Finnish Craft & Design at Tampere

The most awaited craft and design event of the year is starting tomorrow in Tampere! I had a chance to visit the Finnish Craft & Design / Suomen Kädentaidot in 2015 and I loved it (read about my visit here). This year, I will be attending it again with a blogger pass as a crafts blogger . Already, I am planning how to get the most of of my day and here are some tips for you too!

1. Finnish Craft & Design (english website) or Suomen Kädentaidot (finnish website)
2. In addition, there are 2 other fairs – railway modelling & dolls house fair. One ticket for all.
3. The website has clear instructions for arriving at the Tampere Exhibition & Sports Centre.
4. To avoid huge queues, the best option is to get your ticket online in advance.
5. There will be a LOT of people, so it tends to get pretty warm inside. Dress in layers and leave your extra stuff at the coat check (€2). Trust me, it will be much easier walking around the halls.
6. Remember to take a water bottle & a snack. There are restaurants & toilets. Good idea to take short breaks & be hydrated.
7. Make sure you don’t miss your favourite programs by looking at the timetable (in finnish) and planning the day accordingly.
8. Here is the list of exhibitors.
9. I also like a map of the halls, it helps navigate my way quickly.
10. Many exhibitors take cash only. So, be ready, take cash before reaching the exhibition centre – it will save you time.

I can’t wait for tomorrow! Excited to meet some lovely people & check out the shops. You can see updates from my visit on Instagram (see side bar) & follow me @crafty.spell there.

 

Finnish Handicrafts Fair / Suomen Kädentaidot Messut

*** Warning: Image heavy & long post***

Earlier this month, I visited Tampere for the Suomen Kädentaidot Messut (Finnish Handicrafts Fair). It was held for the 20th time! This was my first time visiting the fair & I loved it! The variety of crafts displayed was just so amazing!

I went on the first day. It was a day trip for me. The fact that it was a not-to-miss event showed from the bus terminal in Helsinki. There were a lot of people (actually, women) waiting to go to Tampere. In Tampere, there were special buses from city centre to the exhibition centre exclusively for fair goers. Although the buses came every 10 minutes, they filled up to their capacity at the first stop! So many people waiting at the consecutive stops on the way had to see a sorry-bus-is-full shrug & a wave from the bus driver. I was lucky to get into a full bus as the last passenger. As we neared the exhibition centre, car parking area was very busy. Someone in the bus said that people from all over Finland drive to this event. Wow!

The entry to the fair was quick. As a craft blogger, I was given a blogger’s pass for the fair. It took a few minutes to orient myself & check out all the exhibitors. There were cafes, some food exhibitors & ice cream kiosks in the halls. I didn’t stop to take a break because there was so much to see & I had a deadline to return to Helsinki!

I watched the opening ceremony for a short while.

Then, I checked out all the exhibitors one by one. Some of them here:

Candles –

The Novita yarn brand had long queues & people were buying in bulk! It was quite an interesting sight 🙂

Cupcakes, right? Wrong! They are soap 🙂

Biodegradable jewellery made with dried berries!

Lovely fabric –

Cuteness galore! 

More cuteness with dollhouse craft room!

Wow! I enjoyed every bit of my visit to the fair. There was so much going on – workshops, interviews, fashion shows! I only wished I had more time to enjoy all the beautiful things at Suomen Kädentaidot Messut!

Our weekend – Meidän Viikonloppu

This autumn’s craft show at Messukeskus was a part of Our Weekend – Meidän Viikonloppu. The event included ELMA Helsinki Food & Countryside Show, Helsinki Forest Fair, Arts&Crafts, OutletExpo and Pets. I had a fabulous time discovering new sellers & got some exciting craft ideas 🙂

Although I took tons of photos, here are the few that made it to the blog. They are all from the Arts & Crafts section, well, almost!

I loved the gorgeous leather flower hair clips & brooches at ViaMinnet –

And the lights at Sellofaani. They had a good number of colors & metallic ball options to choose from. Lovely decor –

Another lighting arrangement idea from Lumikellot Design. All you have to do is spread the ‘acrylic gel crystal pearls’ (see top picture on the right) on a glass bottle. Let it dry & you are done! Simple, easy, quick – just my kind of project!

