I visited Top Drawer, Olympia London, yesterday and was instantly struck by the huge amount of redevelopment in progress.  The London skyline changes with every visit but what struck me the most was the clever use of the development's safety hoardings for marketing to passing traffic.

For anyone not familiar with Top Drawer? It is the UK's leading contemporary trade fair and in their own words: "a curated retail wonderland". 

Olympia's construction work now boasts numerous eye-catching images and uplifting messages to takeaway from the blot on the landscape.  What registered with me most was the message: "Good things take time" which, I thought was a great new (old) formula for creativity and a perfect mantra for our artisan business plans.  Hope no one minds if I borrow it for our old idea of making things?

The redevelopment of Olympia took me by surprise in another way as there was no parking on-site parking available which meant I had to find somewhere else or go back home.   Going back home was obviously not an option so I found alternative parking for a couple of hours at the nearby Hilton Hotel.

With limited parking on offer, the action plan was to limit dwell time in Olympia and fast-track exhibitors by taking "photographic memories" of their wares to study with the show directory back in the office.  The ultimate goal was to find a 'golden nugget' relevant to our future planning and get out of London as quickly as possible.

I'm pleased to say I discovered 'Coffeenotes', a simple sustainable stationary company with a difference.  Their paper is made in the UK from recycled takeaway coffee cups.   That really is the art of coffee and (re)writing the planet's future!

Good things take time.

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