Global Floor Coverings Industry
Enthusiastically Embraces New Domotex
DOMOTEX 2018 featured a fresher, more modern, trendier look and feel than ever. Running from 12 to 15 January in Hannover, Germany, the event sported an all-new site and hall layout, D plus a new Friday- to-Monday run and an array of immersive displays exploring the lead theme of UNIQUE YOUNIVERSE. This all added up to optimal visitor orientation and a fresh take on the world of floor coverings.
DOMOTEX 2018 featured a fresher, more modern, trendier look and feel than ever. Running from 12 to 15 January in Hannover, Germany, the event sported an all-new site and hall layout, plus a new Friday-to- Monday run and an array of immersive displays exploring the lead theme of Unique Youniverse. This all added up to optimal visitor orientation and a fresh take on the world of floor coverings. As the world’s leading trade fair for carpets and floor coverings, DOMOTEX once again delivered top performance as a driver of new business, trends and innovations. 1,615 exhibitors and 45,000 trade visitors from over 100 nations traveled to Hannover to kick off an exciting year of business. The new DOMOTEX was enthusiastically received by the global floor coverings industry, which sported a record number of exhibitors and a record amount of booked space (106,000 sqmtr), thus underscoring a tangible turnaround in the floor coverings industry.
“Significant growth in the number of participating exhibitors and the amount of booked space, a strong visitor turnout, an abundance of new products and innovations as well as an upbeat mood throughout the exhibition halls all bear witness to the great success of this year’s event,” commented Dr. Andreas Gruchow as the responsible member of Deutsche Messe’s Managing Board at the close of the event. “With UNIQUE YOUNIVERSE as this year’s chosen keynote theme, DOMOTEX provided a brightly lit stage for the individualisation trend and all the inspiration and innovation associated with it, thus enhancing the show’s image as a prime source of orientation on interior furnishing and lifestyle trends.”
Highly international mix of attendees
More than 65 per cent of the event’s 45,000 visitors came from abroad – around 60 per cent of them coming from Europe, with some 25 per cent from Asia and 11 per cent from the Americas. Attendance from the United States and South and Central America increased. The majority of DOMOTEX visitors were buyers from specialist retailers and wholesalers as well as architects and interior designers and workers from the skilled trades. A strong increase in attendance was particularly evident among home furnishing and furniture stores, architects, interior designers, contract floorers and skilled tradesmen. As usual, DOMOTEX visitors once again demonstrated a high degree of decision-making authority.
Visitors were delighted at the many innovations on display. “SÜDBUND takes part in DOMOTEX every year. This time we organised our first-ever delegation trip to DOMOTEX for our members. We’re thrilled about all the inspiration we were able to gather, including insight into the latest floor covering advancements and trends. It’s already clear to us that we’ll be back with an even larger delegation in 2019,” said Michael Kovac, Purchasing Manager for Floor Coverings & Accessories at SÜDBUND – the Purchasing Association for Home Textiles based in Backnang, Germany.
“Framing Trends” showcase provided a huge source of inspiration
The special “Framing Trends” showcase in Hall 9 was where visitors could most fully experience the significance of “Unique Youniverse” as the exhibition’s keynote theme. Exhibitors, young designers and artists used Framing Trends to explore the topic of individuality in 20 different “framed” rooms. This special display proved hugely popular among attendees and offered a wealth of inspiration. “Framing Trends was a big success. Its fresh approach gave rise to lots of new ideas and made DOMOTEX more attractive than ever,” remarked Gruchow. “This special showcase will therefore also be a key offering at future editions of DOMOTEX,” he added.
A visit to Framing Trends was particularly high on the agenda of architects, designers and planners, who used this creative hotspot to gather new inspiration for their work – all the more so since Framing Trends covered the full spectrum of floor covering products. “‘Framing Trends’ in Hall 9 attractively featured and summarized everything on offer at DOMOTEX. With its fresh approach and central location, it served as the beating heart of the show and proved especially appealing to architects, interior designers and designers,” commented Chris Middleton, an architect at KINZO based in Berlin.
