26 Cosplay Fashion Show Competition winners The first-time winners in five categories were selected on the second show day of h+h americas 2024 which took place from 1st to 3rd May, 2024 at the Donald E. Stephens Convention & Conference Centre in Rosemont, IL. The top prizes went to following individuals: Professional Division: Best in Show - CaffeineCraft & SetterSpecs for Ninetails; Fox’s Wedding Master Craftsman (Best in Show Runner-Up) - Pirate Fox Cosplay for Stygian Zinogre Armor from Monster Hunter World Judge’s Choice Award - Scissor Wizard Cosplay for Rose Quartz from Steven Universe (Hannah Alexander’s Art Nouveau Version) Student Division: Best in Show - TanaKay Cosplay for Virgilia from Umineko Judges Choice Award - Scarlet Stitch Studios for Marie Antoinette These awards recognize the important contributions and crucial role cosplay designers provide as creators within the crafting community. As multi-media artists they bring imaginative garments to life from a variety of products, holding a vital position in the industry. This year’s awards were generously sponsored by the following companies: Platinum Sponsor - Famoré Cutlery Gold Sponsors - Oliso, Janome America, WonderFil Specialty Threads, Shannon Fabrics, FanPowered Press, Universal Yarn Silver Sponsors - Hobbs Bonded Fibers, Pauline’s Quilters World In total $10,000+ in cash prices and products were awarded. Diana ‘Binkxy’ Tolin acted as Master of Ceremonies and the panel of judges consisted of: Con of Pros and Cons Cosplay Maggie Hofmann aka PaisleyandGlue Tim of Harrison Designs and Concepts h+h americas looks at cosplay as a significant part of the crafting segment and is committed to recognise passionate creators for their achievements during this event. Future Show Dates: h+h cologne – March 7 - 9, 2025 – Cologne, Germany www.hh-cologne.com h+h americas – May 7 - 9, 2025 – Rosemont, USA www.hh-americas.com h+h Cologne’s success! h+h cologne 2024 closed its doors with strong figures and positive feedback from the industry. In line with the market figures published by Initiative Handarbeit e.V., which show that handicrafts are anchored within society more than ever, h+h cologne offered a huge international meeting point for trade visitors of the creative community. In total, the visitors came together from 78 countries. The survey that was carried out by GfK Nuremberg on behalf of the industry association, Initiative Handarbeit, proves the growing enthusiasm for textile handicrafts. In the meantime, the 18- to 29-year-olds form the largest group of handicraft fans. Key theme promotes industry’s sustainability With its new key theme ‘Creative Empowerment’, h+h cologne 2024 set itself the goal of actively supporting the handicraft industry in its growth and helping the specialised trade to master the current challenges. In this connection, the trade fair developed a new zone concept for overriding knowledge transfer. Here, the special focus of the programme lay on business-relevant aspects, such as marketing and reach expansion via diverse sales channels and platforms. As further education measures, the visitors were able to enjoy 60 programme items in total that focused on the main topics industry trends, founding companies and marketing strategies. “With our new zone concept and the key theme Creative Empowerment we are setting important impulses that will support the industry long-term and substantiate our position as the leading B2B platform. The good mood in the exhibition halls and the full houses during the lectures send out a clear signal: The visitors of the event want to learn, establish new national and international contacts as well as find business partners. With this development in mind, we are already eagerly looking forward to the event in 2025,” stated Oliver Frese, Chief Operating Officer, Koelnmesse. Hedi Ehlen, Executive Director of Initiative Handarbeit, added: “The stationery trade is essential for our industry and it is important to us as the industry association to promote this with all activities in cooperation with h+h cologne. The exhibitors praised the excellent mood in the exhibition halls. And the specialised programme went down very well with the trade visitors too.” After three successful days at the trade fair, the 300 exhibitors from 40 countries looked back on a successful event. Creative products and services were presented to around 12,000 trade visitors, attending press representatives and content creators from 22nd to 24th March. The biggest international groups of visitors came from the Netherlands, Italy, Switzerland and the USA. Canada and Japan recorded the highest growth. With a 76 per cent share of foreign exhibitors and a 45 per cent share of foreign trade visitors, h+h cologne 2024 was able to emphasise its significant position within the international handicraft industry. The complete survey of GfK can be found on the website of Initiative Handarbeit. The next h+h cologne, takes place 7th to 9th March, 2025.
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