Creativation is the place where creative businesses go to learn, connect and discover.

Join thousands of professionals for North America's largest and longest running creative industries trade event, January 14-18, 2021 in Phoenix, Arizona.

All photos courtesy of The Hedgehog Hollow.

Catch up on Creativation 2020!

Don't Be Misled!

As with many larger conferences and tradeshows these days, fraudulent companies have been known to contact our attendees and exhibitors. They claim to represent AFCI Creativation 2020 (and/or leave out important information so that it is ambiguous whether they represent the Association For Creative Industries), offering Creativation attendee lists or AFCI contact lists.

AFCI does not sell membership or trade show attendee email contact information. No company is authorized to distribute or sell any lists for our events. AFCI does not rent, share, or sell attendee contact information to third parties.

Scammers offering to sell these lists often aggregate information based on web crawler or email “scraper” programs searching for the “@” sign in email addresses posted on various websites (including LinkedIn and Facebook). While this is illegal in most countries, it does not prevent scammers from doing so. The best way to prevent yourself from receiving these emails is to protect your information, and if at all possible, do not post your email address online (or post it in an obscured way, such as an image or by not using the “@”) sign.

Please do not engage with and/or acquire or purchase any list from any company claiming to have use of the AFCI Creativation 2020 and/or Association For Creative Industries database, attendees, or contact information. Responding to these emails (even to “unsubscribe”) confirms to them that they have reached a valid email address.

Exhibitor List for Official AFCI Vendors: Any contact information shared with our official vendors is done so exclusively for the purposes of conducting business. These vendors are prohibited from and do not release this information elsewhere, nor do we or our vendors share exhibitor or attendee email contact info.

Attendee Contact List: AFCI exhibitors are provided with a post-event attendee list via a direct email from AFCI show management. Attendees are able to opt-out of being included. Exhibitors are prohibiting from sharing, distributing, or selling any list gained through attendance at Creativation 2020 or any AFCI event. Violations may result in immediate termination of membership, exhibiting participation, and possible legal action.

Exhibitor Lead Retrieval “Badge Scanners”: Exhibitors at Creativation may purchase badge scanning lead retrieval units that collect contact information for those attendees who verbally consent to having their badge scanned at an exhibitor’s booth. Exhibitors may not scan any badge without first having received verbal consent from the attendee confirming it is acceptable to do so. “Badge-sharing” and “badge-swapping” are strictly prohibited.

Don’t be misled! If you are contacted by anyone asking to sell you a list, or if you receive a suspicious request via email, please gather as much information as you can and pass it on to us at [email protected].

View the slide deck and recording from the "Making the Most of Creativation 2020" webinar for an overview of Creativation and tips on how to prepare. View now!

All news

Registration for North America’s Largest Creative Industries Trade Event Now Open

Jun 18, 2026

Creativation, the 78th annual conference and trade show where creative professionals go to learn, connect and discover, will take place January 17-21, 2019 at the Phoenix Convention Center in beautiful Phoenix, Arizona. Presented by the Association For Creative Industries (AFCI), Creativation is the largest and longest running creative industries event featuring hands-on education, innovative product launches, trendspotting, influencer appearances, order writing and networking opportunities for thousands of creative businesses from around the world. Registration for the trade show is now open at www.CreativationShow.org.

“This will be Creativation’s third consecutive year in Phoenix, which we’ve discovered is the United States’ underground arts hub,” says Andria Gibbon, CEM, Vice President of Education and Events for AFCI. “While the area is predominantly known for its desert and cacti, Downtown Phoenix has a ton of museums, theaters, concert halls, cultural centers, and eye-catching murals on almost every block. We’re excited to partner with local businesses to provide more affordable and valuable experiences for our creative community when they visit Phoenix during the time of year when the weather is comfortable!”

Earlier this year, AFCI announced Hotels for Hope as the new official hotel booking partner for Creativation. Hotels for Hope’s 600,000+ hotel partners allows the event organizer to expand the housing options to citywide booking, giving attendees and exhibitors more hotels and rates to choose from in and around Phoenix. The Phoenix Convention Center sits in the middle of a walkable downtown filled with independent restaurants, craft brewpubs and live-music venues. Creativation attendees can expect an experience defined by desert beauty, urban sophistication and year-round sunny weather.

“I would absolutely recommend this (event) to any store owner,” says Tanya Fox, owner of Crafty Crafters Ltd. in Camrose, Alberta, Canada. “Not only does it help you to get ahead of the new trends but also allows you to see the product in person. As the world changes to more online ordering sometimes it is hard to truly know what it is that you are going to get. Seeing it in person helps you to get a better idea of what will work for your demographic.”

Creativation is also accepting applications for exhibitors. Suppliers of paper crafts, paint, art materials, needlecrafts, sewing and textiles, home décor, woodworking, jewelry and beads, craft kits, kids crafts, edible arts and cake decorating, craft storage, other craft categories and providers of business services for small, medium and large retailers are encouraged to complete a contract at www.CreativationShow.org or by contacting Nadine Schwartz, Director of Sales and Sponsorships, at 201-835-1203 or [email protected].

For more information and to register, visit www.CreativationShow.org.

ABOUT THE ASSOCIATION FOR CREATIVE INDUSTRIES
The Association For Creative Industries (AFCI) is the premier trade association for the global creative arts products industries. AFCI strives to deliver innovative high value services as we support our Members who provide products and services to educate, entertain, and inspire creative consumers. Our Members include the manufacturers, retailers, distributors, designers, educators, digital content providers, professional makers and DIYers, and other creative professionals that comprise the $36 billion+ creative arts industries in the United States alone. For more information about AFCI, membership, or its annual Creativation trade event, visit www.afci.global.