Handmade Circus — Design Market Aachen

Handmade Circus — Aachen's Design Market in a Historic Setting

Twice a year, the Aula Carolina — a former 17th-century monastery church on Pontstraße — transforms into a vibrant marketplace for independent design: The Handmade Circus brings around 60 young designers and creative makers to an area of over 600 square meters on January 24th and 25th, 2026. This event has been a fixture in the North Rhine-Westphalian design scene since 2009.

What's Sold Here — The Product Categories

The selection of exhibitors is deliberately broad and covers the entire spectrum of independent design:

• Fashion and Accessories — Clothing, bags, scarves, jewelry
• Jewelry — From goldsmiths, designers, manufacturers
• Illustration and Art — Prints, postcards, original works
• Stationery — Cards, notebooks, calendars
• Porcelain and Ceramics — Tableware, vases, sculptures
• Furniture and Home Accessories — Designer furniture, lamps, textiles
• Photography — Prints, books
• Books — Independent Publishing, artist books
• Children's Products — Clothing, toys, books
• Culinary Specialties — Jams, pralines, tea, liqueurs

A mix that represents the entire spectrum from hobby designers with a few products to established manufacturers with extensive ranges.

Aula Carolina — The Spectacular Venue

The Aula Carolina at Pontstraße 7 is one of Aachen's most atmospheric spaces: originally a monastery church, with its origins in the 13th century, built in its current form in 1663. After extensive restoration in 1980, it now serves as the auditorium of the Kaiser-Karls-Gymnasium. High ceilings, historic columns, large windows — a space that gives the design market a completely different atmosphere than a generic exhibition hall.

Katrin and Jean-Marie Engel — The Minds Behind the Market

The organizers are Diplom-Designers Katrin and Jean-Marie Engel, who founded the Handmade Circus in 2009. They also run the Aachen-based designer label nicenicenice, which produces fashion and home accessories with distinctive graphic patterns and coordinated colors. This dual role — organizers and designers themselves — gives the Handmade Circus a particularly well-curated, designer-friendly atmosphere. The Engels know what exhibitors need and what the audience values.

Application as an Exhibitor

Interested designers can apply to participate by contacting [email protected]. The Engels carefully review applications — curation is what guarantees the market's quality.

Pontstraße — Aachen's Liveliest Student and Designer Street

Pontstraße is Aachen's central nightlife hub: student pubs, designer boutiques, cafés, theaters, small galleries — from the Aula Carolina to the Ponttor, it stretches as one of the liveliest downtown streets in Western Germany. The Handmade Circus builds on this established culture of designers and creatives, making it particularly visible two weekends a year.

Aachen — University City with a Creative Scene

The independent city of Aachen, with its approximately 250,000 inhabitants, is located in the far west of North Rhine-Westphalia. Known as the City of Charlemagne with Aachen Cathedral (UNESCO World Heritage Site), a university city (RWTH Aachen), and the site of the Charlemagne Prize award. The creative scene benefits from its proximity to the Düsseldorf Art Academy, RWTH, and a student population of over 50,000 — conditions that foster the emergence of small designer labels, galleries, and manufacturers.