Craft Industry Alliance is proud to announce the winners of the 2025 Golden Scissors Awards, recognising excellence in the crafts industry. The awards ceremony took place live on stage at h+h Americas. Five outstanding craft professionals were recognised in front of an audience of several hundred of their peers for their contributions to the industry. The craft industry includes world-class corporations and thousands of visionary small business owners whose never-ending creativity continually lifts the entire sector to new heights. The Golden Scissors Awards are an opportunity for the industry to acknowledge those who have offered outstanding leadership and innovation and made important contributions to the industry as a whole.
Posted: 20 May 2025
h+h americas 2025 concluded its most successful edition yet, welcoming more than 5,180 industry professionals (29.7% increase over 2024) from 48 countries, all 50 U.S. states and 2 U.S. territories to the Donald E. Stephens Convention & Conference Center in Rosemont, Illinois. With 558 exhibitors representing 27 nations and a dynamic lineup of over 328 programmes, this year's event continued to set the standard as North America's most influential handicraft trade show.
Posted: 15 May 2025
Autumn Fair, the UK's largest B2B retail trade show for Home, Gift & Fashion of the season, returns to the NEC Birmingham from 7–10 September 2025, bringing together over 800 leading brands and 12,000+ retail buyers for four days of high-impact product discovery ahead of the busiest season in retail.
At the heart of this year's edition is a powerhouse line-up of industry favourites and bestselling brands across ten curated destinations who use the show as the perfect stage to unveil new products.
Retailers can expect to source from the likes of Candlelight Products, Bedeck, Ty UK, Gingko, Widdop & Co, Kikkerland, Sass & Belle, Bomb Cosmetics, Five Dollar Shake, Baby Republic, Ohh Deer, Powell Craft, and My Gifts Trade.
Posted: 13 May 2025
If you are looking to revamp your existing shop or are moving to a new shop, Creative Solutions Ltd. can help you. Make changes to improve appearance, the layout and overall customer experience, with the goal of attracting more customers and increased sales. There are numerous options for the display of haberdashery, threads, buttons, sewing and craft products as shown below.
Posted: 13 May 2025
The Creative Craft Show will return to Farnborough International for its fifth year running, once again with its sister show, The Stitching Show. The show will run from Thursday 4th September to Saturday 6th September 2025. This show is a haven for knitting, cross stitch, mixed media, scrapbooking, paper crafting, jewellery, dressmaking and stitching enthusiasts alike, offering all the very latest supplies, ideas, and innovations in the craft and hobby world.
Posted: 8 May 2025
Scotland's Trade Fair Autumn is set to return to the SEC, Glasgow from 21-22 Sept 2025.
After a temporary shift to August, this boutique show is moving back to its traditional September slot – a more convenient buying period for retailers as the busy Scottish summer tourist season winds down.
This curated trade event will welcome around 100 exhibitors, offering a rich showcase of high-quality Scottish products alongside innovative brands from across the UK and beyond. Nearly a third of the exhibitors are new to the show, bringing fresh ideas and products to Scotland for the first time.
Ones to take a peek at are Harrow & Green Christmas gifts, MuseARTa, Christopher Walster illustrations, The Modern Crafter and Curiously Charmed jewellery.
Posted: 6 May 2025
Autumn Fair returns to the NEC Birmingham from 7–10 September, offering retailers a key opportunity to refresh their product ranges ahead of the peak shopping season. The 2024 edition saw a 34% rise in new, high-calibre buyers, and following this success, the show is expanding with 10% more floor space. Now 85% sold and close to being fully booked, it will feature an expertly curated collection of over 800 brands, showcasing thousands of must-have products across three key destinations: Home, Gift, and Fashion.
Posted: 1 May 2025
Anticipation is soaring for h+h americas 2025, the premier event for the creative crafts industry. Scheduled for May 7th to 9th, 2025, this year's show will feature over 541 exhibitors from 77 countries and US states and countries, 185 education sessions, 38 meetups and events, and six distinct pavilions — including, for the first time, a German Ministry- supported country pavilion.
Posted: 29 April 2025
The Creative Retail Awards has unveiled the judging panel for the 2025 Awards, which celebrate innovation and excellence across the retail, leisure, and hospitality sectors.
This year's panel is tasked with selecting the most impactful projects.
The 2025 judging panel includes:
· Isabella Fish – Retail Editor at The Times and The Sunday Times, widely recognised for her in-depth coverage and analysis of trends shaping the retail landscape.
· Ian Scott – International retail consultant and founder of Ian Scott Consulting, known for his expertise in retail strategy and global trends. He is notably credited with introducing the concept of Symbiotic Retail, an approach that advocates for all retail channels to function cohesively as a unified ecosystem to enhance the shopper experience.
Posted: 29 April 2025
Hobbycraft confirms that, following a strategic review of the business it has announced a restructuring which will result in the closure of some of its loss-making stores, and unfortunately lead to redundancies for the colleagues who work there. The restructuring will also result in a number of management roles being made redundant across the store estate, along with redundancies in the Bournemouth based head office and the distribution centre in Burton on Trent.
Posted: 24 April 2025