Stitchcraft Goes to H+H

24 Mar Stitchcraft Goes to H+H

This month, the Stitchcraft crew headed to Cologne, Germany to exhibit 4 of our clients in the Handarbeit + Hobby Fair (also known simply as H+H) as part of the North American Expo.

One of the largest craft trade shows in the world, H+H was filled with incredible inspiration for yarn, sewing and craft enthusiasts. Today, we’ll share a behind-the-scenes peek at our booth setup and the trade show itself; on our next post, we’ll share some of the trends we spotted at H+H which you can expect to see at your LYS or local craft store this year!

On Thursday, March 17 we set up the displays for Mountain Meadow Wool, Bijou Basin Ranch and Mountain Colors Yarn. Although Blue Sky Alpacas shared our space, they did their own heavy lifting!

We wore sample garments in our clients’ yarn on the show floor each day; here, Stefanie sports a lovely new shawl design by OwlCat Designs, the Khyber Pass Shawl in Lhasa Wilderness yarn from Bijou Basin Ranch.

Above, Leanne is wearing the Clay Tank by Jill Wolcott, knit in Powder River yarn from Mountain Meadow Wool.

When we weren’t sporting some seriously lovely pieces, we let the mannequins (dubbed Lacey and Betty) do the work! On the left, Lacey is wearing the Bronte Lace Shawl by Marly Bird, knit in Shangri-La yarn along with the Off-Center Lace Panel Top by Simona-Merchant Dest, knit in Lhasa Wilderness yarn, both from Bijou Basin Ranch; Betty is draped in the gorgeous Coat of Many Colors knit in Mountain Colors Mountain Goat yarn from Sandra McIver’s Knit, Swirl! book.

We had still more exciting things on display from each client – above, from L-R: The Outlaw Cardigan by Jill Wolcott, knit in Cody from Mountain Meadow Wool; Bijou Basin Ranch’s very popular yak/silk blend laceweight yarn Shangri-La and the Khyber Pass Shawl; Samples and Perspectives kits on display from Mountain Colors Yarn.

Here is the Stitchcraft team at the close of the show floor on Sunday, March 20, excited and a bit relieved that our first-ever H+H show was a success! We look forward to sharing more photos from the show in our next blog post about emerging trends in the world of crafts.

H+H Cologne boasts 14,800 trade visitors from 68 different countries (37% outside of Germany), 339 exhibiting companies from 43 different countries (70% outside of Germany), and 22 companies from North America – make sure one of those is you in 2017! If you need help with planning for your next trade show, or with any e-marketing strategies for your craft business, contact Leanne@stitchcraftmarketing.com.