Located in the iconic town of Den Bosch in the Netherlands the Bold XXL show celebrated its 10th Anniversary.
The show was created by Walter and Terressa, whom I am totally in awe of. The last time Ffin had attended was 2 years ago, and it was astounding to see how much the show had improved since we were last here. When we had a moment to catch-up, I mentioned the marked improvement to Terressa and Walter. They were gracious in accepting the compliment but also a little shrug from Terressa as she said, “We make improvements all the time. It can always be better, so we make it better.” What strikes me is that whilst Walter and Terressa are obviously mad busy, they are both relaxed, with total focus on me as their customer.
As perhaps the smallest Brand at the show and as the Operations side of Ffin, this attitude of continual improvement and laser focus on the customer experience resonates with me and I’m appreciative of how Walter and Terressa have made this part of their core values.
I reflect on how much effort goes into an event like this, the thousands of detailed tasks and transactions that make a show run successfully and the level of competence required to grow the show from its small beginnings, to the scale and standard that it has achieved by its 10th Anniversary.
They are well placed to understand their customers to this degree, they run the Bold XXL event twice a year, run an agent distribution service for 4 brands and more recently they tell me that they have invested in a couple of stores. They are now uniquely placed to understand the show from the perspective of brand, agent and optician. What’s more, they want to stock Ffin Eyewear in their newest store in Amsterdam!
I joke with them that they didn’t have to get me to attend the show, I would have happily come to see them as a new client and I’m warmed by their response. “No” Walter says, “We want brands like Ffin at Bold.” Terressa interjects “We, need brands like Ffin at the show. It is important that small brands are supported coming through into the industry. We met you a few years ago and we like you and Anna. You’re doing something you believe in. That’s why we wanted you here with us!”
Again, I am struck by their boundless enthusiasm. It is infectious. After months of planning and weeks of preparation, with 2 other businesses to run, Walter and Terressa are still full of energy and enthusiasm, and I am now fuelled by their passion and entirely glad to have been part of this event.
They have been incredibly supportive of Ffin and they backed this up with a 4 page spread in the Bold magazine.
They had arranged for one of their team to interview us, translated the article into Dutch and created an awesome layout for us. It is an incredible article and we are very thankful for it.
Not only that but each year they come up with a package and show location for small brands to take advantage of. They believe that this is part of the fabric of any show and that bringing smaller brands into the space, is part of the overall tapestry that makes the show what it is.
I’m glad that Walter and Terressa are placing an order with Ffin at Bold. For the next few moments, all the responsibility for this epic show, melt away and they are just two eyewear enthusiasts doing what they love most. There are ooo’s and ahh’s as they admire each other in cool eyewear, discuss colours and take photos. Walter dons the AMO frame, looking like a model from GQ, whilst Terressa demonstrates that she could model eyewear for a living (if only she had the time) because she can put on any frame and bring it to life. I think we might have found a couple of Ffin models for the future… watch this space.
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