Virtual craft fair celebrates female artisans’ creations
British women will be exhibiting their crafts in an online fair celebrating the nation’s diverse range of artisans. The Virtual Craft Fair from March 23 to 28 will feature workshops alongside a full programme of live talks and demonstrations.
Sharing the month with International Women’s Day and Mother’s Day, the fair will focus on supporting and celebrating women in craft as well as makers from BAME communities.
The fair’s organisers, Handmade in Britain, are keen to reflect the full range of backgrounds and perspectives found in contemporary Britain and create a more diverse and inclusive craft and design community.
Visitors to the virtual fair will be able to shop for products via dedicated exhibitor pages and interact directly with makers via a secure chat forum.
Handmade in Britain is 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 a silent charity auction and ten per cent of the sales will go towards the professional development of emerging female artists.
More than 60 artists took part in Handmade in Britain’s first edition of the virtual fair in November.
The event attracted 17564 unique visitors from 80 countries, and there were 40 live sessions, demonstrations and craft workshops.
Tamara Williams from RubyKite said: “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!”
Helen Chatterton, who also exhibited at the first virtual craft fair, said: “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.”
Dani Crompton, who showcased her work, added: “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.”
Piyush Suri, founder and director of Handmade in Britain, 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 and craft enthusiasts to remotely attend a festival using their mobile phones, computers, or tablets.
Through these fairs Handmade in Britain is creating 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 these fairs.
To find out more about the virtual fair, go to interact.handmadeinbritain. co.uk website.