Seth B

Archive for 2010|Yearly archive page

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Furniture Fairs you Won’t Want to Miss

In Sourcing and Trading on September 2, 2010 at 9:53 pm

Furniture Fairs

To find out the top furniture fairs coming this fall 2010 read this blog.

New York Home Textiles – NYC, NY, USA (Aug 14-19) -New York Home Textiles + Gift Week is the premier textile show in the United States. It also offers a full slate of educational programs to enhance your show experience, as well as exciting after-hours’ events to help you make the most of your time in the Big Apple.

Formland – Herning, Denmark (Aug 20-23) – Scandinavia’s largest and most international trade fair for home accessories, design and gifts. Up to 20,000 professional buyers from over 40 countries gather ideas and inspiration for the coming season twice every year.

Tendence – Frankfurt, Germany (Aug 27-31) – The most important international consumer goods’ fair in Europe for the autumn, winter and Christmas business of the same year.

September

3F – Dongguan Famous Furniture Fair – Dongguan, China (Sept 1-5) – A huge furniture fair near the heart of furniture city in Houjie. Also, there is a home accent and lighting section. This fair has a large focus on the local China furniture market.

CIFF Furniture and Home Decor – Guangzhou, China (Sept 3-6) – The biggest furniture fair in China. Also running concurrently are sections for home accents and housewares at the same grounds as the Canton Fair. This show is both for local and international guests.

Maison & Objet – Paris, France (Sept 3-7) – More than just a trade show, MAISON & OBJET is a magnetic pole for all professionals. Design, home-fashion, objects, tableware.

Meuble Paris – Paris, France (Sept 3-7) – The Paris event devoted to furniture in all its expressions, this show will bring you to an international, high-quality offer spread out over more than 80,000m2.

Spoga + Gafa – Cologne, Germany (Sept 5-7) – The top European trade fair for garden + lifestyle.

Furniture China 2010 – Shanghai, China (Sept 7-10) – As one of the 3 largest furniture exhibitions in the world, Furniture China is held annually in September in Shanghai. It combines a comprehensive set of popular themes: Home Furniture, Office Furniture, Furnishings Fabrics & Lighting, Kitchen & Cabinet, Furniture Manufacturing & Supply.

Houseware Expo – Moscow, Russia (Sept 21-24) – Eastern Europe’s biggest international specialized trade fair, GIFTS EXPO is held twice a year, in March and September, in Manezh and Gostiny Dvor Exhibition Complexes, Moscow.

Habitat Valencia – Valencia, Spain (Sept 28 – Oct 2) – The most important sales and trends platform for the Made-in-Spain home, where the sectors that make up the home products’ industry will be showcasing their latest designs. There will be an extensive program of activities both within and outside the fair while the city of Valencia is living and breathing the project every day.

October

HCMC Expo – Ho Chi Min City, Vietnam (Oct. 6 – 10) – For years, HCMC International Furniture and Handicrafts Fair has been developing tremendously, contributing substantial achievements in promoting business images as well as furniture & handicraft products to overseas’ markets. This show has the most home furnishings’ vendors in Vietnam.

Trade Expo Indonesia – Jakarta, Indonesia (Oct. 13 – 17) – Indonesia’s largest event for furniture in the fall. Hundreds of manufacturers attend the 4 day event.

The Canton Fair – Guangzhou, China (Oct 15 -19, Oct 24 – 28, Oct 31 – Nov 4) – One of the oldest, and by far the largest home furnishing fair in the world (if you include the surrounding fairs). Phase 2 (Oct 24 – 28) of the Canton Fair is when most of home furnishings suppliers show there. Phase 1 includes lighting, and Phase 3 has home textiles, carpets and rugs. Overall, there are over a million square meters of exhibition space and over 50,000 suppliers. This is probably the best factory-sourcing fair in the world.

High Point Market – High Point, NC, USA (Oct 16 – 21) – The largest home furnishings market in the World. Buyers can find all the latest furniture, home decor, and lighting from top American and global manufacturers. People looking to buy from overseas will find prices at High Point to be competitive with Asia, and many wholesale and manufacturers are willing to ship direct from overseas’ factories.

Indian Handicrafts and Gifts Fair – New Delhi, India (Oct 17 – 20) – The biggest furniture and home accent fair in India. Fantastic products and great values for people looking to source in India with over 1000 suppliers.

Manila F.A.M.E – Manila, Philippines (Oct 18 – 21) – Asia’s Boutique Show is the largest home furnishings fair in the Philippines and features over 200 Home Decor Manufacturers.

Premier Vision China – Shanghai, China (Oct 20 – Oct 21) – One of the best high-end fabric and fashion shows in China.

