by Vikki Chowney

They came, they gave, they Swished

Posted: June 1st, 2009 | Author: | Filed under: Right Here | 13 Comments »

Last week, the Global Cool Swish finally came and went with a bang, in a whirl of Yelp Collins, Karen Millen and felt flowers.

Just days before, I was slightly panicked after a last minute let down for my clothes rails, luckily, the day arrived and a friend of mine from M&S stepped in to save the day. Three industrial sized racks arrived at the Club Bar & Dining at 5pm on May 27th, and we were ready to go.

After laying out some fabulous goody bags with the help of Lizzie and Leon from Yelp, Swishers soon started to arrive. The Yelpers set about giving away some free cocktails (aforementioned Yelp Collins), and the extremely helpful Michelle Tilley, Kathryn Cotsworth and Jen Andersson were on hand to help with the hanging up, giving out of tokens – cunningly disguised as golden-wrapped Werther’s Originals – and delivering water (long story).

There was an hour of browsing while we laid out the assortment of goodies, which included brand new Nike trainers, Gucci & YSL scarves, All Saints dresses and yet to be released press samples. Swishers got one ‘token’ (ahem) for each item they brought. I won’t say that there wasn’t a certain amount of shrieking when 8pm hit and all was declared officially open. But, after a good 15 minutes of grabbing and swapping, everyone was set up with a goody bag and digging into the food – courtesy of MyEhive and Red Cube Marketing.

I had a fantastic evening, and it’s something I’d definitely do again. I was left with a bag full of clothes (the norm for any Swish) to donate to Oxfam, so nothing was wasted. I think there’s value to be had by broadening the event to help raise the profile of other charities attempting the same kind of goals. Someone suggested Do The Green Thing for instance, and Terence Eden was talking about switching (no pun intended) clothes for DVDs, which I love. If you represent a climate change charity and would like to talk about getting involved, please get in touch.

For now though, I’ve kept back one of the Yelp totes that we packed the extra treats into, and have made it into an uber goody bag. As well as those I’ve mentioned above, a big thanks goes out to Henry&Jayne, MTV, O2, Current TV, Spinvox and Kit Kat Senses for their contributions.

Click through to Flickr to see a full description of what’s inside, and who we can thank for it. I’ll be sending it out to someone chosen at random from those that leave a comment below.

13 Comments on “They came, they gave, they Swished”

  1. 1 Liberty Martinez said at 00:00 on November 30th, -0001:

    Good going, Vikki, and well done. Looking forward to the next one!! :-)

  2. 2 Jaz said at 00:00 on November 30th, -0001:

    Well done Vikki, never been to one before and it was great!

    I look forward to the next one! :-)

  3. 3 Linzi said at 00:00 on November 30th, -0001:

    Swish sounded like it was really good, was sorry to have missed it. Hopefully you will be organising another one soon.

  4. 4 Judith Lewis 'deCabbit' said at 00:00 on November 30th, -0001:

    Oh my goodness that sounds like a fantastic evening and as I sit on my freezing cold, crowded train typing on my little Eee I can’t help but be a bit green with envy :-)

  5. 5 Vikki said at 00:00 on November 30th, -0001:

    I know that @chenlee has been struggling to comment, so I’m adding one here on her behalf! :)

  6. 6 john said at 00:00 on November 30th, -0001:

    Cant resist a goodie bag opp.

  7. 7 Lorna Gatherer Ford said at 00:00 on November 30th, -0001:

    was gutted I couldn’t make it :( damn exams!

    will come to the next one for sure! :) Great idea! Would like to help you do another London one or ask for advice about setting something up in Bristol….

    Lornsadaisy x x x

  8. 8 Terence Eden said at 00:00 on November 30th, -0001:

    Great evening. Impressed that my waistcoat went.

    Will scout around for a venue to hold the DVD swap. Any professional tips?

  9. 9 VC said at 00:00 on November 30th, -0001:

    Thanks everyone for supportive and kind words. I’ll be planning the next one soon, promise! :)

    VC

  10. 10 Vero said at 00:00 on November 30th, -0001:

    Oh how i wish I could’ve been there! Glad it was a success and congrats on the event :)

  11. 11 Helen Keegan said at 00:00 on November 30th, -0001:

    So glad the Swishing was a success Vikki! Well done for organising it and hopefully I’ll make the next one :)

  12. 12 Mandy Charteris said at 00:00 on November 30th, -0001:

    Congratulations!! An amazing idea and so worthwhile. Hurrah for the good people in the world who care.

  13. 13 Cam said at 00:00 on November 30th, -0001:

    Sorry I couldn’t be with you sweets, definitely be there for the next one! Sounds like a great night xx

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