The fun didn’t stop at h+h americas after the in-person event ended. From June 27-July 1, h+h connect hosted a slate of sessions and free classes as part of our Digital Aftershow.

h+h connect provided extended accessibility for attendees and exhibitors at h+h americas. In the week after the show wrapped, participants used the platform to touch base with their new connections, collate information gleaned from the show and exhibitor profiles, and continue accessing useful content about and for the crafting industry. It was a valuable piece of the h+h americas show for in-person attendees, and proved indispensable for those who couldn’t attend in person. 

The Digital Aftershow not only provided access to recorded sessions for much of the content available during the week of the show, but it also offered brand new content available only during the week after the show. 

On Monday, June 27, Darrin Stern and Abby Glassenberg opened the Digital Aftershow with a Kick Off. It included a look at some highlights, including the gorgeous booths, thoughts from exhibitors, and a peek at some of the products and tools featured at the show. Watch below:

We learned so much from this year’s show. As Abby noted in the Kick Off, it was fascinating to witness craft elements you wouldn’t normally place together—like yarns and fabrics—under one roof. It produced unexpected results, with yarn shop owners discussing the idea of including fabrics in their offerings and knitting pattern designers pondering how to create quilt-inspired pieces. Events like h+h americas strive to expand the horizons of the crafting industry, and it’s the opportunity for cross pollinations and unexpected collaborations that makes it really special.

Tuesday, June 28, offered two Digital Aftershow sessions. The first session was 5 Top Trends You May Have Missed at h+h americas with Jenny Bowden of Prime Media. If you missed the 5 Top Trends session, we highly recommend logging in to h+h connect to watch it now. Common themes like luxury yarns, sustainability, and DEI initiatives made the list, but subjects like Ergonomics and Animal Welfare were also included. It’s really important to know what’s trending in the industry to create smart strategies for your business. The session is a definite must-watch!

The second session, The Benefits of Business-to-Business Subscriptions, provided insight into creating subscription services as an added revenue-generating benefit for your business. Andrea Evans of Apple Fiber Studios discussed how after the pandemic struck, her business rebuilt her revenue base using business-to-business subscription services. 

Wednesday, June 29, featured Andrea Evans again, this time with a session called Maker Events Calendar. This session offered a calendar with monthly revenue-generating event ideas aimed at increasing sales. Essentially, Andrea provided an event marketing cheat sheet for business owners! She related that up to 75% of content marketers found in-person events to be their most effective marketing strategy. Events increase brand awareness and often have a larger influence on consumers than print or TV ads, so this session is another must-watch if your aim is to increase awareness around your business and gather more customers!

If size inclusivity is on your radar—and it should be!—log on to h+h connect to catch A Designer Review: Working with Suppliers and Size Inclusion. Jill Wolcott of Jill Wolcott Knits continues the discussion she started at the in-person show around trends, current understanding about size inclusivity, collaborations, and new directions to go in for the future. Body neutrality and size inclusivity are hot button topics and should be on every crafting business agenda. 

Do you know where your customers are? The Wednesday afternoon session, 4 Simple Steps- to Understand Where Your Customer is to Maximize Sales, highlighted the importance of customer awareness in four simple steps. Once you identify your customer’s goals, it makes it that much easier to fulfill their needs. This session will help you target your customer’s pain points, making your business indispensable to them!

The Digital Aftershow wrapped on Friday starting with a hands-on course called Trademark Registration Basics. Elizabeth Townsend Gard of Tulane Law School and Quilting Army Krewe, LLC, dissected the ins and outs of trademarks—an inscrutable but incredibly important topic for small businesses in the crafting industry. She explained the different types of trademarks and explored strategies for protecting potentially valuable trademarks. 

Finally, Leanne Pressly of Stitchcraft Marketing led a session titled h+h americas: A Marketer’s Review. She highlighted the best practices seen at the show this year and offered 5 tips for suppliers and 5 tips for retailers. As a special thanks for following along with us—whether you were able to attend h+h americas this year or not—we’ve included the full session below for your viewing pleasure. We hope it provides ample enticement to join us next year!

We hope you made a lot of useful connections online via h+h connect. Remember to access your scanned leads and copy that data over into your own files. Watch the video below to learn how to access that information. The h+h connect platform will remain open until July 31, so gather all your information before it closes!