China Sourcing Fair: Home Products + India Sourcing Fair: Home Products – Hong Kong, China (Oct 20 – 23) – Both fairs are at one location in Hong Kong (the AsiaWold-Expo, near the airport). This is an unassociated extension of this year’s Mega Show. Expect to find thousands more suppliers. But, since the Mega show is the premium event, suppliers at this event typically are waiting to get a space at the HK Convention Center in the coming years. Shuttles and the train make it easy to travel back and forth between events.

Mega Show 2010 Part 1 – Hong Kong, China (Oct 20 – 23) – An important sourcing exhibition for the gift, housewares, premiums and toy industries in the Asia-Pacific region, taking place every October at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. Since 1992 this premier trade-only exhibition has offered international buyers a one-stop showcase of over 5000 well-merchandised stands displaying products from nearly 4000 exhibitors.

Hong Kong International Lighting – Hong Kong, China (Oct 27 – 30) – Joining the HKTDC Hong Kong International Lighting Fair places you among the stars of the industry. Over 1500 exhibitors from 33 countries and regions made the fair the largest in Asia, and the second biggest of its kind in the world.

Mega Show 2010 Part 2 – Hong Kong, China (Oct 27 – 30) – Mega Show Part 2 has established itself as an essential dateline in the annual sourcing calendar every October, commencing as Phase 2 of the Canton Fair closes. A well-edited selection from nearly 1,300 Asian and international companies present high-volume products from traditional gifts and premiums, to everyday household items, as well as home décor products, home textiles, garden and outdoor goods, home improvement items, and designs for good living. Also on display will be the best of Asian pen, print, paper and stationery items.

India Carpet Expo – Varanasi, India (Oct 29 – Nov 1) – Almost 200 carpet manufacturers and exporters will attend this fair in Varanasi, India. Select buyers can receive significant incentives including airfare and hotel arrangements.

December

Home & Lifestyle Fair – Taipei, Taiwan (Dec 9 – 12) – Home & Lifestyle Fair (HLS) is held at the Taipei World Trade Center, Hall 2. It is the synonym for a new, more efficient kind of business meeting and is well known as a platform for communication and innovation through its unique workshop concept. Positioned as the only annual home & decoration show which focuses on design and home lifestyle in Taiwan, HLS 2010 presents a diverse exhibit profile including the goods of living & styling, dining & gourmet, bathing & feeling, home electronics, decor & giving, gardening & outdoor, and kids & pets.

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Cool Products from Milan Design Week

In Home Furnishings Trends on July 28, 2010 at 6:12 pm

The New York Times and fashion website Inhabitat have some great coverage and encouraging news from the Milan furniture fairs.  Not only is the visitor count up significantly from 2009, but also leading designers and furniture manufacturers keep pushing the limits on design concepts.   Highlights from the furniture fair are seen below.

The New York Times reports:

“Last year, the recession cast a dark cloud over the fair. The number of visitors to the cavernous Rho complex fell for the first time in years, to 313,385”.  “[This year] the visitor count rose to 335,354, according to the fair’s organizer, Cosmit, and many exhibitors acknowledged with relief that business was better than it had been a year ago. “There were signs of improvement,” said Rolf Fehlbaum, the chairman of Vitra, the Swiss furniture group. “And dealers were willing to order.”

Inhabitat’s eco-conscious motto “design will save the world” is very connected with this year’s Earth Day.  They feature many innovations using recycled materials, low-power lighting, and energy efficient concepts.  See our favorite pictures from Inhabitat’s Milan Design Week 2010 on the right.

Wooden stools and coffee tables from Giancarlo Zema’s Bright Woods collection are made from wood and natural resin rings that create a wonderful interactive experience as they change color and glow.  The stools come in a variety of colors and heights, making them a perfect complement to any room.

These stools are illuminated from inside

Simple but colorful chairs from Assembly Room are not only stunning to look at, but they are lightweight and stackable.  They are made from FSC certified wood and 100% wool that is renewable and compostable.

Great colors and made from FSC approved woods

The Leaf Collection by Giancarlo Zema have chairs with a flexible memory back that adapt to the curves of the body.

leaf collection table and chair

One of my favorites is the Innovo humidifier.  Using no electric power, the wooden top sucks water out of the lower resevior and releases it into the air.  Not only beautiful, the humidifier also gives off a cedar fragrance.

eco friendly humidifier

Final Image starting at top left corner going clockwise:

  • Sarah Turner’s Drink Bottle Lighting designs are breathtaking to look at and refreshing for the planet.  It is hard to believe these colorful lampshades and graceful curves once held drinking water.
  • The Double T-Future Lamp has several OLED  elements in a colorful modern design.
  • Light Form by designers Francesca Rogers and Daniele Gualeni Design Studio is a beautiful modular lighting system made up of wood panels that can be flipped back to expose energy-efficient electroluminescent lights.
  • The Copper Wattering Can by Thomas Eyck is an example of the superleggra, using simple elegant curves.

