MILAN and PARIS – we are back!

It has been almost 2 years but finally fair season is back. This means new inspiration and ideas, meeting customers and enjoying European cities in the fall. Europe is almost back to normal so there will be a lot of positive energy and happy people. It’s unfortunately not very easy to travel internationally yet but luckily we have our designers in Holland who went to Milan and Paris for us.

Milan

The fairs had a different lay out this time – they were not full scale yet. In Milan the exhibitors got a booth which basically consisted of a big wall, a bit minimalistic but there was plenty of nice furniture to be found (the Milan fair is all about furniture). The vintage vibe is going strong and the shape of the products is clearly inspired by the European 60’ies and 70’ies. Beautiful upholstery fabrics were used in bright colors and lots of greens and it seemed that Boucle fabric was favorite. Wood colors were very dark, lots of tropical wood (finishes). Another thing which was abundant was marble and especially black, brown and green marble. Beautiful accent tables with that vintage touch and a black marble top and even entire room dividers made from this precious material were abundant. A lot of attention was put in making furniture easier to transport/ship which won’t come as a surprise with the current freight charges. Another remarkable thing was the attention that was reserved for small accent chairs, ottomans and poufs. The days of the velvet circular poufs with a brass band seem to be behind us.

Paris

Maison et Objet was the second fair we visited and it was like a warm welcome. The fair was a little smaller than normal and not all the exhibitors could be found but there were plenty of exhibitors and the mood was good. All exhibitors were struggling to keep up with writing the many order which were coming in because the business is booming again and consumers are ready for new decoration and home items. There was a lot of talk about the struggle to get enough and new items from the various production locations around the world but there was plenty of new inspiration and the organic look was abundant. Beautiful bases and ceramic decoration in flowing lines in basic colors were all around. Natural and responsible materials were sought after and many suppliers were more than willing to explain how the items were made and what materials they used. The vintage look was another popular trend in home decoration and these items were made in a more intense color range. Colored crystal decorations were fun and new and also here a lot of marble objects.

We can keep talking for many pages about what we discovered in the fairs and the many mini exhibitions in Milan and Paris and we will……. Please follow our socials for more inspiration and ideas.