In 2008 Aiguille en Fête will be returning to its roots – the first show took place at La Villette – by bringing needlecraft enthusiasts together under the beautiful glass and steel nave of the Grande Halle.

Having had to stay away from this prestigious setting for three years due to full-scale renovation work, Aiguille en Fête is delighted to be back in this beautifully renovated magical setting.

The organizers of Aiguille en Fête have the following belief: “Take a needle and some thread, put them in the hands of a true artist and you will get a work of art”.

At each of its annual events held over the past four years, the Aiguille en Fête exhibition has aimed to offer a real vision of contemporary textile creativity and has brought to the forefront some artists from all the corners of the world, who have always been passionate about these techniques.

This year, the exhibition is paying tribute to artists from a country, which has always captivated silk and embroidery enthusiasts, by inviting some of the best designers from the Land of the Rising Sun. These inspired and dedicated artists will be displaying a wonderful range of their various different techniques for the very first time in France and will offer guidance to visitors in the mysteries of their art.

Now the exhibition to which lovers of needlecraft return year after year, Aiguille en Fête will play host in 2008 to the final of the French Speed Knitting® championships, workshops led by some of the most talented designers in France, displays of works of art that are noteworthy not only for their technical brilliance but also for their moving inspiration, the latest news from the sewing world, patchwork and tapestry delights, demonstrations of fancy
goods, boutis embroidery and lacework, as well as lessons in chain stitch or stem stitch.

Over the course of four days, the exhibition will uncover its treasure trove of rarities, secrets, innovations… of the very essence of happiness.

With 200 exhibitors from France, Switzerland, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, Great Britain, South Africa, Romania, USA and all over the world presenting a panorama of all the happenings and creations in the sector; with exhibitions of the masters of needlecraft offering a real insight into this passionate universe and with its master classes in embroidery, sewing and knitting, Aiguille en Fête has become the place where all the trends for the year ahead will be taking shape.

Number of square metres, number of exhibitors, number of visitors, number of foreigners, number of exhibitions… All these figures have doubled or even tripled!

Where: Grande Halle de La Villette, Paris, France.
Surface area of the exhibition: 3,350 m2
Duration: 3 days
Number of exhibitors: 73
Surface area of exhibitions of textile creations: 250 m2
Number of visitors: 14,180
Where the visitors came from: France but also Italy, Germany, Switzerland, England, Belgium.
A single aim: to bring together needlecraft enthusiasts from all over France and more.
Outcome: the enthusiasts were at the meeting point!

From 27 to 29 February, the very first national exhibition of needlecraft and embroidery found its niche and provided 3 days of pure happiness for exhibitors and visitors alike.
73 craftspeople, clubs, specialized shops, designers, schools and manufacturers put their trust in this first event.

90% of the visitors, rated the exhibition as a great success.

By offering workshops, the exhibitions captured the visitors’ enthusiasm…
The Ecole Duperré, the Thérèse de Dillmont exhibition and the presentation of the Tapis de Chartres were the biggest stars of the 3-day event, and 92% of the visitors said they were satisfied or very satisfied with the exhibition, 84% being delighted to have found what they were looking for.

Where : Parc Floral de Vincennes (Paris, France)
Surface area of the exhibition : 5,000 m2
Duration : 3 days
Number of exhibitors : 110
Surface area of exhibitions of textile creations : 330 m2
Number of visitors : 19,200
Where the exhibitors came from : Mostly France but also from South Africa, Italy, Belgium, Germany, the UK and Japan.
Where the visitors came from : France mainly but also Italy, Germany, Switzerland, England, Belgium and the United States etc.
Outcome : Passion creates a market!

By increasing its exhibition surface area by 33% (5,000 m2 as opposed to 3,350 in 2004), its number of participating exhibitors by 34% (110 participants as opposed to 73 in 2004) and its number of visitors by 27% (19,200 visitors as opposed to 14,180 in 2004), "Aiguille en Fête" has established its credibility and confirmed its strong potential for further development.

The success of this fair generated a real market for needlework crafts in France, positioning “Aiguille en Fête” as an important event in the international calendar.

Since this second year of the event, it has taken on an international dimension, both in terms of exhibitors and visitors. The three-day event included a display/show on the Amish and Mennonites, Nui Do (Japanese embroidery) and its technique handed down through the generations, the Ecole Duperré with its “variation on a white shirt” and discovering Mail Art with its history. 95% of the “needlecraft enthusiasts” declared themselves to be satisfied with
the event.

