wasn't a visitor from here however that benefitted most from the show. That honour goes to George Grimshaw of Asterisk Direct who was the lucky winner of a weekend in New York.

Every visitor to all of the shows was encouraged to enter their business card from which the winner was drawn following the end of the last show. George told us "I am really glad that I went to the road show. Not just for the fact that I won the trip but also because I have been looking for some time to expand my business and was keen to look at print machines and this was the perfect opportunity. It helped a lot that it was fairly local and that it was held on a Sunday. I hope that this won't be the last one that visits our area". Asterisk has been embroidering now for around 7 years and has steadily grown during that period. Specialising in corporate and sportswear the prospect of adding print to the company's remit is a move that George was keen to investigate and a "local" show was the ideal opportunity.

It is good to hear that the shows were received so well especially with P & P fast approaching. For those that found PEA6 interesting the hope is that there will be a 2011 version, for the moment though that is still on the drawing board.

Glenn Hyams
BTC activewear

Following conversations with key Industry decoration suppliers it was felt it would be a good idea to hold a regular series of UK & Ireland Autumn Roadshows, where the suppliers take their ranges and equipment to the customer.

There are many Trade Shows held in the spring but very little occurs during the Autumn – an excellent time to give customers a preview of things in the pipeline for the following year. This led to a number of meetings to discuss the possibility of holding a series of roadshows around the country and Ireland this autumn and PEA6 was born.

PEA6, which stands for Printing, Embroidery, & Apparel and the 6 original companies in its conception, will not only offer customers the opportunity to visit six of the leading Industry suppliers at one time, but also the ease of attending a location within easy traveling distance and at a time convenient for the customer.

Some venues will be held on Sundays and those held on weekdays will open at noon and close at 8-00pm, so allowing customers the choice of visiting during working hours or evenings.

Robin Bull
Target Transfers

This Road Show is the most exciting thing to happen in the market for years. Visitors will be able to attend a show within easy reach of their base, and know that they will be able to meet with all the leading experts in garments/apparel/decoration with every aspect of garment embellishment covered. One-to-one advice and help will be of great benefit to all visitors.

Target Transfers will be showing Custom Printed Heat Transfers; Cad-Cut™ Materials; Heat Presses; Vinyl Cutters and media printable papers and film. It will be a great opportunity to meet face to face with customers and help them progress their business.

Toby Pache
Sharon Lee

I feel that the PEA6 road show, a collaboration between 6 specialist companies within their field will open up a new dimension for the trade, enabling a more in depth platform for distributors to be informed about the very latest products and services available to them.

Stuart Gambles
Madeira

Madeira is really looking forward to participating in this new style road show and to welcoming you to review our comprehensive range.