July 12th saw Fiona heading to London to be part of a seminar at the London Christmas Party show.

Sweltering temperatures did not dampen the spirits of the attendees or the incredible Festive atmosphere – quite an achievement in July!

What was immediately apparent was how ready everyone is to get going again with events, parties and general get togethers. The fact that we are as humans generally social creatures was evidenced by the excited chatter in every room and the laughter and smiles everywhere you went, from exhibitors and visitors alike. This really felt quite unlike any other trade show that I have attended in terms of all round happiness and the thrill of thinking about events again.

For DZD it was a really lovely opportunity to catch up with some of our customers. It was also great to have the chance to walk around the whole show and meet some stunning new venues and events providers.

The seminar entitled ‘Using Creativity to Deliver Stand-Out Events’ was hosted by Adam Parry from Event Industry news and Fiona’s co panellist was Rachael Loosemore from Smart live Events. Attendees were a mix of Corporate buyers and Venues. The conversation was an interesting and varied one –all centred on creativity, and included how to create the wow factor with limited budgets, sustainability and sourcing challenges.

One of the key messages was to speak to your suppliers as early as you can – even if you don’t have your budgets or ideas fully signed off yet. Chatting through initial ideas and stock levels will help you to move far faster once things are signed off.