About

Our Story

The Expat Fairs is a platform connecting a community of consumers with tasteful and bespoke needs, to small retail businesses who offer unique and beautiful products. We curate and recommend emerging artisans, designers and retailers to discerning shoppers, who shy away from commercial and mass-marketed products. A firm believer in promoting designs and products that are interesting and thoughtfully executed, The Expat Fairs is a one-stop shopping directory for hard-to-get products.

The Expat Fairs traditionally hosts fairs in each season – of especial note is our December Glamourous Christmas Fair, which has been well received since its inception in 2017.

Our Founder

Originally from Hong Kong, Betty Ashman has worked and lived all over Asia-Pacific for more than 20 years. Her long history of senior managerial roles in various MNCs has built a wealth of cross-cultural working experience. Betty is a results-oriented leader who is particularly adept at integrating operations and strategy, cross-cultural negotiation, building and motivating multi-cultural teams, and has a proven track record of restructuring and establishing businesses in valuable Asian markets.

Betty is currently managing director of The Expat Fairs, which has grown substantially from her purchase of the website in 2008. Since then, The Expat Fairs has become a renowned organiser of high-end sales platform and business networking for vendors to connect with both consumers and business partners. Her loving husband, and adorable son Shawn are her inspiration and driving force.

Betty published Make It Happen: 7 Step to Thrive For Womenpreneurs in 2015, a lauded business book with salient and actionable advice for women-lead businesses and entrepreneurship, framed by her own experiences with SMEs.

Buy Make It Happen: 7 Steps to Thrive for Womenpreneurs as an ebook here on Amazon.

Betty’s valuable experiences, written in a personable way, helps womenpreneurs figure out their target market and marketplace, business direction, communication strategies, work-life balance, and more that will guide readers to financial success and freedom.

Betty has won several awards as a leader in her community and has shared her expertise in several business publications.

Read some of her fascinating interviews here:

Peruse guest articles written by Betty for The Finder about entrepreneurship and business management:

Previous Fairs

A selection of previous fairs organised by The Expat Fairs and its subsidiary, Club Artisans.