Trade fairs are the oldest and most traditional platform for trade exchanges. And furniture could transform design & furniture trade shows into into design and lifestyle exhibitions. Today, more than ever, furniture trade fairs are increasingly platforms for cultural as well as commercial exchange. Visitors, in fact, are not only retailers, wholesalers or contractors, but also architects and interior designers who, in addition to products, seek information on trends in products and materials. Many trade shows, alongside the commercial display, organize exhibitions with notable curators, so the trade fairs become centers of cultural exchange. Last but not least, furniture and design trade fairs are preferred destinations for journalists and bloggers, so exhibiting at fairs becomes a helpful communication tool, adding value to the commercial objective.
Light is an essential component in architecture. Innovative technology and design create visual effects in space and influence function in architecture. At Light + Building, in Frankfurt, March 3-8, 2024, trend bureau bora.herke.palmisano offers a perspective on trends for 2024/25.
Discover Stockholm Furniture & Light Fair
Light + Building Frankfurt 2024, photo courtesy Light + Building
The 2024 edition of CIFF Guangzhou, held in two phases, March 18-21 and March 28-31, is on the starting blocks. The two phases differ in the product sectors they involve: home furnishings, the first, and office and contract, the second.
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The CIFF Guangzhou 2024 map
The Salone del Mobile.Milano 2024 is back from April 16 to 21, in Rho-Fieramilano halls, like every year. But what are the new features of the next edition, the 62nd? Let’s see what we can expect from this event, which promises to be as interesting as ever.
Salone del Mobile Milano Dates: April 16-21, 2024
Salone del Mobile Milano Location: Rho-Fiera Milano
Opening hours: 9:30 a.m.-6:30 p.m.
Press hours: 8:30 a.m.-6:30 p.m.
Co-located shows
Salone del Mobile.Milano
Eurocucina
FTK Technology for the Kitchen
International Bathroom Exhibition
Furniture Complements
S. Project
Workplace 3.0
SaloneSatellite
Salone del Mobile.Milano, entrance. Photo Alessandro Russotti, courtesy Salone del Mobile.Milano
The 2024 edition of MIFF promises to be a successful event. The exhibition spaces at the two venues, the Malaysia International Trade & Exhibition Centre (MITEC) and the World Trade Centre Kuala Lumpur (WTCKL), are fully booked. MIFF 2024 will include 17 pavilions, with a total exhibition area of 100,000 square meters, divided between the two exhibition venues. This year’s 673 exhibitors expect more than 20,000 visitors from 140 countries and regions.
Discover more on MIFF history
The 2024 edition’s highlights are several. First, MIFF is turning 30; the first edition took place in 1995. Evolution over time has made it increasingly international, and today exhibitors, in addition to Malaysia, come from China, Japan, Indonesia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, the United States, and Vietnam.
Discover Maison & Objet 2024
Funbies booth at MIFF 2023
The MIFF Furniverse app, developed further after the pandemic, is an essential tool for visitors. The all-in-one app provides detailed information on exhibitors’ products, booth locations, special events, and more. Even before the trade show opens, the app allows visitors to see the products on display and make appointments, to plan their visit better.
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Kinheng booth at MIFF 2023
Once again, for the 2024 edition, MIFF – Malaysian International Furniture Fair will give free hotel accommodation to buyers visiting MIFF for the first time. The Valued Visitor Privilege (VVP) program provides that buyers going to MIFF for the first time can stay for free in a hotel of the Fair’s choice. To further facilitate the attendance of buyers from abroad, Malaysian Customs has activated a special lane for trade events to speed up entry through immigration.
As part of the celebration, exhibitors and buyers will join in a virtual tree-planting initiative to raise awareness of the sustainability of the furniture industry, which relies on wood as a raw material.
Industry seminars are exciting side events that allow retailers and entrepreneurs to update their furniture production and sales knowledge.
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Inter Sofa booth at MIFF 2023
As anticipated, about 50 percent of the exhibitors at MIFF 2024 come from Malaysia. The remaining 50 percent come from China, Japan, Indonesia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, the United States, and Vietnam. Wood furniture represents the most extensive product sector, followed by upholstered and office furniture.
Read the interview to Anna Pellizzari, Materially Executive Director
Malaysia is among the top 20 wood exporters in the world. Among Malaysia’s most popular wood for furniture is undoubtedly rubberwood, or Hevea, a particularly sustainable wood. It is a cultivated wood suitable for furniture, both for stability and grain; 80 percent of Malaysian furniture is made from rubberwood.
