Ahhh, and we did it! 9 out of 9 tradeshows completed!
We know, we know, you’ve all been waiting (impatiently, dramatically, refreshing this page every five minutes… right?), so here it is: the long-awaited, slightly chaotic, definitely juicy behind-the-scenes of what we’ve been up to so far this year.
It all started with Harry in Dallas, where their January politely skipped “winter” and went straight to “surface of the sun.” Lovely. Truly.
Pro tip: maybe don’t ask Harry for restaurant recommendations. What looked like a sleek, fancy BBQ spot online turned out to be… slightly less glamorous in real life. Let’s just say the ambiance was more "abandoned warehouse" than Michelin star.
But it wasn’t all questionable dining decisions. Dallas did offer some wins. Harry found himself in a truly enormous Barnes & Noble (which, let’s be honest, is always a highlight), and spent some time at our friends’ Ethic Goods stand crafting his very own necklace. Naturally, he repaid their kindness the only reasonable way… by pranking them with a fake photo of their stand looking completely destroyed.
Next on the tradeshow roadtrip was. . . Top Drawer!!
This was a very special show, one that will go down in history. Why? Because people got to see silly beans in the flesh (well, felt. I guess!) for the first time. And boy did they make an entrance! Another launch that might not make the history books that is still just as exciting (especially for Edd) was our fabric walls - that’s right, no more orange paint! It’s a big help for breakdown too but mainly the joy is in the lack of paint!
We got the chance to meet our very lovely Aussie distros and went with them to a quiz which coincidentally had a lot of Australian questions. “Surely they won?” you ask. Reader, they did not. Apparently, none of them have watched Bluey. Outrageous, right?
From there, it was a quick turnaround for Mark to Atlanta and for Edd to Milan.
Edd managed to fit in a speed run of the sights with the Duomo Cathedral and nearly got roped into a fashion catwalk! I don’t think Italy is ready for Edd to strut his stuff yet!
Then it was straight on to Amsterdam, where Edd’s main activity (just one hour before opening) was assembling a collection of jumbled pieces of flat-pack spinners. Review: 0/10. Would not recommend.
Meanwhile, across the world in Toronto, Harry found himself in a full-blown blizzard. Outfit: linen trousers, no coat, and one (1) glove that didn’t even fit properly.
His official review:
“Very cold.”
Despite the weather, Canadians showed up in force, proving they are, in fact, built differently. We also somehow smuggled an entire Silly Beans countertop display through hand luggage and airport security. No questions asked. No alarms raised.
Over in Las Vegas, Mark was living his best life - doubling his money with Dan from Osmology and the showroom team, and casually being asked to film a couple’s proposal at the Bellagio fountains.
The finish line was in sight by the time the team rolled up to Spring Fair in Birmingham (without Edd, who had decided to take this one off!).
Top tip for anyone entering a trade show, do not go to a footie match with your agent the day before. Especially not if his team wins and yours loses. Because if that happens, you can be sure that he will rub it in your face and tell everyone for the entirety of the show (yes, Jake we are talking about you!)
At one point, Joe was even “caught up with” by the police for his ongoing crimes against invoicing. We won’t go into detail, but let’s just say if there were a CSI: Paperwork division, he’d already have a file.
Naturally, the team hit the casino. Everyone lost money with impressive efficiency… except Dave, who walked away with £60 and the quiet confidence of a man who will absolutely mention this forever. Reg, meanwhile, lost his shirt. Not metaphorically. Literally. Left it behind in a bag on the stand. You can imagine the ribbing he got, especially when we tried to identify the mystery abandoned property and he somehow forgot it even belonged to him.
Our last show took us to Frankfurt, where Harry and Mark met up with Edd for what was supposed to be a calm, professional setup day.
Reader, it was not calm. Nor particularly professional.
First up: the Ambiente Map of Doom™. We’re fairly certain the Ambiente team decided to spice things up by replacing the standard floor plan with what can only be described as an escape-room challenge. Was it a map? Was it a maze? Was it performance art? Unclear. What was clear is that it took us approximately three to five business days to locate someone who could print vinyl.
Then there was the small matter of Edd being gifted a drone. Now, in theory, a drone is fun. In practice, it’s a flying propeller of chaos - especially when handed to three sleep-deprived men at the end of day five of a trade show.
While there, the boys bravely ventured into the festive fever dream that is Christmasworld. They were genuinely blown away by the sheer scale of the decorations, baubles the size of small cars, enough glitter to blind a nation, but slightly less enchanted by a Christmas tree that looked suspiciously like it had been crafted entirely from human hair.
Meanwhile, poor Edd was fighting for his life against a cold and toothache. It was also at this exact moment he discovered a crucial fact about Germany: you can only buy paracetamol from pharmacies… which close at 6pm on Saturdays… and are closed all day Sunday.
After wandering Frankfurt asking increasingly alarmed shopkeepers for “drugs,” Harry finally had a breakthrough idea: try a random hotel. Shoutout to that very kind concierge!
And just like that… it was over.
Nine shows, countless miles, questionable meals, mild chaos, and a truly impressive number of inside jokes later—we made it through in one piece (more or less). Somewhere between the blizzards, broken flat-pack dreams, rogue drones, and invoicing “incidents,” we also got to meet so many brilliant people, share what we’ve been working on, and see Silly Beans out in the wild doing their thing—which, let’s be honest, is the whole point of it all.
Will we be doing it again?
Absolutely.
Would we pack more coats, avoid pre-show football matches, and maybe double-check restaurant reviews?
Also absolutely.
To everyone we met along the way, thank you for stopping by, having a chat, and being part of the madness. For now we are enjoying the brief moment of rest before we start all over again at PG Live in June!
See you soon!
The Ohh Deer Team x
Did you think we would forget the bestsellers? Don't worry here's the details you are really interested in! 
We also saw a lot of interest in our brand new Silly Beans!
Once again, there was strong interest in our Silly Beans, especially with our new stand.
We’re amazed by the love for our bags at Ambiente—our top 20 bestsellers were all bags!
