Trade shows are exciting events no matter how you slice it, but when the trade show is focused around influencers instead of sales teams, you’re going to end up with something on a different level — something more chill and (dare we say it) more fun. We loved our time at this year’s Hardware Huddle event hosted by RingoFire, and we can’t wait for next year! Here are the top 5 reasons why:
Meeting influencers and makers in person
The variety of influencers at Hardware Huddle was awesome. We finally got to meet several people we’ve already worked with in some capacity (looking at you, Tool Girls Garage, The BUILD with Ethan, and Built by N8) — plus many others we already followed, had seen across various media outlets, or heard mentioned by other influencers we knew. There were even a few people we’d never heard of, but by the end of the event it seemed crazy that we’d just met.
Meeting other brand representatives
One of the coolest parts of the mix of brands in attendance was that no one was directly competing with each other — we all made complementary products in the same space, and this gave us a really neat chance to meet some really cool people we could build a brand relationship with. Some brands we knew of, some we didn’t, and it was lots of fun to meet the other vendors.
Seeing people test out our products and watching their reactions
The main way we get to see people’s reactions when they try our innovative tools is when they tag us in videos on social media — so watching makers test out the Speedhorse and Centipede in person was an awesome experience. What made it even better was having someone explain how the features of our tools would help them on the job or in the shop. We loved the in-person feedback that you can’t get in the same way online.
Meeting the RingoFire team
We’ve been working with the team at RingoFire, the agency that hosted Hardware Huddle, since the beginning of 2022 — and they’ve been a stellar team to work with. Some of them have come to our office, some of us have been to theirs, but this is the first time we got to meet everyone — and it was great. (Plus, they have a sweet campus. If you go to Hardware Huddle in the future, you should ask for a tour.)
Size of event
One of the great things about Hardware Huddle is that it’s not a massive event — which means you can actually meet everyone there and start forming actual relationships with influencers and other brand reps. We loved that we were able to have one-on-one conversations with influencers for 15-20 minutes without feeling like we were ignoring others or wasting time. The goal of the event is to build relationships, and we could feel that in the size of the event.
