More than books: Unique collectibles from around the world at SIBF 2023

The Sharjah International Book Fair 2023 is displaying a bouquet of delightful items from local and international participants offering visitors innovate ways to explore new cultures

Sharjah: Along with 1.5 million titles being exhibited at the 42nd Sharjah International Book Fair, (SIBF 2023), unique jewellery, accessories, art and other collectables have travelled from across the globe to the emirate to educate visitors about the rich cultural and artistic diversity that exists in the world.

Until November 12, visitors to the book fair running in Expo Centre Sharjah, particularly those interested in lead glass crystal accessories, must visit a Japanese jewellery pop up at J-Link Distributors’s Stall O16 in Hall 6 to look at exquisite, eco-friendly pieces that the brand’s director, Ayumi Kimba, describes as the “Swarovski of Japan”.

“We brought our accessory collection to Sharjah to introduce some of our traditional crafts to the book fair’s visitors. More and more people from the UAE are travelling to Japan, and this event is a great opportunity to introduce the unique and age-old crafts of the various prefectures of our country.”

“I’m from Kagoshima, a prefecture in the South of Japan. I would like to promote our traditional eco-friendly accessories like the Satsuma Kiriko glass jewellery”.

The colourful tiny beads resembling flowers have been made into bracelets, hair clips and necklaces. The Japanese stall is also retailing face wash, matcha green tea, origami sets along with books, which are of course the main feature of their stand. 

Accessorise life with iconic pieces by Sharjah Art Foundation
Also on display at the Sharjah Art Foundation (SAF) corner are some highly interesting items, including the uber popular ‘Smile’ tote bag printed with ‘Smile you are in Sharjah’ written in bold Arabic calligraphy. Another much desired product they have on display is the ‘Sheikh Zayed’ notebook. Distributed free across government schools during the 1980’s and 1990’s, the notebooks with a picture of the Late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan on its cover, will invoke strong nostalgia amongst visitors.

Related to both reading and books, some of the other carefully selected items people can browse through at the SAF stall include mini brooms to sweep crumbs off laptop keyboards, etching paper clips in eight visually appealing themes including space, flowers, little animals and leaves, scissors standing tall on a magnetic base of their own, crayons designed like blocks, mini self-exploration cards and colouring books.

From children’s programs and cultural shows to comic book exhibitions and social media stations, a host of exciting imaginative activities are taking place at the Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF) including daily writing workshops, poetry readings and book signings by renowned authors and artists from across the globe.