First of all, I would like to say that this word, “Schmuck”, means “jewellery” in German, and has absolutely nothing to do with the Jewish word of the (almost) same spelling.
“Schmuck 2011” is put on as part of the International Trade Fair Munich. You can read more about it on this PDF Schmuck 2011_PressRelease
One of my favourite parts was arriving at the exhibition grounds (which also had shows on cars, machinery, tradeschools, design, gardens, kicthens, etc.), and seeing ‘trade’ or ‘craft’ (same word in German: Handwerk!) advertisements like this one:
I liked the sense of pride in the trades/handwork/craft.
I could write a whole essay just on the translation of “Handwerk”, but I won’t bore you here with that …
The show itself was, of course, very interesting. As were all the surrounding exhibitions, especially “Talente”, which exhibits up-and-coming designers who show ‘originality and superb craftsmanship’. You can read more about it here: Talente 2011 Press Release , but if you just want to see pictures, go to this link for a slide-show to see even this sort of nutty thing:
There was so much to see! On the first day alone, I spent a total of six hours in that one hall, which was basically a retail craft show much like the Nova Scotia Designer Crafts show, but also included the “Schmuck” exhibit and much more. The quality and variety of craft available for sale was excellent. Schools were represented and did demos all over the place (including glass blowing!), there were presentations and fashion shows, and there was an exhibition of work by students of the Jewellery design school in Pforzheim. Very exciting was the presence of Paul Derrez himself, representing his amazing Gallery Ra in Amsterdam, who carry the best of the best.
Another amazing part was the presence of Karl Fritsch, making jewellery right there!
Lastly, I want to tell you that I fell in love with a ring. I almost bought it …
How about I’ll tell you more about that, and the rest of my Munich Schmuck adventures, next time ;)