In addition, Malaysia has patented a high-temperature drying (HTD) treatment for rubberwood. HTD is a process that eliminates the use of borate, improves wood stability, and reduces processing time from about two weeks to one or two days. The overall operation involves one step, in which green rubberwood is converted into dried lumber for subsequent downstream production (including furniture).
HTD is a process that reduces processing time from about two weeks to one or two days. The Forest Research Institute Malaysia (FRIM) has obtained patents for HTD technology from the United States (March 2013) and Malaysia (October 2013). It has also applied for patents in six other countries: Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, China, and India.
Since 2010, MIFF has offered the Furniture Design Competition (FDC) at each edition. This is a competition for young designers, rewarding the most innovative furniture ideas. The theme for the 2024 edition is “Chair-volution.” The xOrdinary platform also hosts projects by young designers and start-ups. Here, we can find new materials, new products, and new manufacturing processes.
Let’s meet in Kuala Lumpur at MIFF 2024 from March 1 to 4.
Despite those who declared the end of fairs and meetings with the Covid pandemic, four years after the severe emergency, people are back to traveling and seeing each other live. And the trade fairs are gradually catching their breath, though in some cases certainly scaled back. What had already emerged in the pre-Covid period is that today fairs are losing progressively their commercial function, becoming more and more platforms for exchange, cultural as well as commercial.
Discover more on Maison&Objet
Maison&Objet 2024 – Future On stage. Photo Anne-Emmanuelle Thion, courtesy Maison&Objet
Maison&Objet 2024 celebrates 30 years of French inspiration in furniture, design and lifestyle. To celebrate this anniversary, the show will take visitors on a journey into an enchanted future, where technology and nature coexist in harmony. The underlying theme of Maison&Objet 2024 is TECH EDEN: the fair, Maison & Objet in the City, and the virtual platform M.O.M. will develop around this thread.
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Outonomy – installation by Mathieu Lehanneur
From January 26 to 30, 2024, Ambiente is the place where the international design community meets. The 2024 claim is “The Lifestyle Movement”, with a focus on design and trends.
The Designer Community at Ambiente 2024 dedicates a whole day to design and designers.
On Saturday, January 27, Designer Day offers inspiration to those who are looking for the latest trends. From 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., there will be talks by well-known international designers. Elena Salmistraro will give her special presentation “The Lounge – A Serious Game”; then, presentations by Christoph Brach of Raw Colour, Laura Straßer of Matter of Course, Alison Mears and Jonsara Ruth of Parsons Healthy Materials Lab, and T.A. Wu of Spring Pool will follow.
Learn more about the history of Ambiente
The next edition of Milano HOME, 2024, hosts products that stand out for uniqueness and sustainability. The more than 430 exhibitors, in fact, are well-known brands, but also start-ups or small companies made in Italy. They have in common that they display unique, original and sustainable products.
Discover the booths at Milan Salone del Mobile 2024
Milano Home 2024, Winetage
In 2024, DOMOTEX Home of Flooring focuses on a country for the first time. Insight Italy provides excellent insight into the trends, designs and innovations of the Italian carpet and flooring industry.
The unique display ‘Insight Italy’ answers the question ‘What’s inside Italy.’ It shows Italy’s contribution to developing materials linked to interior design.
Discover imm cologne 2024
The next imm cologne returns from January 14-18, 2024, on the usual January dates, but with many new features. The long forced hiatus of the Covid emergency has confirmed that trade fairs are still the preferred place for trade exchanges. In fact, the trade shows that have already taken place after Covid in many cases have already surpassed the pre-Covid numbers, both in terms of the number of exhibitors and visitors. Imm cologne, therefore, is also preparing for a comeback in a big way.
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Entrance South
The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas has always been the epicenter of groundbreaking technological innovations, setting the stage for what’s to come in the tech world.
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imm cologne ended on Sunday, January 19, 2020, with an overall positive balance. About 128,000 visitors visited the fair, registering an increase in visitors compared to the last edition. (2018: 125,000 visitors). This year imm cologne again presented itself in a very international guise. Of the 82,000 trade visitors (2018: 80,704), about 50 percent came from abroad.
Discover imm cologne 2024
