SXSW Trade Show: Swag Mother Lode, Business Showcase

AUSTIN, TEXAS — Marie Kondo would not be pleased.

As the week began for the third day of SXSW, the festival's largest exhibition by far — the Trade Show featuring more than 250 exhibitors comprising businesses and organizations promoting their wares and services — opened its doors within the cavernous Austin Convention Center on March 10.

For vendors, it's a rare opportunity to expose their services to thousands of potential clients in one fell swoop. Booths in varying degrees of ambition abound inside the huge space, those stationed eager to discuss their offerings.

For the rest of us, it's a chance to grab swag. Koozies, miniature basketballs, bottle openers, T-shirts, hats, portable chargers, hand sanitizers, lip balm, notebooks, pens (so many pens!), re-usable straws, lighted wrist slap bracelets, etc. were up for grabs. Those little do-hickies that affix to one's cell that can be elongated as a holding device to keep the device steady when filming or taking pictures were in abundance. Those other things that also affix to the back of cell phones that act like a miniature stand to free one's hands while watching vidoes were also plentiful.

Patch couldn't help itself and had its own SXSW souvenir bag agape to receive such trinkets. In the intervening days, they have been gifted to some passersby as a reward for learning more about Patch in a makeshift, one-person trade show to spread the word about our own offerings. Friends also have benefited from the swag bounty, mostly in the realm of shirts and tiny sports balls. A handful of items are reserved for family members (small stuffed cow from the Spain booth coming your way, nephew Diego).

Artificial intelligence game makers were among the Trade Show participants.

But back to Kondo. Otherwise known as Konmari, the Japanese organizing consultant and author has gained a high profile in part by advising against clutter. She's sold millions of copies of her four books focused on organizing, and has been acquiring legions of fans along the way. De-cluttering (not amassing swag in a bag bulging at the seams) is a central strategy toward this quest for organization, Kondo has suggested (we're paraphrasing here).

Patch thought of Kondo in examining the swag haul, suffused in a weird emotional stew straddling contrition over the tactics of excess exercised and child-like joy in having secured so many worthless trinkets.

And then Patch recalled Kondo saying on a late night talk show that one should keep only those items that bring one joy. That's when Patch gazed lovingly at the small Sriracha bottle attached to a key chain that was quickly affixed to the backpack. Patch once ordered tiny Tabasco sauce bottles from Amazon in order to have them at the ready as complement to food truck fare while on assignment. Now, Patch has Sriracha sauce on the go too, and that gives Patch joy.

Let us know if you spot something in the photo above you might like, and Patch will endeavor to send it along. But hands off the Sriracha sauce.

Austin Patch portable office (i.e. backpack) now features Sriracha sauce. Full disclosure: Bottle opener thingie (top left) also secured at Trade Show.

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>>> Photos by Tony Canúu/Patch staff