Tradeshows are an exciting time for everyone in the beauty industry. Whether you’re attending, working, or part of a tradeshow team, it’s easy to get caught up in the seemingly endless array of tradeshow booths. To those not in the know, it seems like a lot of fun. “Flying to a tradeshow?” my friends say on a regular basis. “You’re going to have such a great time!”
We do- have such a great time, that is. Tradeshows, however, as anyone who has ever worked one knows, are a LOT of work!
My name is Amber, and I work as an administrator for the North American School of Podology. Those who have taken classes at NASP and have spoken with me know that I’m fairly new to the beauty industry. I’ve been with NASP for just over a year, working with NASP president Vicki Malo. The first time that she told me that NASP would be attending a tradeshow, I wasn’t sure what to think. I was nervous, I was excited, and of course, I felt like I had no idea what I was doing.
Five tradeshows and one year later, I have to say that working at beauty shows is one of my favourite parts of my job. It’s also one of the most difficult! As NASP was getting ready for ESI: Vancouver, it occurred to me that very few people know what goes on behind the scenes at a tradeshow. Even those that have attended don’t always have quite the same experience! As a result, I decided that I would like to create a photo blog about my experience, for anyone who has ever been curious about what really happens! (Spoiler: it involves orange construction vests!)
Preparation for a tradeshow actually takes place weeks in advance. Booths are booked up to a year prior to the show, and the decision about what items will be taken to the show happens weeks in advance. Stock is packed, sent, and shipped, along with all the components of a tradeshow booth (including the walls and floor! It was amazing to me the first time I packed and unpacked a booth). I’m going to begin with the first day of the ESI: Vancouver weekend, because, a) that’s when the excitement starts happening, and b) that’s when I first started taking pictures.
Our corporate office is based in Toronto, so I started by flying out of Toronto Pearson International Airport. At least, I tried to fly. I was flying with two other people. Their flight did not get cancelled. Mine, however, did! A number of flights were cancelled that day, as it was “One of Those Days.” I was supposed to leave at 7 am, which was delayed to 10, which was delayed until 12, which was delayed until 2…. I think you can probably get the idea. Standby is not the most glamorous way to spend the day (and also the reason why we have to plan flights carefully- it’s winter, and unfortunately, the weather is a very important factor when travelling!). I finally did get to leave at 5pm. It’s safe to say that I was very happy to get on my flight, and that I was looking forward to some food that wasn’t from the airport.
Here I am, with my carry-on, waiting at the gate. I would appreciate not having to hear the word “standby” again, anytime soon.
I was unfortunately not kidding about the cancelled flights. Uh-oh! What a crowd.
After 14 hours of travel, I am also not a fan of airport muffins.
Finally, finally, I arrived! I got in at 9pm Vancouver time, which was midnight for me! Those from Toronto (or basically any other part of Canada) will recall how cold and bitter this past winter has been. I was elated to discover a reward for my long day of travel- a temperature of about 13 degrees Celsius (55 degrees Fahrenheit). While it’s not a breezy summer day, I was very, very happy for the warm weather.
Here I am, about to take off that morning for Vancouver….
And here I am after finally arriving there!
A short drive back to the hotel, and I was ready to EXPERIENCE VANCOUVER!
Just kidding. I was ready for bed. It was midnight for me, and tradeshow setup would be the next day! The Vancouver experience continued on without me, as I was sound asleep.
The next day was Saturday, which is the most important day for the tradeshow, because it involves all the preparation and setup! I was up early to join Vicki for some breakfast (thankfully, the time change worked in my favor and I had a great sleep!).
We were in Vancouver, after all, so I got a latte and some homemade granola. (It was so delicious!)
It was actually my first time in Vancouver! I’ve done a bit of travelling, but I had never been to Western Canada. Luckily, we were early enough that I got to check out the harbour!
What a beautiful view in the morning!
The tradeshow is held at the Vancouver Convention Center, which is beautiful inside. We then proceeded to the booth setup, which was… not! The booths take a LOT of work to put up- the floor goes first, than the walls, and everything has to be cleaned and set up, one by one!
Here is the convention center before a lot of booths are set up. It looks a little different than what you’d think!
The convention center is great about safety, which includes everyone wearing an orange safety vest during setup and takedown. While this is a good thing overall, it’s not the fashion choice you’d expect for a beauty show! Here is a photo of myself and Vicki, setting up. (I was not impressed by the shade of orange at the time.)
Tradeshow setup lasts a while. I was lucky enough to get a chance to walk around a little bit before dinner- dinner is very important after setup! You don’t even realize how hungry you are until you are finished. Here’s a photo of my dinner after we were finished setup:
(Just kidding. I ate a crepe. But I FELT like that could have been my dinner.)
