KDF Exhibitors – Update Information

Dear All

May is approaching fast so please read through this letter to find out everything you need to know about the Summer show.  The Festival is on 3 floors, with exhibitors from 20 countries! Organising so many people is difficult so we beg you to read this carefully in advance of the show, so you can be prepared for the event – don’t miss out on all the IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE SHOW INCLUDED. Important dates etc are in BOLD CAPITALS! 

WEBSITE: We have a dedicated “EXHIBITORS INFO” page on our website which will be useful to you in the run up to the show.  It will have all the details you need about parking, venue access, loading bay, hotels etc. There is no password to access this page.  This is where you will find it on our website:

SHOWS > KDF SUMMER > EXHIBITOR INFO 

This will be the quickest way to find out all the information you will need.  We also have a full exhibitor list on the website & if you use the search facility on THE LIST, you can choose EXHIBITING IN… > KDF SUMMER to get info on all exhibitors.  Please check that your entry is correct & that links are working.  If not, let us know in the office.  Also email us a photo for THE LIST if there is not one showing or you want to use a new image. 

OVERSEAS EXHIBITORS: We will be especially excited to welcoming so many craftsmen from overseas. If you are travelling from the EU & need advice about travel to the UK, please contact us.  We have many exhibitors who have done this journey recently & can give you valuable advice.  Remember, we have lights, tablecloths & other useful things to buy/hire from us to make your visit easier (see below). We are happy to help in any way, so feel free to contact us with any questions.

LIGHTS ETC FOR HIRE: We have a selection of clip on spotlights available to borrow if you need.  These are particularly useful for overseas exhibitors who have limited space in their suitcases.  PLEASE BOOK THESE WITH US IN ADVANCE TO AVOID DISAPPOINTMENT. If we run out of lights, overseas visitors will be allocated their lights 1^st & any remaining can be offered to UK exhibitors. You will need to pay a £10/€10 deposit per light + a £2.50 fee per light (this fee goes towards replacing broken lights for future shows), You can book a maximum of 2 lights in advance, but if there are any spares, you can take more.  We have a few adaptor plugs available too, as well as loads of extension leads.  

We also have tablecloths to borrow if you need.

To help make your table more attractive, we have some brilliant sturdy cardboard steps that can be used on your stand. You can buy one of these ‘Risers’ for your table for £10.  Limited stock available.

NEW THIS YEAR!  Also for overseas exhibitors,we can now sell a float of £1 coins & other small currency as this is now hard to get from UK banks. YOU MUST BOOK THIS WITH US IN ADVANCE.

More details on what we have available HERE.

HOTELS: If you need to book a hotel, please visit our website (on the Exhibitor Info page) for a list of hotels used in the past by visitors & exhibitors to our show.  We have 2 Hotels very close to Kensington Town Hall, that give us a special rate.  The Copthorne Tara & Holiday Inn- London Kensington.  If you want to book either of these hotels, our special rate will not be available after APRIL 11^th, so make sure you book before then. NOTE: Hotels are very busy & expensive this year due to the Coronation, so we advise you use our special rates, but be aware, there are only a limited number of rooms available so book as soon as you can. (note you may get a cheaper rate on a hotel comparison site, so check these too). Find our Hotel list HERE.

PARKING: We can offer reduced price tickets for the Town Hall car park. The usual rate for 24hrs is £30-£33. The tickets available will be a 24hr tickets for Friday and/or Saturday & a Thurs eve ticket (valid from 6pm). This will enable you to leave your vehicle in the car park from 18.00 on Thursday until Midnight on Saturday without moving it if you need. You do NOT have to book tickets in advance.  As soon as they have confirmed this year’s rate we will let you know (last show it was £10 for Thurs eve & £20 for a 24 hr ticket). All you need is you car park entry ticket (keep it safe!) & a password that we will give you at the show to claim the reduced rate. Find out more about reduced price parking HERE.

