The USAID Creative Businesses Project is holding Sunday at the Arka Hotel in Skopje Old Bazaar the 8th annual Christmas Craft ART Fest.

Handmade gift items for the upcoming holidays, produced by more than 35 Macedonian artisans are on sale at the event. Visitors to the craft festival will find traditional and contemporary Macedonian handmade items including ceramics, jewelry, handcrafted paper, copper goods, glasswork, gift cards, personal fashion accessories, home accessories, wooden products, wool carpets, and much more.

The annual Holiday Craft Art Fest demonstrates the cultural richness of the handmade sector in Macedonia with a range of great new products.

The three-year USAID Creative Businesses Project aims to foster the development of Creative Industries Sector, through creating opportunities for employment and increased income for creative micro & small enterprises.

The project is implemented by MATA – Macedonian Artisan Trade Association, a non-profit organization established by the members of the local staff of Aid to Artisans, Inc. (ATA) in Macedonia in 2005. MATA was formed in response to requests by craft micro entrepreneurs for continued assistance in the strategic areas of capacity-building and advocacy as they try to overcome structural constraints in the craft sector in Macedonia.