Highly international mix of attendees
More than 65 per cent of the event’s 45,000 visitors came from abroad – around 60 per cent of them coming from Europe, with some 25 per cent from Asia and 11 per cent from the Americas. Attendance from the United States and South and Central America increased. The majority of DOMOTEX visitors were buyers from specialist retailers and wholesalers as well as architects and interior designers and workers from the skilled trades. A strong increase in attendance was particularly evident among home furnishing and furniture stores, architects, interior designers, contract floorers and skilled tradesmen. As usual, DOMOTEX visitors once again demonstrated a high degree of decision-making authority.
Visitors were delighted at the many innovations on display. “SÜDBUND takes part in DOMOTEX every year. This time we organised our first-ever delegation trip to DOMOTEX for our members. We’re thrilled about all the inspiration we were able to gather, including insight into the latest floor covering advancements and trends. It’s already clear to us that we’ll be back with an even larger delegation in 2019,” said Michael Kovac, Purchasing Manager for Floor Coverings & Accessories at SÜDBUND – the Purchasing Association for Home Textiles based in Backnang, Germany.
“Framing Trends” showcase provided a huge source of inspiration
The special “Framing Trends” showcase in Hall 9 was where visitors could most fully experience the significance of “Unique Youniverse” as the exhibition’s keynote theme. Exhibitors, young designers and artists used Framing Trends to explore the topic of individuality in 20 different “framed” rooms. This special display proved hugely popular among attendees and offered a wealth of inspiration. “Framing Trends was a big success. Its fresh approach gave rise to lots of new ideas and made DOMOTEX more attractive than ever,” remarked Gruchow. “This special showcase will therefore also be a key offering at future editions of DOMOTEX,” he added.
A visit to Framing Trends was particularly high on the agenda of architects, designers and planners, who used this creative hotspot to gather new inspiration for their work – all the more so since Framing Trends covered the full spectrum of floor covering products. “‘Framing Trends’ in Hall 9 attractively featured and summarized everything on offer at DOMOTEX. With its fresh approach and central location, it served as the beating heart of the show and proved especially appealing to architects, interior designers and designers,” commented Chris Middleton, an architect at KINZO based in Berlin.
Strong contributions by architects and designers
The rich supporting programme of talks and presentations on the keynote theme provided further inspiration, and met with a very enthusiastic response on the part of exhibitors and visitors alike. Among the featured speakers were such renowned architects as Werner Aisslinger (Studio Aisslinger, Berlin), Andreas Krawczyk (NKBAK, Frankfurt/Main), Chris Middleton (KINZO, Berlin) and Jürgen Mayer H. (J.Mayer.H and Partners, Berlin). Intriguing architecture and design projects were presented and discussed, covering everything from initial conceptualization to the design process and on to production and sales strategies. Daily guided tours led by big-name architects and designers such as Peter Ippolito (IppolitoFleitz Group, Stuttgart), Jürgen Mayer. H. (J.Mayer.H and Partners, Berlin) and Susanne Schmidhuber (Schmidhuber, Munich) gave visitors special insight into products and the show’s keynote theme while putting them in direct touch with exhibitors of particular interest to them.
The talks given by the internationally acclaimed interior design blogger and author Holly Becker from Decor8 also met with very enthusiastic audiences. Becker explained how DOMOTEX exhibitors could collaborate with bloggers to raise the market profile of their products. Together with other well-known bloggers, she also delved into the topic of tomorrow’s furnishing trends. The use of virtual reality as an interior design tool was an equally exciting topic in Hall 9, where many visitors donned virtual reality glasses to experience the many possible uses and benefits of this new technology.
Further inspiration was provided by the “Art Day Workshops” staged within the context of Framing Trends by Canadian design firm Creative Matters. Participants were invited to experiment with colours, coal, tint and wax on paper to create fresh new designs pertaining to the keynote theme , Unique You niverse . At the so -called floorCODESWorkLabs held by the Institute of International Trend Scouting (Of the University of Applied Research and Art, Hildesheim, Germany), participants had an opportunity to apply the institute’s “IIT HAWK” method to generate visionary scenarios for the future of floor coverings.
