BLE tips & tricks with… SBC’s Sophie Bloomfield

Sophie, thanks for making time. When did you first attend BLE?
October 2012 – back when I was product development coordinator at Fluid World.

What’s your best BLE memory?
Creating my first CPLG stand. Seeing all the mannequins I had styled – which I’d been planning out for months – and how impactful the stand looked. Such a proud moment!

And there it is – looked great. Now, what makes for a good BLE meeting?
Allowing enough time! 15 minutes is never enough. Try at least 30 minutes and have plenty of water – all the talking will leave you with a sore throat by the end of the show. Also, try and have a brief idea of the agenda and what you’d like to cover.

Great stuff. What’s your key objective for this year’s BLE?
To touch base with existing clients and peers from the industry.

Before we let you go, give us a BLE tip or recommendation… Could be a restaurant, pub, venue or show advice…
Because BLE is east London, I love to go to some of my favourite places a bit off the beaten path from the show. Cornerstone in Hackney Wick is great. I also love Bistroteque in South Hackney and The Hemingway pub in Hackney for great client catch ups with a more chill vibe.

My main BLE tips are snacks – always have snacks on you! Plan breaks in your day so you’re not overwhelmed or running your battery down. Powerbanks – literal batteries – are a must and I highly recommend Anker. Oh, and comfy shoes as you’ll be surprised how many steps you get in on one day!

The main thing is to go with the flow. There will always be something that doesn’t go to plan, be it a train strike, delay, hotel on fire – that actually happened last year! Just enjoy the show and catching up with your favourites and everything will be fine. As we say, we’re not saving lives, we’re brand licensing!

Some gems there Sophie! Thanks again.

If you still haven’t registered for BLE this year, click here to do so!

BLE 2023 runs at ExCeL London from October 4th to 6th 2023.