From 20 to 24 March 2024, Messe Dortmund transformed once again into a world of products, trends and inspiration for the creative community. Sustainability was a major theme this year, with visitors to Europe's largest show for the creative community serving up lots of face-to-face tips from experts, plenty of inspiration and trends with a near-endless variety of products.

Dortmund, 26 March 2024 – CREATIVA 2024 was characterised by the sheer enjoyment that comes from reunions, dialogue and workshops, with exhibitors, influencers and many other familiar faces filling the programme with a host of interactive highlights. Whether it was plotting, handicrafts, machine embroidery or crocheting – the common thread that ran throughout the wide range of inspirational visitor offerings was pure creativity. A varied supporting programme with show acts, interactive features, fashion shows, celebrity guests and trending topics all put the finishing touch to what was a diverse line-up of trade show offerings. “Rigorous year-on-year evolution has distinguished CREATIVA as Europe's largest trade show for the creative community. This year, the show not only attracted more exhibitors, but also once again drew a broad audience from the design and craftsmanship sector. With its variety of trends, its huge range of products and its innovative show concept, CREATIVA has confirmed its position as the leading event in the creative sector,” said Sabine Loos, Managing Director of Westfalenhallen Unternehmensgruppe which owns and operates the Messe Dortmund venue.

Sustainability in vogue: SUSTAINABLE CITY new in Hall 6 

One of the top themes this year was – and is – sustainability. Using naturally produced inks and paints from plants or chalk, further processing of natural materials, e.g. hemp paper, and space for special exhibits, visitors were able to experience all of this in the SUSTAINABLE CITY in Hall 6. Indeed, a survey showed that over half of visitors take care to purchase materials that are sustainable. Co-initiator Peter Reichenbach is delighted with the interest shown by visitors and said the workshop was a great success: “At CREATIVA, it's clear that different sectors can, and want to, get together to develop new ideas and find synergies. Sustainable City and sevengardens have shown how much potential there is in sustainability.”

The 'CREATIVA Stage' programme was once again a meeting place for diversity and creativity 

Visitors to the CREATIVA Stage were offered a veritable treasure trove of creative inspiration from experts and were able to experience it all at first hand. On-stage presentations included fashion shows by budding designers from Hönne-Berufskolleg and Paulina's Friends Fashion, how app-based artificial intelligence can be used in creative work, and numerous interviews with big names in the creative community. One special highlight was Carlo Sommer also known as 'casacarlo' on Saturday 23 March who joined Miriam Jug a.k.a. Plottertante (Plotter Girl) in plotting activities and discussion about what creativity means to them. On Sunday 24 March, Bettina Dorfmann met with Julian F.M. Stoeckel and his friend Marcell Damaschke, a discussion which also revealed certain predilections for Barbie dolls.

Inspiration and suggestions were well received by visitors

The Trends & Inspirations area in Hall 7 proved very popular with visitors. This area was particularly important for finding out about the latest trends exhibited in the speciality zone. Visitors were very satisfied with the ideas and suggestions at CREATIVA, giving the show a score of 1.9 (equivalent to an 'A-minus' school rating). At the special exhibition feature, the seven creative trends of Less Waste, Everyday Magic, Joyful Mix, Nostalgic Memories, Botanicals World, Relaxed Moments and Last Minute were presented complete with illustrative examples.

Machine embroidery, creative design and plotting still very much in vogue 

Conversations between visitors and exhibitors took place in the 'stickstoff Lounge' in between the steady ticking of the machines. Barbara Burchardt, co-initiator of the 'stickstoff Lounge', was in the middle of all the action. She summarised her review of the show in glowing terms and is already looking forward to next year's show. “The atmosphere at CREATIVA is sensational. In collaboration with the Messe Dortmund team, we've managed to expand things and create a real lounge atmosphere. The 'stickstoff Lounge' is a great mix of a relaxed 'exhibition stand' environment, expert advice and refreshments for in-between. We've been able to hold really important and captivating discussions, in particular thanks to all the concentrated expertise in attendance. We've had nothing but good feedback and are totally enthusiastic ourselves,” said Barbara Burchardt co-editor of stickstoff magazine.

Cutting Academy by Plottertante & Friends 

Visitors learnt from (and with) well-known brand ambassador 'Plottertante' Miriam Jug what plotting is all about and what possibilities this creative technique can offer. With the workshop area full throughout, she showed visitors the entire variety of plotting and engaged face-to-face with visitors to the show. “CREATIVA is a great place for me to see my community and meet familiar faces in person. The visitors are very warm and human. The Cutting Academy offers a great opportunity for exciting interactions during the talks, and visitors are becoming more and more open. I'd certainly like to come back next year,” said Miriam Jug.

Big-name manufacturer 'cricut' was also extremely satisfied with the show. “For us, CREATIVA is a really great experience because we meet our community here face-to-face. Visitors had the chance to test our products offline and see for themselves. CREATIVA also enabled us to demonstrate the numerous creative possibilities offered by our DIY and cutting machines. We'll be back next year,” summed up Luisa Beck, Senior Marketing Manager – European Influencers, Social Media & PR at Cricut.

