Nomad at Boutiques Fair

Welcome back to our second ever event at Boutiques Fair! Sitting back in the office and typing this after four straight days on my feet feels a little surreal. The shift from constant conversations, bright lights, and nonstop movement to the quiet hum of the showroom almost gave me whiplash. Going into the event, I honestly didn’t know what to expect. I had never attended Boutiques Fair before as a vendor nor as a visitor so I walked in blind. What I didn’t anticipate was the sheer scale of the crowd. It was packed, but in the best way possible.

To everyone who came by to say hi, browse, chat, or buy - thank you. Meeting you guys, sharing our brand story, and hearing your strap preferences and watch-collecting journeys was one of the best parts of the experience. Compared to Spring Sprang Sprung, Boutiques Fair was definitely a much larger and more comfortable venue. As you can probably tell from the pictures, we had more space to work with, more room to display our straps, and more breathing room… at least during setup.

Day 1: VIP Night

Despite it being called a “VIP night,” it was actually quite a chill start—though “chill” is relative when 320 vendors each get 20 VIP invites. I thought the crowd was pretty solid for a preview evening, and at the time, I assumed this was the standard Boutiques Fair vibe.

Little did I know that Days 2–4 would make Day 1 feel like a warm-up jog.

One of the highlights of the evening was the beer from Sunbird Brewing Company. If you’re into fruity, sweeter beers, I highly recommend the Sunset Groove Lager. It hit the spot after hours of talking nonstop with visitors and fellow vendors. VIP night gave us a good chance to ease into the event, fine-tune our layout, and get used to the flow of conversations before the real crowd arrived.

Day 2

Fridays at events are usually quieter, or so I thought. But somehow, the crowd at Boutiques Fair didn’t get the memo and it was surprisingly busy for a weekday afternoon. Seriously, how are you guys so free on a Friday?

One thing I really appreciated about Boutiques Fair was the diversity of vendors. Spring Sprang Sprung was fun, but it leaned more toward niche watch microbrands. Boutiques brought in a much broader mix: F&B, fashion, home goods, wellness brands, watches - you name it. This meant the visitors came from all walks of life, not just watch enthusiasts. It was refreshing talking to people who stumbled upon our booth by chance and ended up learning about leather types, strap tapers, and quick-release systems for the first time.

We also had an unexpectedly great view from behind our booth. It’s the small things, sometimes a nice backdrop helps you recharge mentally in between waves of customers.

Day 3

Day 3 was hands down the most intense day. A full 11am–9pm stretch on a Saturday, combined with the fact that Saturdays are also our busiest showroom days, meant the team was running on pure adrenaline.

From the moment the doors opened, the flow of people didn’t stop. We had customers coming in for browse-and-buy sessions, but also quite a number who came for custom strap orders. One of the highlights was working on a custom piece for a Cartier Ballon Bleu, which turned out beautifully.

By the end of the day, I was completely wiped. I think I got home, showered, and knocked out within minutes. Day 3 was exhausting, but it was also incredibly fulfilling seeing so many people respond positively to our handcrafted straps and hearing them share their watch stories reminded me why we do what we do.

Day 4

The last day had a similar weekend crowd to Day 3, though the energy felt slightly different - more “last chance shopping mode” rather than leisurely strolling.

One thing that stood out was how dominant the Apple Watch was among visitors. I expected to see a mix of Seikos, Rolexes, Omegas, and microbrands, but the Apple Watch easily took the top spot. What really surprised me was the popularity of the Apple Watch Ultra. I didn’t expect the most expensive Apple Watch to be that common, but there were tons of them walking past our booth.

Even though the event officially ended at 6pm, teardown took a while. Collapsing displays, packing inventory, loading everything out - it all adds up. By the time we were done, it was already 9:30pm. We enjoyed a late dinner (thanks Bing!) at Sin Hoi Sai Eating House near our showroom, and I finally made it home around 11:30pm.

Wrapping up

Being only our second-ever event, we’re still relatively new to this whole fair and exhibition scene. Both Spring Sprang Sprung and Boutiques Fair taught us so much about booth design, traffic flow, customer engagement, and even what stock to bring.

Despite the exhaustion, I genuinely enjoyed the experience. It was a refreshing change of pace from the usual showroom routine, and it was incredibly meaningful meeting customers in person, some familiar faces, many new ones.

We definitely plan to return next year, and hopefully with an even better booth setup. If you missed us this round, keep an eye out, we’ll be at Boutiques again!