My Impressions of the Bookbinders’ Fair Cologne
After I visited the Bookbinders’ Fair in Belgium this April, it was logical to attend an event made by the same people in Cologne, Germany.
Bookbinders’ Fair Cologne is smaller, but it doesn’t mean it is less fun! From the point of view of a seller, it is it may be a bit less attractive because it is attended by fewer visitors. But I think they are not the same people who go to Sint Niklaas in Belgium.
Compared to the Sint Niklaas Fair
In Cologne, I’ve got to meet some of the vendors already known to me. Some of the visitors came over to my stall and told me they know my website and already seen my 3d-printed jigs and tools. So, it was a very inspiring and positive event.
Fair is held in a beautiful venue of a local community center. I loved the location from the first sight. I guess that the total number of sellers is 2-3 times lower than at the Bookbinders’ Fair in Belgium. The number of visitors is lower as well.
I know that it is wrong to make any projections from only one visit, so I’ll just tell that in Cologne the majority of buyers came and went before lunch. Some vendors started packing even before 16.00. Even if the end of the Fair was announced to be at 17.00.
I had almost no sales after 14.00. However, I have made enough profit before that, so I’m not complaining.
The list of vendors is published on the official website of the Fair, so you can always check what you will find there before making a decision to go.
Should You Go There?
In general, I’d say: Yes!
It’s a bookbinders’ fair and you can find lots of nice things here.
Should you go there if you live outside the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region? I don’t really know. It seemed to me that most of the visitors were locals. I even had more language problems than I had in Belgium – not everyone spoke English here at Cologne Fair. However, every time I found a way to answer the questions (thank you Google Translate and Google Images!)
Anyway, I plan to go there next year, and I would be happy to see more people at the Bookbinders’ Fair Cologne!
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