Other venues within CREATIVA 2024 

Away from the mainstream, the CREATIVA NEO area in Hall 4 brought together bespoke designer pieces and gift ideas for visitors to discover. The buyer-meets-seller marketplace for fresh design had a great many special and unconventional creations to be seen. Hall 5 focused squarely on culinary delights and gardening. Also, the Kunst & Kreativ handicraft circus in Hall 6 proved to be a major attraction once again with superb on-trend workshops by (and with) manufacturers such as efco, POSCA, edding, Fiskars, KREUL, HobbyFun and STAEDTLER. “Our company has been around for 40 years, and we have been an integral part of CREATIVA for around 18 of those. At CREATIVA we show the latest trends, run a sewing school and offer a lot of workshops. We especially like the great communication with visitors to the show,” said Dieter Schumacher, Managing Director of Bastelzirkus Kunst & Kreativ Franchise GmbH.

CREATIVA also featured a large number of demonstration and hands-on areas. Whether the 30-or-so artists from Ukraine, the lace-making association or 'Klötzchenmann' (block man) – the show positioned itself once again as a meeting place for creativity. On the last day of the show, Klötzchenmann donated the proceeds of his workshops in Hall 7 to the Löwenzahn outpatient children's and youth hospice service in Dortmund. 

Musical entertainment was provided by various acts over the weekend from Friday to Sunday. On Friday 22 March, Vincent Gross captivated the fans and presented himself as a singer not afraid to shake a leg with his fans, and on Saturday Andrea Berg lookalike Angela Prescher sang for visitors on the CREATIVA Stage. Olaf Henning concluded the musical programme on Sunday.

The dates for CREATIVA 2025 have now been set: 19 – 23 March 2025

CREATIVA: what exhibitors had to say

Bettina Dorfmann, Managing Director/Author, Barbie Doll Valuation Point

“I've been an exhibitor at CREATIVA for about 15 years. The visitors are very diverse and are very interested in learning new things. The stage programme is highly varied and covers many areas of CREATIVA. I've also had the honour of giving several presentations and am very enthusiastic about it. The show is a great place to express yourself via your own creations.”

Dieter Schumacher, Managing Director of Bastelzirkus Kunst & Kreativ Franchise GmbH

“Our company has been around for 40 years, and we have been an integral part of CREATIVA for around 18 of those. At CREATIVA we show the latest trends, run a sewing school and offer a lot of workshops. We especially like the great communication with visitors to the show.”

Caroline Lucke, Managing Director of Caro's Atelier

“This is our second time at CREATIVA. After the first year, we specifically decided to expand our stand presence and are delighted with this decision. The visitors are super friendly and extremely interested.”

Luisa Beck, Senior Marketing Manager – European Influencers, Social Media & PR at Cricut

“For us, CREATIVA is a really great experience because we meet our community here face-to-face. Visitors had the chance to test our products offline and see for themselves. CREATIVA also enabled us to demonstrate the numerous creative possibilities offered by our DIY and cutting machines. We'll be back next year.”

Jessica Färberkind, Artist with a studio at the sevengardens HQ

“I think CREATIVA's Sustainable City programme is very daring and extremely important. It's time to show how important this topic is and how much potential it has. My main aim at the show was to communicate something about sustainability, and I succeeded in doing that. The visitors were very interested and open. Many came to the workshops without any previous knowledge and were totally enthusiastic afterwards.”

Henning Ruff, graduate designer, H.Ruff Design

“It was my first time at CREATIVA, and I'm delighted with how the show went. The visitors were very friendly and appreciative. As an artisan, I make all my works myself. This was extremely well received and appreciated at CREATIVA. The communication with Messe Dortmund was also beyond good. Everything was well organised, and people always had an open ear for questions. The co-exhibitors were also very nice, and CREATIVA was a great source of creative inspiration, even as an exhibitor.”

Jaroslaw Milinewski, proprietor of Klötzchenmann

“We're very enthusiastic about CREATIVA, and this is our second time here. It's the ideal place for us to meet our existing customers and make new ones. As it all went so well last year, we decided to have a larger stand this year. The space was also superb, as the companies we work with a lot were located right next to us. Together with the workshop area, a collaboration corner was created here, which was very beneficial to us. The Messe Dortmund team was very responsive to our wishes and requests.”

Uwe Gersch, Managing Director of Creative Design

“We have been taking part in the show for 25 years, and it's becoming increasingly clear that customers are paying more attention to high-quality products and are prepared to spend more money if the quality is right. Many of our regular customers come from all over Germany and Europe. This shows that we're on the right track. The special atmosphere of the show and the great enthusiasm of the visitors convince us every year that CREATIVA gives us an ideal platform for customising our products via workshops and bringing them closer to our customers.”

Xenia Menina, Director of Makesh-Ethno

“CREATIVA is a great opportunity for us to showcase our products in Europe. People are interested in finding out how our products are made. We were here last year and are planning to come again next year.”

