News

Fourth successful Return to Poznan:
Furnifab - Furniture Fabric Show continues to grow

Nearly 100 international exhibitors meeting 2,000 trade visitors in approx. 5,000 m² of exhibition space - pleasing statistics from the fourth Polish Furnifab - Furniture Fabric Show, which took place March 14-16 in Hall 6A of the International Exhibition Center in Poznan. In just a few years, the b2b event has fledged into a major meeting-point for the seating and upholstery industry in Poland and the rest of Eastern Europe.

Exhibitor companies from twelve European countries - Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland, Spain, the Czech Republic and Turkey - presented the latest trends in coverings and printed fabrics, leathers, synthetic leathers and micro-fibers, fillings and cushions, upholstery and coated fabrics. Almost three months before the start of the Polish furniture show "Meble", around 2,000 trade visitors from 26 countries attended to update themselves on the latest products in the seating and upholstery sector. Furnifab's visitor catchment area now stretches from Poland and the Baltic states, the Ukraine and Russia through to Germany, the Benelux countries and Southern Europe. At just under 85% of the total, most visitors came from Poland, with the biggest foreign contingent coming from Germany, followed by Italy, Spain, Belgium and the Czech Republic.

Setting the Trends for Eastern Europe

The target group for the wide range of products on offer at Furnifab is mostly decision-makers in purchasing, design and product management. With a lively first day of show, the second day attracted the largest visitor presence, and even the last day at Furnifab saw public interest at much higher levels than in the previous year. "This year's event has been magnificently supported by exhibitors and visitors alike. With an increase of close to 60 per cent in visitor numbers and a similar increase in exhibitors, we're well on track," was Survey business chief Peter H. Meyer's upbeat assessment, with exhibitors equally full of praise. Marek Kolakowski, owner of Mebelplast, Poland's biggest upholstered furniture manufacturer, comments: "I congratulate the organizers on this year's success. Furnifab is emerging as an important player on the exhibition scene."

Textile Innovations feature in the new "Trend Forum"

The new "Trend Forum", introduced at Furnifab by show organizers, Survey Marketing + Consulting Sp z.o.o. based in Poznan, in cooperation with Polish design studio, D.A.B. Borowinski from Lodz, proved to be a real magnet for both exhibitors and trade visitors. The 2006 premiere commanded the presence of top Polish designer, Dr. Marek Borowinski. His specially developed palette of the latest colors and trends provided the inspiration for Trend Forum exhibitors to showcase their selection of top textile innovations for the coming season.

This concept from the organizers of offering a dedicated information platform for the trade press presenting this season's colors and fabrics attracted a huge amount of interest on all show days. Countless furniture designers, as well as tomorrow's generation of designers from Poznan's College of Art, took the unique opportunity of reviewing all the innovations and developments currently taking place in the industry. Practical hands-on demonstrations were also provided by "Lirka", the Polish restoration company based in Warsaw. In the midst of Furnifab, their staff demonstrated how to renovate antique chairs and armchairs with the latest upholstery fabrics for the 2006 season.

The Stuff that Dreams are made of

Pointing the way in textiles for the coming season, Dr. Marek Borowinski coined the poetic themes "Return Home", "Textile Garden" and "Wind of Change". "Textile Garden" with its romantic notions of home enriches with soft and cuddly fabrics in natural tones, evoking an altogether more nostalgic lifestyle with romance built in. Garden and flora are the inspiration for the color worlds here with greens, reds and blues to the fore. By way of contrast, "Wind of Change" embodies a spontaneous energetic trend, which symbolizes the forces of nature and offers unexplored, modern designs through the use of technologically advanced fabrics.

Furnifab 2007: March 27-29, 2007.

For more information about Furnifab, go to www.furnifab.pl