Furniture Blog » Design Shows

Contemporary Furniture Fair

Furniture Blog — Thu, 21 May 2009 13:44:48 +0000

With the emphasis mainly on green and recycled materials, this month saw the Jacob K Javits Convention centre in New York turning its 145,000 sq ft area into North America’s largest International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF). The 4 day event organised by George Little Management saw more than 22,000 visitors passing through the doors, with 600 exhibitors spanning from more than 32 countries showing off all their contemporary furniture, seating, lighting, textiles and wall coverings.

Although dubbed more of a networking show than its European counterparts, it still threw up some interesting modern furniture pieces. With today’s global recession, much of the emphasis was focused around back-to-basics designs and using materials such as wood, steel, aluminium and cardboard. Here are some of the examples you can expect to see in the shops in the up coming year…

1. These are perfect to illuminate any room, and please even the greenest of us as they are made from 100% cardboard.

2. You have the light shade now go for the lamp shade, never throw out another toothpick again.

3. In today’s recession we don’t have to spend thousands of pounds on making our house look and smell fabulous, these candles are made from orange peel and soy. Ideal for the conservatory or dinning room.

4. With the emphasis focused on minimal these chairs are a perfect example of what can be achieved relatively cheaply.

5. After you have spent your hard earned cash on all your furniture, you wouldn’t want the family pet running around and destroying it, what about this, the robot seal is ideal if you want a pet but don’t want to follow with the pooper scooper!!

Milan Madness

Furniture Blog — Tue, 05 May 2009 12:24:52 +0000

The recent Milan furniture fair (22 to 27 April 2009) threw up some fantastic new ranges from some of Europe’s top designers but it also had a few modern furniture critics wanting to throw-up. Some critics, claim it to be “The worst show in the world”, while others just come right out and tell it like it is, “They only exhibit kitsch furniture, the kind that you’d see in a luxurious brothel.” Stinging comments indeed, but it is this mix of majestic and ‘muddy’ awful that has seen the show sell-out for the last 48 years.

Here’s a few glimpses of why the Milan Furniture Fair can sometimes be tagged as ‘Milan Madness’ when it comes to furniture design :

Contemporary Furniture Fair NYC

Furniture Blog — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 12:30:10 +0000

From the 16th – 19th May 2009, the Jacob K. Javits Convention Centre in New York City will host the 21st annual International Contemporary Furniture Fair. This year there will be 642 exhibitors from the following areas : designers, manufacturers, representatives of contemporary furniture, seating, carpet and flooring, lighting, outdoor furniture, materials, wall coverings, accessories, textiles, kitchen and bath for residential, home/office, contract. An estimated 26,000 people will swing through the doors over the three days. When it comes to design shows, New York tend to do it with style.

Here are a few shots from previous International Contemporary Furniture Fairs :

Banksy Laughing All The Way To The Bank

Furniture Blog — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 16:39:32 +0000

You’ve probably heard of guerrilla street artist, Banksy, and if you hadn’t, then you have now. Banksy, is probably one of the most famous (or infamous) artists alive today. His work has captured the imagination of millions and also the discouragement of many. Banksy’s work craves on controversy, on realism, on greed and on injustice. He uses urban settings as his canvas, and now has A-list celebrities as fanbois.

Banksy the person is somewhat more elusive. Shying away from publicity has certainly helped the reputation of Banksy and adds to the myth. His recent work saw Brad Pitt splash out a nice round £200,000 and only last year did somone pay out over £220,000 for his monkey wearing a sandwich board painting (shown left). It seems that the affluent can’t get enough of Banksy. His first exhibition of his work opened in New York and featured animatronic animals to show us how we treat pets and animals differently. The show was a massive hit in New York and added to the growing reputation of Banksy.

But not everyone is in awe of contemporary artist, Banksy. Westminster Council has targetted one of his works as ‘graffiti’ and ordered it to be painted over. Only in the UK, can we say, ‘You can’t do that!’

Today, however, the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery in Stoke announced that they will be exhibiting Banksy, in a show entitled The Arrival, Urban Art from February 7 to May 10. Admission is free.

UK Home Design Shows

Furniture Blog — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 10:18:59 +0000

The following is a list of shows and exhibitions spread throughout the UK that focus on home, contemporary and modern furniture. If you feel that we have missed anyone out then please get in touch and we will add you to the list asap.

The list showcases UK home & design shows, where they will take place, dates, ticket prices if any and if the show is open to the public or just trade.

Big List of UK Home Design Shows

Interiors Birmingham : 18th – 21st January 2009
The Pavilion, NEC Birmingham
Website : www.interiorsbirmingham.com

Surface Design Show : 10th – 12th January 2009
Business Design Centre, Islington, London
Website : www.surfacedesignshow.com

London Design Week : 15th – 17th March 2009 : Trade Only
Chelsea Harbour, London
Website : www.designcentrechelseaharbour.co.uk

Decorex International Interior Design Show : 27th – 30th September 2009
Royal Hospital, Chelsea, London
Website : www.decorex.com

National Home and Design Show : Spring 2010
Royal Highland Centre, Edinburgh
Website : www.nationalhomedesignshow.co.uk

London Art Fair : January 2010
Business Design Centre, Islington
Website : www.londonartfair.co.uk/