On the Town:Orders generating more than €42 million will be placed at a trade fair in Dublin later this month.
Deals will be done but in a professional, business-like fashion. Showcase Ireland is no wild and boisterous horse fair. There will be no spitting on hands or walking away with threats and complaints at the upcoming international trade fair in the RDS, Dublin.
As the last-minute preparations got underway, there was a chance to meet some of those involved in the fair at an informal gathering in Dublin this week.
"It's very commercial, but there's no haggling in the 'that's my final offer' sense, although quite a bit of haggling does go on," says Gerry Murphy, organiser of the event, which is now in its 31st year. "We like to think it's the annual outing for the industry . . . It is a market. The retailer comes to find the kind of merchandise that their customer wants to buy."
There will be stands for 550 craft, gift, fashion, jewellery and interiors exhibitors from all over Ireland and Europe, he says.
Joan Millar, who has been attending Showcase Ireland for more than 20 years, promoting her company's knitwear designs, says the best way to cut a deal is "to hold someone's gaze".
"I look people in the eye when I'm doing a deal, and I find it works," she said. "We have people who are coming back year after year wanting to know what's new. A lot of the people I do business with have become friends."
"It's the most important showcase for our products," said Camilla Fearon, of Tipperary Crystal. "It's really busy. It's a great opportunity to meet new buyers and meet existing buyers and show them the new ranges."
Then the countdown to the opening of Showcase Ireland began in earnest as models Sarah McGovern and Baiba Neilande wore garments created by Limerick-based designer Giordana Giache, bringing the black and jade green gowns to life for the photographers.
Showcase Ireland 2007 runs at the RDS Main Hall, Dublin, from Sun, Jan 21 to Wed, 24