Ralf Dömges, proprietor of Molax GmbH

“CREATIVA is undoubtedly one of the foremost trade shows in Europe. Our workshops give us an excellent opportunity make contact with customers and present our in-house products as a way to position ourselves as a brand. At the same time, we also use the show to make direct sales, because there's nothing like face-to-face contact with our customers. We love the diversity and potential of CREATIVA.”

Nadja Haiduck, owner of Nad(d)elline

“We really appreciate taking part in CREATIVA as the 5-day duration is very attractive and enables us to establish close contact with the diverse audience. The show illustrates time and again how creative and diverse the industry is.”

Miriam Jug, entrepreneur and blogger a.k.a. 'Plottertante'

“CREATIVA is a great place for me to see my community and meet familiar faces in person. The visitors are very warm and human. The Cutting Academy offers a great opportunity for exciting interactions during the talks, and visitors are becoming more and more open. I really want to come back next year.”

Holger Dämmer, Sales Manager at Royal Talens

“CREATIVA was extremely successful for us again this year. The increase in sales of around 30% during the first few days was particularly pleasing. Although many visitors are still beginners, demand for quality is constantly growing, and high-quality products are more in demand than ever – and this is exactly the target audience we want to reach. CREATIVA is the only show we attend, as its broad spectrum is ideal for strengthening our brand. We're already looking forward to CREATIVA 2025.”

Peter Reichenbach, Project Author and initiator of sevengardens

“At CREATIVA, it's clear that different sectors can, and want to, get together to develop new ideas and find synergies. Sustainable City and sevengardens have shown how much potential there is in sustainability by working together on cross-over networking between different sectors such as tourism and papermaking, large-scale tailoring and sustainable education, as well as kindergartens and dye gardens, not just with an eye to selling market-ready finished products, but also to developing new products that we share with the world via the UN.”

Barbara Burchardt, Co-Editor of stickstoff Magazin

“The atmosphere at CREATIVA is sensational. In collaboration with the Messe Dortmund team, we've managed to expand things and create a real lounge atmosphere. The 'stickstoff Lounge' is a great mix of a relaxed 'exhibition stand' environment, expert advice and refreshments for in-between. We've been able to hold really important and captivating discussions, in particular thanks to all the concentrated expertise in attendance. We've had nothing but good feedback and are totally enthusiastic ourselves.”

Holger Plichta, Senior Sales Manager at SINGER

“CREATIVA has excelled itself yet again since last year. The package is now even better, and the organisation is great. The show provides a nice balance to the stresses of everyday life and puts the spotlight beautifully on creative handicrafts. Above all, CREATIVA focuses on the latest trends and presents them to the public. We're particularly pleased with the quality of the visitors and exhibitors.”

Matthias Meister, proprietor of TicToys

“CREATIVA is about so much more than DIY and handicrafts. It's a meeting place for creative, curious and open-minded people, making it an ideal target audience for us and the perfect environment in which to present our innovative products. Visitors not only want to do handicrafts, they also want to discover new things by approaching them in a playful manner. We receive a lot of appreciation from the visitors who take the time to familiarise themselves with our products and try them out.”

Philipp Lübeck, Managing Director of VBS

“There is great demand for items to do with designing and producing creative projects. I'm delighted with the high demand in evidence at our stand this year. The show's been a resounding success for us again this year, and the advance organisation work also went very well. I'm already looking forward to next year's show and to engaging with other colleagues in the industry.”

Rang Haider of Rang Haider Gallery and Studio

“Taking part in CREATIVA 2024 was an incredibly amazing experience for me. I was able to inspire – and be inspired by – the course members. I'm taking away a lot of motivation from the emotions of the people I've spoken to. I'm very grateful for the experience of speaking on stage and look forward to taking part next year. I've already got a load of new ideas in store.”


EXHIBITION AT GLANCE 

CREATIVA – EUROPE’S LARGEST CREATIVE EXHIBITION
For more than fourty years, CREATIVA has enjoyed a firm place in the creative industry calendar. Once a year, Europe's largest creative exhibition presents the whole world of creative work at Dortmund Exhibition Centre. With a uniquely wide range of new and proven products, individually designed objects and innovative techniques, it's the epicentre for leisure and professional designers, artists and artisans, manufacturers and distributors. For five days, visitors have the entire wealth of creative products and techniques spread out before them under one roof: from handicrafts, arts and crafts, design, painting and drawing, felting, spinning, weaving, quilting and cake decoration to wood and metal work, silk and glass painting and jewellery making. In addition, varied workshops, creative exhibitions and an eventful stage programme ensure an unforgettable journey into a colourful creative world full of new ideas and inspirations.

DATE:
CREATIVA: 20 - 24 March 2024

EVENT ORGANISER:
Messe Dortmund GmbH

VISITOR NUMBER:
65.000 visitors 

EXHIBITORS:
approx. 480 exhibitors from 20 nations

TARGET GROUPS:
CREATIVA is for all those who are involved in creative activities in their leisure time and at work or who would like to purchase individually designed objects.

PROGRAMME 2024:
www.messe-creativa.de/en-gb/programm