Art fairs and collectibles shows

Art and collectibles fairs bring together galleries, antique dealers, craftspeople, publishers and collectors. Most are open to the public and work as markets where pieces are sold on the spot, which gives the autumn and year-end holiday season its weight in the calendar.

The sector covers art fairs, antiques, collectibles, crafts and creative hobbies, books and publishing, and design objects sold as art. Exhibitors come to sell directly and to meet collectors. Visitors come to buy and to compare makers. Neighboring sectors are leisure and hobbies and home and interiors.

The calendar follows the gift season. Craft and design markets in North America are held in November and December: One Of A Kind Show in Toronto, its namesake in Chicago, and regional holiday markets such as the Ocala Holiday Craft Show and the Fredericksburg Holiday Craft Show. The United States hub lists the rest of this circuit.

In Europe, Italy hosts collectors' markets in several cities. Pordenone and Turin both have fairs in the sector, ArtePadova in Padua sells modern and contemporary art to collectors, the Verona Mineral Show gathers minerals, fossils and gemstones, and Un Milione di Giocattoli in Cremona is devoted to vintage toys. Lucca Comics & Games, in the Tuscan city of Lucca, is a pop culture event centered on comics and games. The Italy hub groups them.

Further north, Berlin hosts Bazaar Berlin, a fair for original gifts and products from around the world, and London also hosts fairs in the sector. Suomen Kädentaidot in Tampere is a consumer fair for handicrafts and Finnish design.