Craft Focus - Apr/May (Issue 72)

24 POSITIVE MOOD AT TOP DRAWER Running over three days in January, the spring/summer edition of Top Drawer attracted more than 1,500 exciting brands. Buyers came from all corners of retail, including leading department stores Liberty, Fenwick and John Lewis, while attendees travelled from the UK and Europe and as far afield as Japan, Saudi Arabia, New Zealand and Australia. Making her debut was Natasha Carty, director and designer of the show’s PaperAward-winning brand The Cardy Club. “Last year I visited the show and was blown away by the talent, so I decided to exhibit,” she says. “It’s been great to launch at Top Drawer; we’ve had lots of leads, several repeat orders and interest from a whole slew of buyers.” The show consisted of 11 curated sectors and a mix of brands across the lifestyle spectrum. A diverse range of retailers were in attendance, including those from concept stores, museums, boutiques, independents, multiples, garden centres and supermarkets. The autumn/winter edition of Top Drawer will take place at Olympia London from 8 th -10 th September. Go to topdrawer.co.uk for details. New trends inspire at Paperworld The world’s biggest trade fair for paper, office supplies and stationery took place this January in Frankfurt, with more than 33,000 visitors in attendance. “We are delighted with the large number of exhibitors,” says Stephan Kurzawski, senior vice president of organiser Messe Frankfurt. “A total of 1,668 exhibitors from 64 countries made presentations during the four days of the fair. With renewed growth for the second year running, we have provided a stable foundation for the sector, despite the challenging situation within the market.” According to this year’s exhibitor poll, around two thirds of companies were very pleased with the standard of visitors. Almost 80 per cent said they had achieved their goals for the fair, and more than three quarters were highly satisfied with the experience. This year’s trends were identified as simple elegance and opulent chic. This included classic shades of dark blue and green combined with shimmering gold, and light natural shades with silver highlights. Sustainable products, natural materials, reduction and exclusivity were also seen in abundance. Find out more at paperworld.messefrankfurt.com Creative Impulse Award winners announced The winners of the 2019 Creative Impulse Awards were announced in a formal ceremony at Creativeworld in January. As in previous years, entries were received across a varied range of product categories including general items, tools, kits and books. At the beginning of the year, a panel of experts from across retail, industry and the media met in Frankfurt to consider this year’s entries. “There was everything there, from minutely detailed tools to environmentally sustainable art and handicraft materials, ingenious kits and creative books,” says show director and judge Michael Reichhold. “With such a wealth of ideas, the decision was anything but easy.” The winners were revealed on 26 th January in the show’s Creativeworld Forum. Creative Product of the Year was awarded to myboshi for its Favourite Colours line, which uses natural dyes and is portable, entertaining and sustainable. Creative Tool of the Year was handed to the Dremel Stylo+, a multitool that can be used for a range of tasks including carving, engraving, polishing, cleaning and grinding. The product is particularly well- suited to filigree ornamentation and can even be used on glass. Creative Kit of the Year went to Marabu’s Soft Linol Textil Print and Colouring Set, which offers many different techniques and combinations, coupled with modern design and an easy-to- understand application process. Creative Book of the Year was awarded to the Kremer Pigments Recipe Book, which contains 37 combinations to help readers produce colour in a sustainable and exciting way. Turn to page 65 for a full report from this year’s show, or visit creativeworld.messefrankfurt.com