My First HandMade In Japan Fes: Exhibiting at HMJ 2026
July 11–12, 2026 was a first for me: my first time exhibiting at an in-person event as The Magic Crayons.
Three of my wooden maps had already been selected as finalists in the xTool × Creema Design Competition 2026, which meant they would be displayed at HandMade In Japan Fes at Tokyo Big Sight. I decided to take the opportunity to book my own small booth at the event too.
I'd never done anything like this before.
Credit HMJ/Creema
Setting up my first booth
The show opened at 10:00, so naturally we arrived at 8:00 — just in case.
One of my concerns was how long we would have access to the loading area, but I needn't have worried. The organisation was excellent. Everyone unloading clearly knew what they were doing, people moved quickly, the signs were clear, and finding my allocated space was easy.
Photo: My allocated parking/loading ticket.
We also got lucky with the booth itself. I'd booked following a last-minute cancellation and ended up close to the entrance, with no booth immediately behind mine. That gave me just a little extra room to work with.
I'd had the entire display set up in my living room for about two weeks beforehand, adding shelves and adjusting the layout as I worked out what I needed.
Photo: Completed booth early in the morning before the doors opened... and anyone else there lol.
I'd deliberately made the display flexible, which proved useful. After seeing how visitors interacted with it on Saturday, I changed the layout for Sunday to make the larger maps more prominent.
Seeing my maps in the xTool × Creema exhibition
After setting up, I still had almost two hours before the doors opened, which gave me time to explore.
One of the first things I wanted to see was the xTool × Creema competition display.
Visitors entering the show passed the xTool exhibition, where the finalist works were on display. Voting was open during the event, allowing visitors to choose their favourite pieces.
Seeing my Tokyo, Kyoto and Honolulu maps displayed there alongside the work of other makers was a very special moment.
Photo: Close-up of the exhibition card beside my map.
Photo: Tokyo map on xTool exhibition space
Photo: Me with my maps at the xTool exhibition.
There was some fantastic work from the other finalists too. I particularly liked the beautifully crisp laser-cut lines in the work by Rearea, including their wooden lamps and modern decorative pieces.
And then the doors opened...
Shortly before 10:00 I went to look at the entrance.
The queue seemed to be about 50 people wide and hundreds of people deep.
Amazing.
I'd planned to take plenty of photographs and video throughout the day. That plan lasted until the doors opened.
From then until closing there was an almost constant stream of visitors.
Photo: Visitors looking at my booth.
As part of the event, visitors could take part in a gacha-style lucky draw. I'd donated one of my wooden Mini Maps as a prize, and it wasn't long before the winner appeared at my booth to collect it. They were able to choose their favourite from the Mini Maps I had available.
For someone who had never exhibited at any kind of show before, listening to people discussing my work, answering questions and simply seeing people stop because something had caught their attention was an incredible feeling.
Fortunately, I'd arrived with a bag full of water and sandwiches. I needed them.
An unexpected Saturday night in the workshop
I'd planned on having an early night in preparation for Sunday.
Instead, I went home and made more Mini Maps.
They had sold far better than I'd expected, so I spent part of Saturday evening producing another couple of batches for the following morning.
It also gave me a very clear note for future events: make more cities!
Day two
Sunday was considerably easier. The booth was already assembled, so I only needed to arrive shortly before the doors opened.
Interestingly, the crowd felt a little different from Saturday, but there was again a great deal of interest throughout the day.
I noticed quite a few visitors carrying xTool bags stopping at my booth. Some seemed interested not only in the maps themselves, but in figuring out how I'd made them. I was very happy to answer questions, and I also had the opportunity to meet several members of the xTool team in person.
Photo: Busy booth or visitors examining one of the larger maps.
The conversations over the weekend gave me plenty of ideas for future projects. Some of those ideas are already becoming new maps, including my card golf course designs.
Would I do it again?
Absolutely.
I came away exhausted, but with new ideas, useful feedback and a much better understanding of how people react to my work when they can actually see and touch it.
Most importantly, it was simply wonderful to meet people who were interested in what I make.
I'd also like to say a special thank you to everyone who saw my Reddit posts during the two weeks leading up to HMJ and then came to the booth to say hello. Posting about an event online and then having people actually turn up in person because they'd seen those posts was another completely new experience for me.
And thank you to everyone who followed The Magic Crayons on Instagram during and after the event.
Follow The Magic Crayons on Instagram
My first in-person event turned out to be a much bigger experience than I'd expected.
And yes, I'll definitely do another one.
