A peek into "Creative World 2012"

I may be biased but truth has to be said :) we are working with the most amazing material in the world.

For 4 days I was a part of a creative experience to introduce fimo polymer clay to thousands of people. People who never heard of it before, never touched it or saw work made of it, people who were smiling and wowing roses and flowers, admiring the possibilities and interested in knowing more about it, and it was wonderful.

As I wrote in my previous post, I had the honor to be Staedtler fimo guest artist in "Creative World" 2012. This event is the world’s biggest trade fair for the creative sector held in Frankfurt, Germany. It is the highlight for the hobby, crafts and artists’ segments.

It was so interesting to see how different audiences react to the display - fellow artists were quickly discussing techniques and ideas with me, while other people, not familiar with the polymer clay world, were checking closely and watching me work. Language was never a barrier.

My appearance included demonstrations of various techniques and products - basic and advanced millefiori caning featuring the new colors and pen collection by fimo, display of the endless flexibility of the material, methods of work, infinite possibilities for designs and unusual products made with our material.

Staedtler announced it's special luxury line of pens - fountain pen and ball point pen. These pens can be decorated with any ooak design and given as a wonderful personalized gift. They were very popular and drew a lot of attention. I made so many I can make them in my sleep now! :)

A special artist collection of pens was displayed and included pens by Carol Blackburn, Sabine Backer, Sandra Bohlmann, Bettina Welker, Sarah Shriver and my own pens.

The booth was so pampering and well accessorized! I got every thing a polymer clayer can dream of - hundreds of fimo packages to play with! ahhhh! :)

Guests! Wonderful friends came to see the show and say hello! Klavdija Kurent & Tatjana Mikolic, Kirsten Illgner, Kerstin Rupprecht, Anke Humpert, Conny and the sweet Sabine Backer who was Staedtler guest artist on 2011.

2 additional polymer clay manufacturers displayed their new products - Polyform with Martina Weller, and Kato with Donna and Bettina - they also came and said hello :)

I had little time to walk around but when I did find some time I saw lot's of interesting booths - paper art, paints, tools, adult and children diy projects, cookie cutters suppliers, beads, art and hobby materials, decorations, art books and all this was just "Creative World". 2 addition fairs were held at the same time devoted to paper ("Paper World") and "Christmas World" showing festive decorations and innovations for the coming seasons - huge, huge shows.

Unfortunately photographing was not allowed so I can only share with you my own photos.

Besides the fact that it's my first visit in Frankfurt (but not in Germany) I had a wonderful, creative adventure, one of a kind experience.

I truly felt like a proud ambassador, bringing the charm of fimo and polymer clay to new countries and new people. I'm glad I could take a piece of me, my personal joy and happiness and deliver it to new enthusiasts whether hobbyist artists or clay sellers.

I would like to take this opportunity and thank Staedtler company and team for making me feel so welcome, being the perfect hosts and letting me work with "these square blocks" which makes me and many people so happy.

I hope it's not too cold in Germany now, did I take sun with me? :) I heard that it's minus 10 now! toooo cold!

and now? Back to work!

Thank you for reading!

:)

p.s. - More photos are available in my Flickr and Facebook!

Frankfurt, Here I Come! :)

You can never know what will be the result of a small local showcase.

I am so excited to share with you the news:

In exactly 6 days I will be on my way to Germany for a very special event as a guest artist of Staedtler - The "Creative World" 2012 fair.

But first things first, here is some background -

A while ago our local FIMO importer along with Staedtler Germany and the Israeli polymer clay guild held an event discussing new trends in the polymer clay world and introducing new materials by Staedtler.

The event included demonstrations, goody bags (of course!) and artistic showcase by the local Israeli polymer clay guild members.

Since I was in the middle of my "Bags Fever Season", I chose to present 3 of my "Brocade Collection" pouches, in 3 different sizes.

At the end of the event, one of Staedtler representatives approached me and complimented me on the unique design of the bags, asked technical questions about the design, technique and materials, and then we said goodbye and I returned home.

Few weeks later, I got an email from Staedtler asking me to be their presenter and guest artist in "Creative World 2012" trade fair, taking place at the end of January in Frankfurt, Germany.

This show is introducing new trend of hobbies, as well as providing interesting workshops and live demonstrations, and they asked me to showcase my unique purses designs.

As you can guess I was very proud and happy to accept this wonderful offer!

The fair will take place on 28-31Jan @ Messe Frankfurt, with more than 50,000 people from all over the world coming, I will demonstrate my special flower canning and the "Brocade Collection" purses, giving a glimpse to an endless world of possibilities.

For the last couple of weeks I have been working on new bag designs using the new FIMO texture sheets, these sheets are wonderful, easy to use and they include fabulous new designs and patterns such as leather pattern, wood, crocodile skin, music notes, lace, baroque designs and many more!

The bags colors were influenced by the new color palette by FIMO (pastel colors) using new combinations and shapes (glasses bag).

In addition, I contributed my own edition of elegant fountain pens, which will be soon available in stores and joining the great collection of accessories by Staedtler.

This event is going to be a wonderful artistic experience, I hope I'll have some time to see a bit of that "creative goods" and I promise to keep you posted.

More photos of my new designs can be seen in my flickr gallery @

http://www.flickr.com/photos/irismishly/

If you get the chance to come and visit, or live close to Frankfurt - Please come and say hello!

I will be more than happy to see polymer friends! :)