h+h cologne is the international trade fair for handicraft and hobby — the ordering and inspiration platform for knitting, crochet, sewing, embroidery and crafts, three days exclusively for the trade. The exhibit here is colour and fibre: a wall of yarn balls in forty shades, fabric bolts, buttons, zips, sewing machines. Colour fidelity matters more at this show than any other, because retailers reorder from the picture.
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| Dates | Friday 2 to Sunday 4 April 2027 — Friday and Saturday 9:00 to 18:00, Sunday 9:00 to 17:00 |
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| Venue | Koelnmesse, halls 11.2 and 11.3 — Messeplatz 1, 50679 Köln |
| Frequency | Annual in spring, three days, trade visitors only |
| Profile | International trade fair for handicraft and hobby: needlework yarns and implements, haberdashery, fabrics and home textiles, knitting and sewing machines, craft and hobby supplies |
| Audience | Visitors are buyers from specialist retail, wholesale, department stores, mail order, associations and schools; workshops and demonstrations on the stands are part of the concept |
| Our travel time | About 60 minutes from Essen — travel included in the package price |
A yarn wall is the hardest subject of this show: dozens of shades of one quality, often differing by a single nuance, under hall lighting that pulls green towards yellow and violet towards blue. We photograph ranges with our own colour-neutral light and a grey card, match the images to the manufacturer shade card and deliver them so a retailer can match the shade on screen to the ball on the shelf. Fibres need closeness: we show twist, halo and sheen at macro distance with raking light so a merino does not look like an acrylic.
Fabrics are photographed on the bolt and draped, haberdashery as ranges in the same setup, sewing and knitting machines in operation with the piece being made.
h+h cologne is a show where things are demonstrated: knitters, sewers and designers work on the stands, workshops run, samples are made. We photograph hands at the piece and film short sequences — casting on, inserting a zip, an embroidery stitch — as vertical clips for Instagram and Pinterest, where the craft community looks for inspiration. Statements from your designers are recorded with radio mics, in German or English.
Yarn and fabric manufacturers from Italy, Turkey, the UK, Scandinavia and overseas are briefed in English.
Friday is the ordering day with the most buyers. We recommend range and stand shots in the hour before opening on Friday, followed by conversations, workshops and interviews. A four-hour package covers that; if you show a large colour palette, book the full day. Sunday is shorter and quieter — good for detail shots once the stand is no longer full. Highlight video and first images are delivered on Friday evening so retailers arriving on Saturday have already seen your novelties.
Colour-neutral light and grey card, matched to the shade card — every shade identifiable.
Twist, halo and sheen at macro distance with raking light, fabrics on the bolt and draped.
Casting on, sewing and embroidery as vertical clips for Instagram and Pinterest.
Yarn wall, displays and lighting before the doors open, with no visitors in frame.
Buyers and sales on the stand, sample in hand, no flash.
Statements from designers and management with radio mics, in German or English, subtitled.
A sample from our production: the event recap for your website and LinkedIn — below it, native 9:16 footage for Reels, Shorts and Stories, shot in parallel with the main coverage.
Event recap · YOOZ
Event reel · izy
Brand event · YOOZ
Trade fair clip · Vapes Bars
Fixed prices, defined deliverables, predictable turnaround. All prices exclude VAT and include travel within North Rhine-Westphalia.
Add-on: On-stand interview + extended highlight video (approx. 90 sec.) €190
Payment: by invoice or online by credit card, details in the quote. No German VAT for non-EU companies; reverse charge for EU companies with VAT ID.
Tell us the date, your stand and what the images are for. You normally get a fixed-price quote within 24 hours, with no hidden line items.
We bring our own equipment, follow an agreed shot list and work discreetly, without interrupting conversations or demos. A first selection is ready while the show day is still running.
Finished photos and video for LinkedIn, PR, your website and social media via a private download link, at the latest 24 hours after the event ends. Two revision rounds included.
From €990 plus VAT for two hours of photo and video on site with at least 30 edited images and a 30-second highlight video. Four hours from €1,490, a full show day from €1,990. Travel to Cologne is included.
Yes. We photograph with colour-neutral light and a grey card and match the images to your shade card. Retailers can match the shade on screen to the ball.
Friday with range shots before opening, then ordering conversations and workshops. Sunday suits quiet detail shots.
Yes. We film hands at the piece up close and cut short vertical clips that can go online on the show day.
Yes. Interviews, briefing and the entire engagement run in English — a large share of our trade fair clients come from outside Germany. Invoices with VAT ID for EU companies, no German VAT for companies outside the EU.
Send us your hall, stand number, workshop times and the collection you want to feature. We will propose a time window and a fixed-price quote.
We normally reply within 24 hours. For short-notice bookings during a show week, please call.