Here is the view from my hotel. Not bad at all!
Another great harbour shot.
I got to see the steam clock later on, when walking around Gastown! You can read more about it here:
After that, it was time for more sleep, more lattes, and then…. Tradeshow Day 1!
NASP always takes a photo of our booth before the show. (Maybe it’s good luck! And maybe I just made that up. But we always do it, and it’s so fun looking back on the pictures from past shows.) Sometimes, we have a huge team, like this photo of us last year at Toronto ESI (this was my very first show!)
This time, it was just myself and Vicki working in the booth! Lucky, we had some great neighbours– who took the picture for us.
It’s hard to blog about exactly what happened at the show, as we were so busy! Vicki was speaking, and she was also doing lots of demos, especially of our BS Brace kit. I was excited to talk to people about our curriculum (if you’re not familiar with it yet, you can read about it here) and showcasing our bits and tools!
(They’re so great that they came out upside down!)
The tradeshow day can be long- the show opens at 9am and goes until 6pm. Of course we get a chance to eat lunch, but it’s a busy day! It went by really quickly, though, because we were so busy and because I really enjoyed chatting with everyone. We met some great new people, and were also visited by some past NASP alumni!
Vicki is doing a demo here, and stopping to explain what she’s doing.
Some people that came to visit us!
By the time the show is over, we were definitely ready to sit down, and definitely ready for a bite to eat. I was a little bit more conservative with food than I was the night before…
(I’m just kidding! Tradeshows do make you pretty hungry, though, and the first day is always tiring!)
Monday was Day 2 of the show! Vicki and I got a chance to have coffee by the harbour, pre-show. What a beautiful day!
We opened bright and early with a lot more demos, including our various implements!
A view of our booth JUST before we opened that day!
Some more people that stopped by for a demo.
We had a great time talking to everyone! If you have questions about our classes, a tradeshow is always a great time to come and see us.
Peeking out from our neighbour’s booth to the rest of the show!
Here I am, manning the cash register! A lot of people ask me what we use- it’s Square. In the downtime (not that there is very much!) I put some of our tradeshow pictures on our Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!
When the day is done on Day 2, we don’t get to leave right away- it’s takedown time!
We pack everything up into the crates that they came in. Even though it seems messy, we have to be very organized, and put everything in order, for the next tradeshow! (For the record, that would be ESI Toronto– come and visit us!)
Here’s a picture of the booth as we pack it up. Organized chaos!
We pack and pack, until there is nothing left but one lone chair! Then, when everything has been successfully shipped, it’s time to leave the convention center. This time, it’s dark out! The view, however, is no less great.
Across the harbour. Still warm out, compared to Toronto!
Canada Place is lit up at night!
Goodbye, convention center!
After dinner and packing up, it’s time to grab some sleep before our early morning flight!
I found this when walking to the tradeshow one morning! I definitely #LUVVAN.
Another day it was a little bit foggy, which is more typical of the weather. I still couldn’t get enough of the view! (And everyone was really friendly, especially when finding my way around!)
Tuesday morning rolls around, and no one is happier than me to say that my flight was ON TIME!
A 5.5 hour flight is not always comfortable. Luckily, my flight was.
At last! I had arrived in Toronto. And so had my luggage! I was home sweet home. (Although, I arrived back to a feel of -25C- [that’s -13F], with wind chill. Brrrrrr!) I had enough time to grab a latte and go home and get a little bit of downtime before returning to work the next day, where I would catch up on emails and start processing orders and paperwork and class registrations from the tradeshow.. But that’s a story for another day!
In conclusion- working at a beauty tradeshow is not as glamorous as it looks! It involves a lot of setup and takedown (thanks to Vicki, I have gotten a lot better at knowing the order of things, and where everything goes) and the days can be long! Sometimes you run out of stock, sometimes you run out of time, and sometimes you run out of energy, and desperately need to grab a coffee before the after-lunch rush. (Maybe that’s just me? No, it can’t be!) But, most of all, I have found working at a tradeshow to be rewarding. I absolutely love getting to meet some of our students- and future students!- and hearing their stories. I get to meet people who I have spoken to only by phone, putting names to faces. I get to answer questions people might have about our classes, and hear some amazing success stories, about how our classes have changed their businesses, and sometimes, their outlooks! Working at a tradeshow -despite the orange safety vests!- reminds me why I really enjoy what I do, and still gives me energy after a long day, because of the wonderful people that I get to meet! As Vicki has said in a previous blog post, there is nothing like actually interacting with clients, not just via email, and getting to know them on a more personal basis. I am, as always, looking so forward to our next tradeshow, and hopefully, to meeting some of you!
For more information on tradeshows that NASP is attending this year, or any of our classes, give us a call at 855-622-6277!
-Amber Bonnell