Some more great products in Milan

Inhabitat’s reports cover so many more fantastic designs and concepts, please use the links below to see the all their reports from Milan:

Milan Design Week 2010!, Best Green Designs, Triennale Design Museum, Salone Satellite, Designersblock, Interni Think Tank, and even more.

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Craftsmanship of Furniture Helps To Get Industry Through Tough Economic Times

In Home Furnishings Trends on May 11, 2010 at 5:28 pm

Solid Wood Finishes

A house isn’t a home until it has furniture in it.  This is true for the basic reasons that everybody needs a place to sit down, eat, and relax. Without furniture a home isn’t a home, it’s literally just an open empty space. However, that statement also works on deeper level. Furniture shows who someone is and what their tastes can be. Simply put, you are where you sit. If someone chooses solid wood furniture over new aged designed (and often sometimes awkward looking) furniture, it shows that they have a respect for the old school craftsmanship of the form and want their homes to convey that. Yet, this same type of craftsmanship is also what’s helping get the furniture industry through the current recession.

The recession has had a widespread reaching effect on almost every industry, and furniture is no exception. However, the furniture industry has shown that it can outlast the recession through focusing on customer service, creating business models that help protect the environment, and most importantly keep producing high quality products. Quirky designed furniture does have its place in the industry, but ultimately has not helped to keep the industry afloat during these tough economic times. This is why designers who are heading to furniture fairs like the Salone Internazionale del Mobile di Milano are struggling to get their state of art furniture to the public. As much as a trendy chair would fit in many situations it can’t contend with the comfort and familiarity of well-made solid wood office furniture, especially during a time when comfort and familiarity is needed.

The argument can be made that well made products like solid wood living room furniture is helping to get the industry through the recession and into a successful future and this is because of quality. A focus on craftsmanship can break through any slump, economic or otherwise, and that’s why the furniture industry has lasted through this recession and most likely will last through any to come.

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Are you Compliant? What Furniture Importers NEED to know about the Lacey Act

In Uncategorized on January 27, 2010 at 2:00 am

New penalties on illegally sourced woods could cause innocent buyers up to $200,000 in fines, forfeiture of goods, and possible imprisonment.

Are you compliant? Lacey Act restrictions go into effect April 2010.

The main change to the 100-year-old Lacey Act is that it is now against the law to trade or own illegally sourced animals/agricultural materials (including wood), regardless of their point of origin. And starting in April, all companies will be required to provide detailed documentation on the source and origin of the imported agricultural products.

Details on what importers and furniture manufacturers need to know are available from Furniture Today, in a free White Paper.

The major issue we can see is that all importers must file a detailed declaration for incoming agricultural products specifying species and country of origin, no matter where the product is assembled. So a coffee table made from Indonesian rubberwood and American cherry veneer would need to include both species and origins.

An important note to importers: plywood, MDF, and fiberboards alone can sometimes contain over a hundred species of wood, and it seems that industry pressure has won out. Until further notice, the APHIS has published a guidance document with regard to composite, recycled, and/or reused materials. Basically, APHIS is instructing importers to indicate the type of material (e.g. MDF) under “plant scientific name”. The link above also shows an example to help fill out the document.

For now, there is no specific burden on the importer to provide documentation on the legality of the materials, but that certainly is the intent. This means that importers ARE required to ensure that their immediate purchase is legal, as well as attempt to trace the origin of the materials back to its point of harvest to ensure all steps along the way have been made in accordance with local and international law. If imports are found to be “tainted”, then the importer can be prosecuted to the full extent of the Lacey Act.

To download the Declaration Form, click here

Please note that packaging materials do not need to be submitted in this documentation; but they still need to be heat-treated or fumigated with methyl bromide and include an approved international mark certifying treatment.

The Official US Government website for the Lacey Act is: http://www.aphis.usda.gov/plant_health/lacey_act/index.shtml

Those who file electronic customs forms will note that they will automatically be prompted to enter Lacey Act declaration information.

This type of documentation is becoming more necessary in countries around the world, and our industry needs to support legally harvested materials. But, it should be noted that the burden of proof falls on the US government, so it is not clear how easily they will be able to enforce these regulations.

Those who are attending the Las Vegas Market this Febuary should note that there is a and ECO conference being held on January 31, that is specifically covering the Lacey Act.