VEHICLE PASSES: EVERYONE who uses the loading bay will need a Vehicle Pass.  If you requested one on your contract, you will automatically be emailed a vehicle pass before the show, or you can download one HERE. Please make sure you write your business name clearly in the space provided.  You will not be allowed on the loading bay unless your vehicle pass is VISIBLE to our stewards. We only allow one van/per exhibitor unless agreed in advance. We do not expect any exhibitor to spend longer than 20-30 MINS on the loading bay & once you have unloaded, the parking of your vehicle is your responsibility.  Please check out parking options in advance (see above). 

YOUR WORK: It is very important to us that your work IS your work.  We do not allow exhibitors to sell/display miniatures made by other makers at the show unless there is an agreement with KDF & the other craftsmen involved in advance of the festival. If you work uses kits or components made by another maker, please discuss this with them & us before the event, as we will ask you to remove any items that we feel are breaching this agreement from your table. The Festival remains one of the top events in the world because of your fantastic work.  We want all the work on show to be of the highest level, so please do not bring along anything to sell which is below standard. This will be taken in to account next year when sending out contracts. 

FLOORPLAN: The floorplans for the Summer Show will be available to view HERE from the end of April.  Please check your position before travelling to the show. We cannot guarantee a specific table position, but will do our best to take requests into account.  If you find you are in a dark area of the Town Hall, remember we have lights that you can borrow to make your table stand out!  All the floors get the same footfall & we feel it is important that all areas of the show have a good mix of exhibitors from the UK & overseas.

SHOW CATALOGUE: We produce a beautiful A4, full colour catalogue for our show.  This has been really popular with our visitors who all receive a free copy with their entry ticket. We have also begun sending out copies of the catalogue to collectors who were unable to attend the show. The contact details we now print for each exhibitor are as follows: Name, phone number, email, website & other social media addresses. If you do not have email contacts etc, we will print your postal address.

We still have a few spaces available for advertising in the catalogue.  Download the advert booking from HERE.  We always run out of space, so please book early to avoid disappointment.  Artwork & contact details deadline is . . . APRIL 25th 2023 . . . at the latest.

If your contact details have changed since sending us your contract, please let me know ASAP. Deadline for changes for catalogue is APRIL 25th.  PLEASE NOTE: We no longer print postal addresses in the catalogue, instead, we print all social media details.  Please make sure these are still correct, as you listed on your contract.

PIMA: Don’t forget you still have time to register for the Perfection in Miniature Awards. These will include The People’s Choice Award which is voted for by the visitors & exhibitors at the show. I do urge you to enter & have a piece of your work on display in the PIMA showcase. Deadline for entries is … APRIL 15th 2023.… Download a PIMA Registration Form HERE

KDF DEBUT AWARD: We are excited to announce a new award for newcomers to the KDF.  Supported by Emma Waddell of Dolls House Grand Designs, we will be judging the best new table at the Christmas 2022 show & the Summer 2023 show. The winner will be awarded a free table at a future event + £500 towards expenses.   The winner will be announced at the Friday night drinks. Any newcomers to the show, please visit the COMPETITIONS page on our website for more information or contact us in the office.

FRIDAY NIGHT DRINKS: Friday night drinks take place at the end of the show on Friday 12th May.  These are to celebrate the winners of the Perfection in Miniature Awards & the KDF Debut Award but are a great opportunity to unwind & catch up with friends.  We hope that everyone will join us for a complimentary drink & canapés as the show closes.

CAFÉ: Our incredible “Miniature Kitchen” Cafe will be open throughout the show. All food is made freshly on site & we are pleased to announce that this year, a limited selection of alcohol will be available to purchase too.  The Miniature Kitchen will be opening for breakfast on Friday & Saturday mornings from 9am.  Pastries & bacon rolls etc will be available to buy.  Exhibitors will receive a 20% discount off purchases in the cafe.  We recommend you go to the cafe early to purchase your lunch as it gets very busy with show visitors after 11am.

