emborado at CREATIVA Dortmund 2026

From March 25 to March 29, 2026, CREATIVA once again took place in Dortmund, Europe’s largest creative trade fair.

With its wide range of exhibitors, workshops, and interactive areas, it is a meeting point for everyone who loves DIY, crafting, and creative projects. From sewing and embroidery to jewelry, games, and decoration, everything comes together in one place.

We attended on Saturday, March 28, and had the opportunity to present ourselves at the Machine Embroidery Marketplace.

🤝 Guests at Contors & Nadelbienen

We were located at the booth of Contors and the Nadelbienen.

First of all, a big thank you for the invitation, the support, and the truly enjoyable day.

Contors has been active in the field of professional embroidery machines, software, and accessories for over 20 years. What stands out is their holistic approach. From consultation and training to on-site installation, they support their customers far beyond the initial purchase.

The Nadelbienen also bring extensive practical experience and offer not only sewing and embroidery accessories but also professional textile finishing services.

The exchange at the booth was especially valuable for us, because this is exactly where the people are who we are building emborado for.

🧵 The Machine Embroidery Marketplace

The Machine Embroidery Marketplace was one of the areas where everything related to embroidery came together.

Visitors were able to:

• see machines in action
• learn about materials and accessories
• ask questions and engage in direct conversations

For us, this was the perfect opportunity to talk to many people about a challenge that almost everyone knows:

large embroidery file collections, but little overview.

These conversations once again showed how widespread this problem is within the community.

🤝 Familiar faces & new connections

Beyond the conversations at the booth, it was great to meet many familiar faces.

Among others, we met:

• Tanja and Sandra from Nähdels
• Susanne and Sarah from the online sewing magazine Nahtzeit
• Handmade by Anni, with whom we had the chance to explain our solution in more detail

These personal conversations are incredibly valuable for us. They help us better understand how people currently work and where the biggest challenges lie.

🌍 Looking beyond embroidery

What makes CREATIVA special is its diversity.

In addition to sewing and embroidery, you can also find:

• DIY decoration and craft projects
• jewelry design
• games and creative concepts

This variety makes the event particularly inspiring, as it constantly offers new ideas and perspectives beyond your own focus area.

💡 Highlight: embroidery world record attempt

One particularly exciting thing we learned about at the fair:

On June 13, a world record attempt in embroidery will take place in Switzerland.

The goal is to combine 735 individual embroidery contributions into one collective artwork, a symbolic project supporting a foundation for children in Switzerland.

👉 Learn more here:
https://charityweltrekord.ch/

Projects like this show how strong and creative the embroidery community really is.

🧡 Conclusion: a truly successful day at the fair

CREATIVA is not a traditional trade fair. It is a vibrant mix of inspiration, exchange, and hands-on creativity.

For us, the day was defined by:

• many great conversations
• valuable insights into the community
• new connections and familiar faces

And that is exactly what makes events like this so valuable.

We are already looking forward to the next opportunity to be there again.