Gillio Meet Up - March 2015

This last weekend I attended the Gillio meet up in Brussels and Antwerp. It was quite an event, I travelled to Brussels on Thursday so I could offer some help to get things ready and to meet the team at Gillio.

Mella met me at the station and we took a short metro ride to the area of Brussels where the Gillio Boutique is located.

Photo by Mella

My offer of help was very welcome, no sooner had I arrived at the shop in Brussels I was helping to unpack lots of different organisers and 'oh Steve can you please check the rings on them all' !! Good job I had my 'rings toolkit' with me!!!

Then on Friday morning we continued to get the shop ready for the special event on the Saturday evening. But I also managed to get some quiet time to take a few photographs around the store as well. A few of the photos got used to 'wind up' the people on the Gillio Facebook group as to what might be revealed on the Saturday night... I know I'm a terror when it comes to these sort of stunts, but it kept the smiles on a lot of peoples faces I'm sure.

What's hiding behind the cloth?... at the time nothing, the cabinet was still empty!

On Friday evening Tom, Emi and I drove up to Antwerp for the Friday evening meal in a small restaurant that Mella knows well. I got to meet some more of the meet up attendees, old and new friends together again. It was great to see everyone.

After an enjoyable meal we created a 'Gillio Tower' Anke took up her familiar position (like in 2013) to steady the base while Ben and Tom 'built' the wobbly tower, from some angles it rivals the leaning tower of Pisa for lean! But it did stay up long enough for us to all take photos!

All the organisers eventually found their way back to their respective owners and we all left to get some sleep before the long day on Saturday... or in my case finish off Web Finds then get some sleep!!

Saturday saw us back up in Antwerp, we had agreed to meet up at the Goldpen by Gillio shop located at the Wijnegem Shopping Centre on the outskirts of Antwerp. The shop has recently been redesigned and refitted and we enjoyed looking around the shop which stocks more than just the Gillio range of products.

We then found a cafe/restaurant for some lunch in the shopping centre.

Photos by Mella and Christina

We then took a drive back to Brussels (we got to know the A12 quite well this weekend!) and a few of us visited Nias a wonderful stationery store not far from the Gillio Boutique.

After a brief visit there we headed back to the Gillio boutique for the main event of the evening. For details of the products announced, please see my post from yesterday... But it wasn't just about new products... it was about meeting people and it became very sociable too.

Photos by Christina, Mella and Steve

Then we had the big reveal and that cloth was taken down (again!) and there was whoops of joy and hands stretched out to take a closer look and to purchase the new colour Mia Caras on display.

Photos by Christina, Mella and Steve

I got busy sharing as many photos as possible on the Gillio Facebook Group so the people around the world could share in the buzz of the new colours. My FB notifications then went in to melt down and carried on doing so through the night like a Mexican wave through the night.

Before we finished at the boutique I was interviewed on camera by a team of bloggers from Brussels, apparently they had heard all about me.... (worrying!), but I think we will be working together in the future.

Oh and I did buy something too... but how can I put this.... cough cough... it doesn't have any rings in it!!!

Photo by Mella.

It is a Gillio Giramondo Travellers Notebook cover... I will do some more pictures of it and pop a post on Travellers Notebook Times soon.

After the event we all went to a restaurant south of Brussels for an excellent meal and lots more chats and discussions.  A few more photos... but I've picked this one out for your amusement taken by Mella of Paul Van Haelen and me.... I'm sure we could use it for a caption competition!

As you can see we are 'absorbed' looking at Facebook I think, looking at the reactions to the photos I had posted! But you can make up your own mind!!

Sadly all good things have to come to an end, it had been a long day and a brilliant few days for me. It wasn't a case of saying 'Good bye' but 'See you next time'

I returned to France on Sunday morning tired, but full of happy memories of the last few days.

Thank you to so many people that made the weekend so special. To all of the Van Haelen family and their partners of course. To all the Gillio staff (Mella, Sandra, Els, Steve B) And all the wonderful people that came along from so many different countries in Europe and USA.

You can see the full range of Gillio products on their website.

Oh.... just one more thing.....

EXTRA SURPRISE!

Don't forget: today, Thursday, March 26th, at 11 AM CET, the remaining medium Mia Caras of our Pastel Collection will be available for sale!

Because we know we can't make all of you happy today (there are only a few pieces left) - we wanted to do a little something extra!

Use the promotional code MEETUP2015 tomorrow for a 24 hour 10% discount!

This code is only valid on (new) orders placed between 11 AM CET on March 26th and 11 AM CET on March 27th. It is valid on everything (yes, everything!) that is in stock.

However, it is NOT valid on pre-orders or on orders already placed before March 26th, 11 AM CET.

Don't forget to use the code when you place your order, only then will the 10% be deducted from your total. 

Don't forget to use the Non-EU link at the top of the site if you do not live in the EU to get the VAT deducted from your order. 

Enjoy the discount & happy shopping!