CREDIT CARD PAYMENTS:  Over the last 2 years, the way people pay has changed dramatically.  We now are all used to paying by card or with our phones.  We do recommend that you have a way of taking card payments at the show.  We use “Square” which is excellent, but there are plenty of other providers.  It looks very unprofessional to ask collectors, who can be spending hundreds of £’s with you, to go to the cash point to draw out money.  What if they don’t come back?!.  

We also offer a credit card service where we take payments on your behalf.  We have to charge for this service to cover our costs & it would be cheaper for you to use a professional provider. We prefer you register for this service in advance please.  You only need to fill it out if you haven’t used this service in the past or your bank details have changed. Download a Credit card facility registration form HERE

SCAM EMAILS: In the past, we have had various companies contacting exhibitors who will be attending the festival & trying to persuade them to pay for an email list of attendees to the show. This is Highly illegal & we would NEVER sell people’s personal information.  PLEASE IGNORE THESE EMAILS. Any email that is officially from KDF will be signed by me or Lola & be sent from a @dollshouseshowcase.com email address. Any emails about the show from other email addresses are SCAMS!

CHILDREN’S ACTIVITIES: We will once again be holding our famous MARVELLOUS MOUSE HUNT throughout the show.  This is incredibly popular with children.  You may be asked to have a mouse on your stand.  If you don’t want to be part of the hunt that is fine, just say no!  We advise that mice are placed in a visible place on your stand so children can spot them easily. 

The Gingerbread Craft Club is back & will be open on Saturday only.  Children will be encouraged to make a miniature of their own for their dolls house.

WIFI: Kensington Town Hall has WiFi available for exhibitors to use.  I will include details of how to log on to their wifi in the Stallholders letter that will be emailed to you prior to the May show. (A copy will also be in your exhibitor pack at the show).

SATURDAY WALKABOUT: Please remember we have an exhibitor walkabout on Saturday morning. It is mandatory that your stand is open from 9am.  This gives you a chance to look at other stalls at the festival before the show opens.  It is a great time to catch up with other craftsmen & discuss collaborations. 

LDF MEMBERS: We have 50 LDF Members, all of who are allowed into the show early (10am on Friday) they are mostly regular visitors.  If you would like to offer a special discount or a free gift for members, please contact me & I will inform them in their newsletter before the show. It is a good way to encourage them to visit your table early on.

FACEBOOK & INSTAGRAM: In the build up to the show we try to post info on facebook twice a week & Instagram posts every day, so we are looking for stories.  If you have any pictures of things you’re working on for the show or any other news, please let us know so we can include it.

STALL SITTERS: If you are attending KDF by yourself, we can loan you a KDF staff member to look after you stand while you have a break. Please come to the KDF Reception Desk at the beginning of the show to book your slot.

KDF RECEPTION DESK: The KDF Reception Desk at the show is always very busy.  This desk is primarily for the use of visitors to the show, so please note the times that the Reception Desk will be open to KDF Exhibitors.

Thursday Evening: 19.30–21.30.    
Friday: 08.00-10.00 + 14.00-17.00.  
Saturday: 08.30-10.00 + 14.00-16.00. 

You may, of course visit the Reception Desk at any time if it is an urgent matter, but please try to visit the desk within these set times for non-urgent reasons. 

GOING GREEN: In an effort to cut down on waste, we are planning to make all LDF shows plastic free & as green as we can.  This will take us a bit of time, but we urge you to do the same. The Miniature Kitchen is already almost plastic free, & they are happy for you to use your own mugs for tea & coffee etc. If you have any good ideas on how to cut down on waste, please let us know so we can pass information on to others. 

OFFICE OPENING TIMES: If there is anything else you need to know that is not covered in this letter, please contact us.  We respond to emails much faster than phone messages!  The Office will be closed between March 23rd – April 17th, but we will be answering emails during this time.

If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact us. We are looking forward to seeing you in May.

Charlotte Stokoe
KDF Organiser
charlotte@ollshouseshowcase.com