GoodFactories.com will continue to update this story as it develops…

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The Best Furniture Sourcing Fairs (Spring 2010)

In Sourcing and Trading on January 18, 2010 at 7:07 pm

For a list of ALL upcoming events through May, visit our Furniture Fair Calendar

The top upcoming furniture fairs

February

Ambiente Frankfurt (Feb 12-16)
The passage sections of Ambiente feature suppliers and manufacturers from around the world.  A great show for home décor and housewares for those not planning on going all the way to Asia.

Indian Handicrafts and Gifts Fair (Feb 20 – 23)
The biggest furniture and home accent fair in India.  Fantastic products and great values for people looking to source in India with over 1000 suppliers.

India Carpet Expo (Feb 25 – 28)
Almost 200 carpet manufacturers and exporters will attend this fair in New Delhi.

March

MIFF Malaysia (Mar 2 – 6)
-More than 500 Malaysian furniture manufacturers and exporters.

Cebu International Furniture and Furnishings Exhibition (Mar 5 – 8)
-A smaller show with all the top local Cebu manufacturers and designers.

Manila Now (Mar 4 – 7)
-More than 100 furniture and home décor suppliers.

IFFS Singapore (Mar 9 – 12)
-One of the leading furniture fairs in Asia for good design.

TIFF Thailand (Mar 10 – 14)
-200 Thai home furnishings suppliers

IFFINA Indonesia (Mar 11 – 14)
-The largest furniture fair in Indonesia, this is also the best furniture show of the year for finding Indonesian home furnishing suppliers.

VIFA Vietnam (Mar 11 – 14)
-A smaller furniture fair with around 100 suppliers.  This fair has mostly furniture companies, but not as many home decor suppliers as the fall HCMC Expo.

3F – Dongguan Famous Furniture Fair (Mar 16-20)
-A huge furniture fair near the heart of furniture city in Houjie.  Also, there is a home accent and lighting section.

CIFF Furniture and Home Decor Guangzhou, China (Mar 18 – 21)
The  biggest and best furniture fair in China in the Spring.  Also running concurrently are sections for home accents and housewares.

SIFE Shenzhen (Mar 19 – 22)
Another huge furniture fair, not as large as the other two shows running at the same time, but still very big and lots of manufacturers at this show.

Premier Vision China (Mar 31 – Apr 1)
-One of the best high end fabric shows in China

CIFF Office Furniture (Mar 27 – Mar 30)
-One of the best high end fabric shows in China

April

Hong Kong International Lighting -Spring (Apr 13 – 16)
-The premier fall Asian lighting fair is now twice a year.  Manufacturers and suppliers are from around the world, but a majority are Chinese and HK companies.  There are not nearly as many companies at the spring event and only occupies one tenth of the floor space.

Manila F.A.M.E (Apr 14 – 17)
-The largest home furnishings fair in the Philippines features over 200 Home Decor Manufacturers.

The Canton Fair (Apr 15 -19, Apr 24 – 28, May 3 – 7)
-One of the oldest, and by far the biggest home furnishing fair in the world (if you include the surrounding fairs).  Phase 2 (Apr 24 – 28) of the Canton Fair is when most of home furnishings suppliers show there.  Phase 1 includes lighting, and Phase 3 has home textiles, carpets and rugs.  Overall, there are over a million square meters of exhibition space and over 50,000 suppliers.  Please note, that while there are more furniture manufacturers now attending the canton fair, it is still not as good as the CIFF for furniture, but it is much better for home accents.  Four fairs are within walking distance.  To read more about these fairs Click Here.

High Point Market (Apr 17 – 22)
-The largest home furnishings market in the World.  Buyers can find all the latest furniture, home decor, and lighting from top American and global manufacturers.  People looking to buy from overseas will find prices at High Point to be competitive with Asia, and many wholesale and manufacturers are willing to ship direct from overseas factories.

Hong Kong Housewares (Apr 20 – 23)
-One of the best houseware fairs in the world, there are thousands of manufacturers from China, India, Asia, and other parts of the world.  Products are housewares, textiles, handicrafts, and a level of Pet Supplies.

China Sourcing Fair: Home Products + India Sourcing Fair: Home Products (Apr 20 – 23)
-Both fairs are at one location in Hong Kong (the Expo Center, near the airport).  This is an unassociated extension of the Hong Kong Houseware fair.  Expect to find thousands more suppliers. But, since the HK Housewares is the premium event, suppliers at this event typically are waiting to get a space at the HK Convention Center in the coming years.   Shuttles and the train make it easy to travel back and forth between events.

Hong Kong Gifts and Premiums (Apr 27 – 30)
-A huge event, but not as appealing for home furnishing buyers.  These are often less expensive products, but some product categories of interest, include picture frames, ceramics, and clocks.  Also running at the same time, is the China Sourcing Fair: Gifts & Premiums (Apr 28 – May 1), at the Asia World Expo in Hong Kong.

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