This is from a slightly different perspective as I'm an exhibitor at Crufts and honestly, all the really cool and entertaining stuff simply passes us by, this includes Clare Balding who I saw rush by my stand, it totally made my day!
Instead we have fabulous visitors bringing their gorgeous dogs with them ( this year we had George the Irish Setter, Margo who did very well and came reserve in her class and Nelson the Picardy, we were a bit too busy to take proper photos!) and we try to have early morning runs around the other Halls to grab things from our shopping list, see what's new and say hello to friends made past and present.
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1. Nailing Set-up The perfect set-up eluded us for many years, but this, our 5th year, we nailed it! Often we’d be picking up the hire van on the morning of set-up day, going to my studio, packing up and then driving up to the NEC arriving around 1-2pm along with what seems like everyone else so it’s difficult to get a close spot to unload and by the time you’re on your stand they’re trying to put the main carpet down so you have to keep everything within the confines of your stand - no spilling over into the aisles so the whole thing became a really quite stressful experience, followed by one too many medicinal gins in the bar afterwards to aid recovery! This year we used the Motorhome instead of hiring a van, we arrived a day early so we could be at the NEC first thing on set-up day, we got close to the door for unloading and I was done and dusted by the time we were usually arriving! |
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2. Discover Dogs One of the highlights for me is arriving early onto the stand and seeing all the dogs starting to arrive for the Discover Dogs section in Hall 3, being in Hall 2, lots pass us on their way in. My Mum loved Shelties, the first time I did Crufts, the very first group of dogs I saw were Shelties, on their way to Discover Dogs, I felt she was wishing me luck! |
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3. Neighbours These can change over time but we’ve had great neighbours over the past few years.
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4. Dogs Dancing to Abba The Southern Golden Retriever Display team are one of my highlights, they are in the main arena but they usually do a display in Hall 3 and that’s where I try and to catch them if we’re not too busy. I often describe the atmosphere at Crufts as magical, I put it down to all those dog lovers under one roof but when I first saw these live and set to some Abba classics, I almost had a tear in my eye! Do search for them on YouTube, I think they’re magical! |
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Crufts is not all dog goods, there’s outdoor wear for humans, I think in Hall 5 there was an eyebrow bar and one year I broke my glasses and was delighted to find a stall selling reading ones. This year I discovered the Celtic Knitwear company, I think they've had a stall at Crufts for at least as long as I have, yet it was the first time I really 'saw' them! On my way to the loos one day, this jumped out at me and I decided to treat myself, then I went back and decided to treat my sister too! https://celticknitwearcompany.co.uk/shop/cardigan-with-shawl-collar-and-hood/ Take a look, the quality is amazing and I’d highly recommend, it’s kept me warm and toasty for the rest of the winter this year. |
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That's my round-up of our Crufts this year, we really were so busy, my best show ever and just a sheer delight seeing everyone! Now, depending on when you are reading this, I'm selling off everything I brought back, I'll warn you now it wasn't much, but you can Shop Here to see if there's anything you'd like |
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6. Getting to spend 4 crazy days and 3 fabulous evenings with your partner in crime and laughing at our inability to speak or walk come Sunday evening!