Where : Parc Floral de Vincennes (Paris, France)
Surface area of the exhibition : 5,500 m2
Duration : 3 days
Number of exhibitors : 110
Surface area of exhibitions of textile creations : 380 m2
Number of visitors : 24,960
Where the exhibitors came from : Mostly from France but also from South Africa, Italy, Belgium, Germany, the UK and Japan.
Where the visitors came from : Mostly France, but also from the rest of Europe… thereby confirming its international calling.

The year the French Speed Knitting Championships were launched
In March 2006, 24,960 visitors invaded the Parc Floral in Paris, a huge leap in numbers since the 14,180 visitors who came in 2004.

Designers were impatient to be able to show off their latest creations; new shops were delighted to have been chosen to take part in the AEF discoveries of the year; artists such as Fanny Viollet or Françoise Tellier-Loumagne. Needlecraft professionals were impatient to lend a hand “for one more year” in the lessons, in order to elaborate on their expertise and their love for all that is embroidered, knitted or quilted. In actual fact, this year 360 people rushed to the various workshops held for visitors to perfect or learn a new technique.

But the year 2006 will also be remembered for being the year of the First French “Speed Knitting” Championships, organised in partnership with Phildar, which decorated the exhibition hall and attracted the media’s attention, both radio and television, to the world of needlecraft, and therefore helped bring the passion of several million French women for knitting, embroidery, patchwork, lace making, tapestry and boutis embroidery into the international arena. Through the 230 people who good-naturedly took part with a great sense of humour in our Knitting Championships, all the needlecraft enthusiasts in France were raising a knitting needle into the air to show their existence!

Where : Parc Floral de Vincennes (Paris, France)
Surface area of the exhibition : 7,000 m2
Duration : 4 days Number of exhibitors: 180
Surface area of exhibitions of textile creations : 10 exhibitions covering 650 m2
Number of visitors : 27,500
Where the exhibitors came from : Mainly from France but also from South Africa, Germany, England, Belgium, USA, the Netherlands, Italy, Japan, Wales and Switzerland.
Where the visitors came from : France but also from the rest of Europe… (with more and more Slavic, Italian and Dutch embroiderers) as well as Japanese who made the journey especially to visit the exhibition, Americans and even Australians, showing that this has really become an international event.
Perspectives : For those who are mad about needlecraft, there is only one show and that is Aiguille en Fête !
Aiguille en Fête 2007 welcomed 27,500 visitors, which is 2,500 more visitors than in 2006.
Needlecraft “sports” have really taken off in a big way. The French Speed Knitting Championships were a great success as 450 competitors rushed into the competition ring, which was a hundred or so more than the previous year. At the same time, an actual-sized racing Ferrari knitted entirely by hand made the front page of the newspapers and attracted male and female knitters alike! When will there be a competition just for the men?

When questioned, the 180 exhibitors at the event said they were satisfied with the four-day event, which allowed them to do business with visitors from all over France as well as from Europe and even Japan and the United States.

Where ? Grande Halle de La Villette, Paris, France. Nearest Metro station: Porte de Pantin
When ? From Thursday 6 to Sunday 9 March 2008 – from 10.00 am to 7.00 pm (10.00am to
6.00pm on Sunday) . Late opening on Friday 7 March until 9.00 pm
How much ? Entrance ticket €10

Sale-exhibition-show organised by Côté Salons
Managing directors : Jean-Charles Durand and Vanessa Machenaud Dousset
Adress : 47, rue du Faubourg Saint-Antoine – 75011 PARIS
tél. : +33 (0) 1 40 02 94 00 - fax : + 33 (0) 1 40 02 94 05

informations : info@cotesalons.com

CONTACTS

Vanessa Machenaud
Tel : 01 40 02 94 03 - vmachenaud@cotesalons.com

Jean-Charles Durand
Tel : 06 11 96 21 05 - jcdurand@cotesalons.com

Catherine Richard: Administration
Tel : 01 40 02 94 00 - crichard@cotesalons.com

Laure Coton Laurent: sale assistant
Tel : 01 40 02 94 00 - lcotonlaurent@cotesalons.com

Perrine François Dainville : press and workshops assistant
Tel : 01 40 02 94 00 - pdainville@cotesalons.com

Sophie Alexandre Hochet: Technique
Tel : 06 18 89 02 40 - sophie.hochet@wanadoo.fr


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