Show News: Industry news from Craft Focus magazine

Spring Fair wants your stories!

Spring Fair, the UK's largest home, gift, fashion trade show which celebrates its 75th anniversary on the 2nd – 5th February 2025 at NEC Birmingham, needs your help to bring together a Hall of Fame compilation of nostalgic memories, pictures and great stories from the show's 75-year history.

The Hall of Fame will be brought to life at Spring Fair, offering the show's community the chance to reminisce and remember seven decades of its history as well as a snapshot of memorable past events and current affairs between 1950 - 2024. The show's timeline, a large digital screen of pictures and stories, and a selfie wall to capture the industry's biggest trade show gathering in 2025, will create a celebration of retail's past and present.

Posted: 25 October 2024

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Local Retail: Creating the Future - at h+h Cologne

h+h cologne will present innovations from the sections knitting, crocheting, sewing, embroidery and crafting as well as a wide-ranging event programme. The trade fair is focusing on the local retail trade in line with its new key theme 'Local Retail: Creating the Future' and is making the right network and the appropriate learning contents available to the retail trade - for the sustainability of the handicraft industry.

Posted: 22 October 2024

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Spring Fair 2025 Announces #SBS Small Business Sunday Winners

Spring Fair, which celebrates its 75th anniversary at the NEC Birmingham on 2nd – 5th February 2025, is delighted to announce twelve new winners of Theo Paphitis's #SBS Small Business Sunday initiative who each receive a free stand at the February show. Since 2018, the TV dragon and #SBS Small Business Sunday creator and Spring and Autumn Fair have joined forces to support start-up businesses. Together they have worked with over 60 SMEs, playing a vital role in their future success.

Posted: 15 October 2024

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Spring Fair launches anniversary Retail Insights podcast

Spring Fair, the UK's largest home, gift, fashion trade show which takes place on the 2nd – 5th February 2025 at NEC Birmingham, has launched a new Retail Insights podcast series for retail, and by retail, to celebrate its upcoming 75th anniversary and shine a light on businesses in the industry.

A first of its kind for a retail trade show, Spring Fair has collaborated with the legendary designer and TV personality Jeff Banks CBE to create the series of free podcasts featuring interviews with 15 industry figureheads which will run over a period of 14 weeks from the 20th October.

Posted: 15 October 2024

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Visitor registration for Toy Fair 2025 is now open

Visitor registration is now open for Toy Fair 2025 , the UK's largest trade show dedicated to toys, games, and hobbies. The three-day showcase will be held from 21st to 23rd January 2025 at Olympia Events in London, spanning both the lower and upper levels of the Grand and National Halls, as well as a section of the Upper West Hall.

Posted: 1 October 2024

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London Packaging Week unveils pioneering Innovation Award winners

London Packaging Week is thrilled to unveil the winners of its inaugural Innovation Awards, sponsored by Fedrigoni, celebrating groundbreaking advancements in packaging across various categories. This year's awards recognise exceptional design, creativity, and sustainability in packaging solutions.

In a collaboration with Aston Martin, Bowmore has crafted a decanter that is as much a work of art as it is a vessel for this exceptional whisky. The design takes inspiration from the Japanese metalworking technique 'Mokume-Gane,' known for its unique layered patterns. This technique has been reimagined through layered carbon fibre sheets, creating the decanter's distinctive Mokume lid. The result is a lid that evokes a futuristic aesthetic and mirrors the natural black rocks of Loch Indaal, the home of the Bowmore Distillery.

Posted: 30 September 2024

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h+h americas 2025 setting records

The fourth edition of h+h Americas is gearing up to be a record-breaking event, with significant milestones achieved well ahead of schedule. Currently, the event has attracted 310 exhibitors from 23 countries, marking a remarkable growth rate of over 55%. This surge in participation includes over 60 first-time exhibitors, underscoring the event's expanding appeal within the handicraft industry in the US.

Posted: 24 September 2024

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Toy Fair 2025 is sold out

The British Toy & Hobby Association (BTHA) is excited to announce that all exhibition space for Toy Fair 2025 is now sold out, several months before the show takes place. Any companies still looking for space are encouraged to apply online and join the waiting list now. Visitor registration for Toy Fair 2025 will open in late September on the Toy Fair website, www.toyfair.co.uk, when the floorplan and exhibitor list will also be live for planning.

Posted: 19 September 2024

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ICHF Events announce strategic expansion

ICHF is excited to announce that the beloved Crafting Live Events at Sandown Park and Doncaster Racecourse have officially joined the ICHF Events family, marking a significant step forward in both companies' commitment to the crafting community. This strategic move will enhance the experience for both exhibitors and crafters, ensuring that the rich tradition of live crafting events continues to flourish.

Posted: 17 September 2024

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Autumn Fair draws in high-calibre buyers

Autumn Fair, the UK's leading seasonal trade event for Home, Gift, and Fashion, has once again solidified its position as a key order-writing trade event, drawing in a high-calibre of decision-makers and influential buyers. This season saw a 6% increase in buyers actively looking to source and buy new products, a 20% rise in the number of buyers with sole or joint purchasing responsibility, and 30% brand new buyers, underscoring the event's continuing importance for the retail industry.

Posted: 12 September 2024

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