Hand Made Fest Pula: a three-day feast for the eyes and soul

For more than two decades, Pula and the Istrian County have proudly held the title of a regional centre for creative industries, thanks to an event that is eagerly anticipated throughout the year.

Hand Made Fest (Festival of Handmade Crafts, Creativity and Design) is the largest and longest-running festival of its kind in Croatia, recognised as an important part of the region’s cultural, tourism, and economic offering.

This well-established festival was created as a unique cultural and business platform that brings generations together. The project’s founder, Lela Blekić, was among the first to introduce such a concept 25 years ago, encouraging numerous small artists, hobbyists, and creatives to showcase their work and take their first steps into entrepreneurship. In doing so, she also became an ambassador for women’s entrepreneurship.

It is a remarkable story of a project that began before today’s widely available online platforms, groups, apps, and social networks existed.

The festival brings together and connects more than 200 exhibitors in one place—from creative hobbyists and emerging artists in need of support to independent artists, small production businesses, civil society organisations, traditional craftspeople, and family-run farms.

It is distinguished by its high level of social inclusion, offering valuable market opportunities and promotion to people who might otherwise struggle to access them.

Hand Made Fest was the first festival of its kind in Croatia. Its unique concept, programme, purpose, and vision have earned it a prominent place among similar events. Today, the festival is an essential destination for exhibitors and visitors of all ages and interests.

Previous editions have confirmed the importance of supporting creative work and promoting handmade production, while preserving traditional crafts and trades. The festival celebrates art, hobbies, design, decoration, contemporary art, amateur creativity, small-scale production, and many other forms of creative expression.