Anni, what are the most common mistakes for designers at your event? How should expectations be managed both before and on the course of the event?

Design Market invites carefully chosen design companies to empty their stocks of products that are either from previous seasons, prototypes or just not sold before. Design Market starts our design week following the thought of ”getting rid of the old, making space for the new”.

Design Market has been organised for 11 years and the companies that I choose to take part have high expectations. The event is known to be a place where visitors are willing to spend money and come shopping. According to surveys and observation, the audience isn’t your typical sample sale crowd of young women, but rather people from all ages and genders. This is why I put big emphasis on the additional programme of workshops, talks and children’s activities.

Before the event I communicate clearly the fact that this is a stock sale event and advise the vendors to set the prices as low as possible. I try to make it clear that the visitors are expecting to make great finds and encourage the designers to tell about the special offers and unique gems they are bringing.

Any unpleasant surprises are simply avoided by communicating clearly throughout the project. Every year there are companies complaining about the location of their sales area so I guess I could say that the mistakes happen in the realisation of the venue.

I could manage these expectations by making the location and the shape of the space clearer, and maybe consider some different pricing for different areas of the venue, as vendors are usually very specific on their requests regarding this. This is completely understandable since for many Design Market is sales wise their most important weekend of the year.