CREATE’N’CONNECT to Star As Lead Theme at Domotex 2019
Both exhibitors and visitors enthusiastically embraced the 2017 launch of a fresh exhibition design that introduced a clear hall layout, an annual keynote theme and the special Framing Trends showcase. Now, for 2019, the world’s leading trade fair for carpets and floor coverings will be focusing on the mega trend of connectivity. Registration for DOMOTEX 2019 has been very strong so far, with more than half of the exhibition space being booked already.
The redesigned DOMOTEX – with its easy-to-navigate site and hall layouts plus the eye-catching “Framing Trends” showcase – has been warmly embraced by the market and is now entering its second season. The new lead theme has been announced, and registrations for DOMOTEX 2019 are already pouring in, with more than half of the available space already booked. As such, DOMOTEX is living up to its reputation as the place to be for floor covering professionals from around the globe. As a networking hub, DOMOTEX is ideal for meeting up with one’s international clientele while at the same time generating scores of promising new leads. The show’s clusters display categories in an optimal way so attendees can quickly find everything of interest to them. The event’s lead theme puts the spotlight on innovation and a sweeping trend affecting the entire industry.
Lead theme in 2019: “CREATE’N’CONNECT”: New Designs for a Connected World”
The lead theme of the upcoming DOMOTEX 2019 – “CREATE’N’CONNECT” – refers to today’s connectivity megatrend. Connectivity is affecting every aspect of how we live, work and interact. Technology and digital change are accelerating this development, and new cultural patterns and habits are manifesting themselves in new approaches to how things are designed. The theme of “connectedness” also has strong symbolic and emotional aspects. With their numerous design options, floors play an important role here: They provide the very foundation for the rooms in which we live and work. We are in constant contact with floors and flooring, and are consciously or subliminally always aware of what is beneath our feet. Floors are integral design elements. They inspire us, give us orientation and set the stage for human interaction.
DOMOTEX 2019 to enable exhibitors and visitors to connect more effectively than ever
Once again in 2019, exhibitors and creative designers are invited to participate in the special “Framing Trends” showcase at DOMOTEX where they can show off their innovative products and designs in style. Registrations are now being taken. Companies from the flooring industry are invited to stage extraordinary product presentations as part of “Flooring Spaces,” where the connectivity lead theme will receive major emphasis. For example, flooring no longer needs to be limited to a single material or texture, but instead can make use of flowing transitions or distinct contrasts, thus allowing the same surface to support different purposes and environments. There are no limits to creativity. By highlighting technological connectivity, new cultural patterns or emotional aspects, companies can leverage their creative flooring designs and the chosen lead theme to make a high-impact, lasting impression on their target audiences. As at this year’s event, exhibitors can take their product as the starting point and stage it in an overall space, or else team up with designers and interior decorates to freely interpret the lead theme and make an even more unique statement within the Framing Trends display.
Exhibitors and visitors delighted with the new-look DOMOTEX
Exhibitors and visitors have very enthusiastically embraced the innovations launched at DOMOTEX 2018. Maurizio Battiolissi, Owner of the Galleria Battilossi in Turin, sees the changes as a big step forward because they “enhance the interaction between exhibitors and visitors and help them share their experiences.” Fritz Langauer, Owner of the Oritop company in the Austrian town of Brunn am Gebirge, rates the new DOMOTEX concept as “even better” than before.
Everything is more clearly structured, he says, and “Since we also have customers from China and the 
United States, the fair’s highly international flair helps us.” Gerhard terHürne, Managing Director of terHürne from Südlohn, Germany, attests to visitors’ “keen interest” and “strong willingness to be exposed to new ideas” and derive a great deal of enjoyment from them. At the same time, terHürne’s company was able to “generate strong impetus for foreign sales” like nowhere else. Even on the very first day of the show, many exhibitors were impressed with significantly more visitor traffic – a phenomenon also attributable to the show now starting on a Friday rather than a Saturday.
Visitors, too, were full of praise for the 2018 show, with architect Jürgen Mayer H finding, “Many things of special interest to architects” at Framing Trends. He reported discovering not only valuable inside information on new materials, but also learning about “the influence of digitization on materials and production techniques.” Working for SOM Skidmore, Owings & Merrill in London, technical designer Mohamed Sheriff said he was inspired not just by the range of manufacturers’ products, but also by the university studies on future trends presented at Framing Trends. Mathias Eichhorn of the Dagli Atelier d’Architecture in Luxembourg saw a “great opportunity for scouting new trends and learning about new textiles” which he said appealed “Not just to the intellect, but also to the senses.” Karen Kühl, Interior Designer at ECE Projektmanagement, was surprised at “the positive and profound enhancement of the fair,” which offered architects and interior designers “many good reasons to attend.” She reported seeing Framing Trends as a “solid and central platform” for putting manufacturers, developers and planners in close touch with one another. Architect Julia Erdmann from Hamburg discovered “seldom-seen products” employing cork or sporting interesting surfaces made of recycled materials. She said the event’s excellent overview of new products was made even richer by manufacturers from abroad who were otherwise “less strongly represented in Germany.”
DOMOTEX 2019 will be held from 11 to 14 January (Friday through Monday) in Hannover, Germany, with approx. 1,400 exhibitors from over 60 nations expected to participate.
The International Competition for Outstanding Carpet Design
The Carpet Design Awards are an international badge of distinction, given in recognition of quality and design excellence in hand-made carpets and rugs. Presented annually at DOMOTEX, they will be in their 14th year in 2019. Next year’s awards will be conferred in eight categories, with the winners receiving their prizes at a special ceremony held at DOMOTEX on 12 January, at the Carpet Design Awards display in Hall 9.The Carpet Design Awards help to give expression to cutting-edge innovations and emerging trends in the carpet industry. Since the inception of the awards, the categories have therefore been refined and updated to reflect industry trends.
Finalisits 2019
The finalists in the 2019 Carpet Design Awards have been selected: 24 designer carpets have made it to the final round of the international competition for outstanding carpet design. A jury made up of experts from the design professions and the carpet industry has selected three exclusive carpets in each of eight categories, out of a total of 233 entries from 15 countries. The winners in each category will be announced at DOMOTEX on 12 January 2019; the prize award ceremony takes place in Hall 9. The Carpet Design Awards are highly regarded within the international carpet industry and form the centerpiece of the presentation of modern, hand-made carpets and rugs at DOMOTEX.
The jury
An international jury headed by Michael Mandapati, carpet expert and president of Warp & Weft, New York, will assess all of the entries and shortlist for each of the eight categories three carpets that are characterized by exceptional design, quality and craftsmanship.
The carpets submitted will be judged in terms of design and design concept, material, execution, structure and quality, and sustainability and branding. The 24 shortlisted carpets will be displayed in Hall 9 during DOMOTEX. In January 2018, the jury will then select one winner in each category.
