Handmade in Britain The Interactive Virtual Craft Fair

We at Handmade in Britain are delighted to announce the second edition of our Interactive Virtual Craft Fair that is due to take place towards the end of March. Sharing the month with International Women’s Day and Mother’s Day, this new edition will focus on supporting and celebrating women in craft, as well as makers from BAME communities.

 As an organisation, we are keen to reflect the full range of backgrounds and perspectives found in contemporary Britain, and have made a conscious decision to do our part in creating a more diverse and inclusive craft and design community. The second edition of our virtual craft fair marks the beginning of this journey. 

The first edition of our Virtual craft fair, that took place between 10-15 November 2020, saw 64 artists exhibit, 17564 unique visitors from 80 countries, and over 40 live sessions, demonstrations, and craft workshops. 

“We loved being part of Handmade in Britain’s first interactive craft fair. As the name suggests, it was truly ‘interactive’ giving us the opportunity to chat with customers and share new ideas. The live sessions were especially good; enabling a creative window into our studio where we could share our making process and showcase our new collection, as well as answering questions. Can’t wait to be part of the next one!” - Tamara Williams from RubyKite, Exhibitor 

“I got orders during the show, and certainly have increased orders on the Handmade Online platform since. I also noticed a much increased amount of traffic to my own website.” - Helen Chatterton, Exhibitor 

“The event was able to hold onto the one on one personal experience of visiting a craft fair by opening up conversations and studio tours with the artists and allowing visitors a look behind the scenes at the processes and talents involved." - Dani Crompton, Exhibitor 

This second edition of the Virtual Craft Fair will also feature craft workshops, alongside a full program of live talks and demonstrations.  In addition to this, visitors will be able to shop for products via dedicated Exhibitor Pages, and will be able to interact directly with makers via a secure chat forum. This will all be done through our user-friendly and accessible, interactive on-line platform. We are working in partnership with a Tech company to test and introduce Augmented Reality features where customers will be able to try earrings virtually before they buy. This feature will be available for our  silent charity auction and 10% of the sales will go towards the professional development of emerging female artists. 

Piyush Suri, Founder and Director, firmly believes that Virtual fairs are the way to move forward. “The COVID-19 pandemic has heavily impacted craftspeople and many organisations, but we are using this as an opportunity to digitise the craft sector, enabling both our business and the makers we work with, to utilise technology in a way that keeps us resilient in the ‘new normal’ future.”

The virtual fairs allow makers to overcome these challenges by providing them with a platform to sell and interact with their customers, while also allowing craft-enthusiasts to remotely attend a craft festival using their mobile phones, computers, or tablets. Through  our virtual craft fairs, we aim to create new market opportunities to promote British craft to a wider network of audiences, both nationally and internationally. This will help makers sell their work remotely and breaks the geographical barriers for many others who are otherwise unable to participate in our craft fairs.

We are truly excited to elevate British craftsmanship to a worldwide audience and are looking forward to promoting work created by talented makers across Britain. Find out more about our virtual craft fair at interact.handmadeinbritain.co.uk

Media enquiries:
For further press information, images and interviews, please contact:
Rebecca Miller-Jones rebecca@handmadeinbritain.co.uk