Tour 2: Creative arts & crafts at the Christkindlesmarkt
We begin the tour with Booth 111 from Rudi Delago. Fans of wood carving are happy here because this South Tyrolean artist learned his craft from an early age. They’ll find crèche figures and wooden decorative items – all from his own production in Gröden.
Not far away in Booth 109, Stefan Lüpges amazes visitors: Through his delicate and precise craftsmanship, he turns a simple piece of wood, fungus or root into a magical castle. In the twinkling of an eye, a rough piece of timber becomes a fairy-tale palace or an entire kingdom. When you take out the individual pieces, the work of art turns into a miraculous 3D-puzzle.
Opposite is Peter Eberhardt in Booth 100. Here you’ll find a diverse assortment of glass objects: From glass globes to animal figures and angels and on to the stars. All the objects, artistic or practical, are completely handmade.
The next stop is Hans Steffin-Hierzer at Booth 90. In his atelier, he creates detailed pen-and-ink drawings, which he reproduces in limited-edition art prints, calendars and wonderful greeting cards decorated with stars and other embossing.
Typically Franconian and really creative are the prune men from Julian Scheller. At his Stand 87, located at the crèche, gathers a funny little community. Made from dried prunes, chimney sweeps, gnomes, chefs and firefighters stand row-on-row and fascinate visitors. Julian Scheller is the fifth generation of his family creating these little figures.
Nuremberg is known for its old half-timbered houses, including those in the nearby Weissgerbergasse. If you’d like to take one of these beautiful buildings home – in a miniature format of course – you’ll find one at Edith Herrmann’s Booth 48. She creates Franconian half-timbered houses based on historical originals.
Booth 18 will fascinate Mamas and Papas, Grandmas and Grandpas. Here, one finds playful children’s fashions “Made in Nuremberg”. The clever idea behind it: The colorful pants and dresses are fitted with soft cuffs, waist- and wristbands, so the clothing can “grow” with your baby or toddler and be used for many years. In 2016, Kerstin Brkasic-Bauer won the Entrepreneur of the Year Prize from the IHK Chamber of Commerce for this fantastic idea.
A stroll past stands with Christmas decorations, sweets and fruit bread brings the tour to Marco Weihmann at Booth 12. His floral arrangements exude a wonderful scent of Christmas, because he uses not only the classic array of pines and evergreens to create them, but also fruits and spices like cinnamon and oranges.