Saturday of the show was another highlight in Hall 9. These internationally renowned awards were given in eight different categories, in recognition of the world’s most beautiful handmade designer carpets. Also worthy of special mention is that Hall 13 established itself as a new magnet for parquet layers and other floor-laying professionals as well as interior decorators and painters, while the many Treffpunkt Handwerk offerings gave skilled tradespeople a valuable source of tips and tricks for their everyday work. The next Hannover edition of DOMOTEX will be staged from 11 to 14 January 2019.
Winners of the Carpet Design Awards announced
The winners of the Carpet Design Awards for 2018 have been announced on 13 January at DOMOTEX in Hannover. The awards are bestowed on outstanding products in eight categories. A total of 24 finalists, three from each category, were picked out from a total of 265 products submitted from 16 countries. In 2018 this prestigious international award for modern handmade carpets is being presented for the thirteenth time at DOMOTEX. The winners of the Carpet Design Awards for 2018 were announced on 13 January at DOMOTEX in Hannover. The awards are bestowed on outstanding products in eight categories. A total of 24 finalists, three from each category, were picked out from a total of 265 products submitted from 16 countries. In 2018 this prestigious international award for modern handmade carpets is being presented for the thirteenth time at DOMOTEX.
A jury of professionals, chaired by Michael Mandapati, carpet expert and founder of Warp &Werft, New York, selected the eight winning carpets on the basis of the design concept and design properties such as colour, materials, structure and quality, as well as product sustainability and branding. The winners are as follows: In the category Best Studio Artist Design: “Golden Fade” from Salem van der Swaagh, in the category Best Modern Design Superior: “Chaos” from Lila Valadan, in the category Best Modern Design Deluxe: “Galmous Atlas Mountain Rug” from SoufianeZarib, in the category Best Transitional Design: “Blue Star” from Art Resources, in the category Best Flatweave Design; “Vague Harmony” from Lila Valadan, in the category Best Collection: “Chand LC Collection” from Choudhary Exports, in the category Best Interior: “Mediterranean Capo Boi” from MariantoniaUrru, in the category Best Communication: “Shifting Perception Advertising Campaign” from Edelgrund.
This year’s Carpet Design Awards clearly reflect the DOMOTEX keynote theme Unique Youniverse. DOMOTEX has always provided a platform for trends and the displays this year highlight how products and services are being customised to accommodate the needs and lifestyle of customers and the effects of this trend on the floor coverings industry. The Carpet Design Awards have been adapted accordingly with two new categories, namely “Best Interior” (high-end customized interior design projects) and “Best Communication” (successful marketing or branding campaigns), adding a new edge and topicality to the awards.Individual and original designs – created with irregularly textured knotting, variations in nap and pile, the experimental and random use of colour and pattern – characterize the trend towards design customization and the competition itself.
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Best Studio Artist Design
“Golden Fade” from Salem van der Swaagh Reason for the jury’s choice: “The jury was impressed by how the maker uses textile waste to create interesting textures in different techniques.”
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Best Modern Design Superior
“Chaos” from Lila Valadan Reason for the jury’s choice: “The winning rug was felt to have a pattern that reads like a narrative.”
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Best Modern Design Deluxe
“Galmous Atlas Mountain Rug” from Soufiane Zarib Reason for the jury’s choice: “The jury called this a rug with soul that brings to the surface the best qualities of carpet weaving.”
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Best Traditional Design
“Blue Star” from Art Resources Reason for the jury’s choice: “In the words of the jury: To take a traditional pattern and turn it into a contemporary look solely through the use of colour is a tremendous achievement.”
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Best Flatweave Design
“Vague Harmony” from Lila Valadan Reason for the jury’s choice: The winner is a stunning rug that provoked our experienced panel to stop and ask questions about how it is made.
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Best Collection
“Chand LC Collection” from Choudhary Exports Reason for the jury’s choice: “Top in this category is an original and well-made collection where each rug references another while remaining unique.”
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Best Communication
“Shifting Perception Advertising Campaign” from Edelgrund Reason for the jury’s choice: “This is the sort of campaign that makes you stop and look again, said the jury, a true mark of success when it comes to getting the message of your brand across.”
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Best Interior
“Mediterranean Capo Boi” from MariantoniaUrru Reason for the jury’s choice: “The winning company takes weaving to a place where textile becomes architecture.”