I remember seeing a how-to video for similar candles. These handmade candles from Kristallikauppa look so intricate & pretty. I would never light them! –

I found screen printed pillow covers. All of them in black & white with some vintage pictures –

Doll pendants! Aren’t they cute? –

Gorgeously done ceramic –

DIY wreaths or other decor. A work shop was on for kids when I visited.

Santa was present too (look carefully in the photo on the left)!! Another little workshop for kids to make tiny elf decor with chopped wood, felt pieces & cotton.

So, that’s it from the craft show this time. Hope you have an amazing week 🙂

Giveaway – Arvonta

It is time for yet another craft show! This time it is the ‘Arts & Crafts’ at Messukeskus. It is a part of the ‘Our Weekend‘ event where 5 exhibitions take place under one roof.

What: 5 shows under one roof – Arts & Crafts (Kädentaito tapahtuma), Helsinki Forest Fair (Metsämessut), ELMA Helsinki Food & Countryside Show (ELMA maaseutumessut), Pets (Lemmikki) & OutletExpo.

Where: Helsinki Expo & Convention Centre (Messukeskus) in Helsinki

When: 6.11.2015 – 8.11.2015 (Opening hours & travel info)

Giveaway: 1 ticket per winner (2 winners)

How to enter:

Via Crafty Spell’s Instagram post

Rules:

• Open to residents (over 18 years of age) of Finland
• Ends midnight on Tuesday, 3.11.2015
• Only entry tickets to the shows (messut) will be given. Transport & any accommodation are not our concern.
• Entry ticket entitles to one-time admission to Kädentaito tapahtuma, Metsämessut, ELMA maaseutumessut, Lemmikki & Outlet-expo.
• Each entry ticket is worth €18.
• Winners will be notified on 4.11.2015.
• Winners should be willing to provide full name by email to craftyspell@gmail.com
• Crafty Spell reserves the right to make any changes at any time during the giveaway.

The entry tickets gives you access to all 5 shows. Note that Pets (Lemmikki) is open only on 7.11 & 8.11.

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Helsingin Messukeskusksessa on ‘Meidän Viikonloppu‘ ensi viikolla. Samaan aikaan 5 tapahtumia: Kädentaito tapahtuma, Metsämessut, ELMA maaseutumessut, Lemmikki & Outlet-expo. Tämä blogin Instagramin sivussa on nyt pääsylippu arvonta messuille.  Arvomme 2 voittajaa. Samalla pääsylipulla viisi tapahtumia!

Taphtumien ohjelma, aukioloajat, palvelut ja lisää tiedot saat Messukeskuksen sivulta.

Säännöt:

• Arvontaan voi osallistua 30.10.2015 – 3.11.2015 välisenä aikana.
• Arvontaan voi osallistua Crafty Spell blogin Instagram sivussa – tästä.
• Arvontaan voivat osallistua kaikki Suomessa asuvat aikuiset.
• Pääsylippu oikeuttaa kertakäyntiin Kädentaito tapahtuma, Metsämessut, ELMA maaseutumessut, Lemmikki & Outlet-expo.
• Yhden pääsylipun arvo on €18.
• Kaikkien arvontaan osallistuneiden kesken arvotaan 2 kappaletta pääsylippuja eli arvomme 2 voittajaa.
• Voittajille ilmoitetaan henkilökohtaisesti 4.11.2015.
• Pidämme oikeuden muuttaa näitä ehtoja.

Visit to the Messut/Fairs

So, I had been going on & on about the fairs in Helsinki. Here is a brief post of my first visit to the event!

Lapsi Messut / Child Fair – Lots of activities & products for babies, kids.

Bottom right – used lego pieces sold by the bag, €4 & €8!

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Outlet expo – Clothes, shoes, cosmetics from popular brands on discount.

Top 2 pictures – Ibero ear-rings, brooches & rings sold by the bag, €7.

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Model expo – Huge train sets, automobiles & other toys

Top left – Lego world, Bottom right – Construction site mock up

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Kädentaito / Arts & Crafts – craft supplies & lots of hand-made jewellery

Bottom 2 pictures – jewellery inspired by food!

Left & top right – Molla Mills workshop,  Right middle & bottom – Molla Mills stall

The Petexpo was only during the weekend & I went on Friday. Overall, the messut visit went well. I met Molla Mills – the popular Finnish crochet author in the messut & then, we met at her studio last week. She was amazing!

Molla Mills – In her studio

You will have to wait for some weeks before reading all about my meeting! (Sorry for the bad picture – phone camera & late evening/early night shot).