The crafts and 'do it yourself' fair expects 25,000 visitors in Montjuïc

Few fairs dedicated to artisanal creation and crafts are as attractive and participatory as this one, where visitors can enjoy inspiring and creative days from the moment they cross the entrance. And that's because the Handmade Festival has a very clear objective: that the experience of creating with our own hands be an opportunity to see what we are capable of and enjoy.

These years of pandemic, although they have led many people to discover a creative interest, have also affected a sector like crafts, which has suffered the difficulties of obtaining raw materials, rising prices, or the closure of companies and projects due to not being able to assume the losses generated by an exceptional situation like the one we have experienced. But there is always light at the end of the tunnel and, despite the effort it takes to overcome the current context, the festival remains alive and returns consolidated to support the handmaker community.

"We return to our usual space. With the usual number of exhibitors. With the usual market. But with more enthusiasm than ever." We spoke with Anna Ventura, the director of the show and CEO of Evident Events. Ventura sowed the seed of what is now the Handmade Festival ten years ago, organizing a small street fair in Badalona called Fil, paper i sucre, dedicated exclusively to the scrap world.

That event never stopped growing and being a success, so she took it to the next level and, together with Fira de Barcelona, the quintessential fair for artisanal creation and crafts was born, which she has directed alone for five years. More than 20,000 visitors have participated in previous editions, and they aim to reach 25,000 this year, after having held a somewhat atypical last edition, due to covid: "It's like it's the first year again and we hope many people come. The entire team that manages the event ---we are all women---, we are very eager and excited."

More than 20,000 visitors have participated in previous editions

What the organization proposes is to give the proposal a twist and update the idea of a craft fair we were used to, opening up not only to the creators we will find on the platforms we talked about, but to anyone who wants to have a good time creating: "What's the point of doing a handmade fair if it doesn't start by having a handmade staging? Since the first year, our slogan cites a unique do it yourself experience. We want people to find inspiration, to sit down and get their hands dirty, create, learn, enjoy. To offer a 360-degree experience, in addition to shopping," Ventura tells us.

And the truth is that handmade goes much further than being a simple hobby, as it can also help us to be more sustainable. To learn how to reuse and give a second life to materials that we would otherwise discard. "We are doing upcycling in handmade, recovering and modernizing the culture of doing things yourself, little by little, and with it, changing the idea that it is only an activity for people of another generation," points out the director, "we have even dedicated a large space to DIY, because we can all do it."

The festival kicks off on Friday with a participatory activity in which visitors will make the pennants that will be the sustainable decoration of the Handmade Festival 2022, using disused fabrics, with the help of Planeta Dots. But 300 different workshops await us, as well as talks, exhibitors, concerts, a children's activity area (because there is also a Handmade Kids), and a relaxation area and food trucks where you can take a break.

We will be able to attend a masterclass by Kokoro Encuadernación Artesanal on suminagashi (the technique of stamping papers, with ink patterns, that float on the surface of the water); learn to make various jewels in the workshops taught by Sóc una joia; build an insect hotel with Bosch; learn lettering with watercolor markers with Artesanía Chopo or with the great Somniadora; or be impressed with the exhibitions by Fidelina Store and its Daonie Sith (fairies from Celtic mythology); and the factory circus of Marta Boza. Activities for all levels and all audiences.

It will be three spring days to enjoy, full of leisure, culture, creativity, in a different, playful and quality festival: the Handmade Festival. "If you are a restless person with a creative mind, you can come to be inspired," Ventura states.