AFRICAN DESIGN, THE HANDMADE AND SOFT GOTH TRUIMPH AT DECOREX JOBURG
NEWS RELEASe DECOREX JOBURG - AUGUST 2008
The South African decor and design industry is alive and well. Not even a flattened economy could dampen the enthusiasm of over 42 000 consumers and trade visitors for Decorex Joburg’s fifteenth anniversary exhibition. Brisk sales from international and local trade buyers were also experienced at The SA Handmade Collection – the dti’s design craft trade show which co-located with Decorex.
“Decorex has been setting the pace for interiors since the debut show in 1994, the same year of the inauguration of our new democracy,” says Melanie Robinson, director. “The first show theme ‘Harmony in Colour’ reflected house-proud South Africans’ emotional connection to their homes and optimism for the rainbow nation’s future. Fifteen years on we still celebrate a new freedom in design. With a respectful nod to the past, our birthday theme ‘Imagine. Innovate. Realise’ signalled a quest for fresh design solutions, transforming aspirations into something tangible. “
With 450 exhibitors spread over four halls, and the additional SA Handmade Collection hall representing 200 emerging and established craft enterprises, Decorex is the largest décor and design exhibition in Southern Africa, according to Robinson.
Trend: Connecting with Africa
A major showcase for trends, Decorex once again placed new design directions in the spotlight: African design is hot, notes Robinson. “This year saw a massive increase of designs representing the African continent, compared to the past when imports from Europe were all the rage. An exciting, new generation of designers from Africa – Design Africa - made their mark in the discerning world of international contemporary decor, winning the coveted Decorex Best Stand Award.
The judges commented that the Design Africa stand with its magnificent products from all corners of the continent was a show-stopping total experience. The products - from as far afield as Ghana, Senegal, Mali, Ethiopia, Zambia, Swaziland and South Africa - were exceptional and beautifully presented. The space created by designer Josef Greeff was a radical departure from general exhibition design, setting a new benchmark for South African exhibition design.
The judges also noted the blend of sophisticated, organic and artistic elements, using a mud-covered designer dress and fashion apparel as art objects. “While on an international level Design Africa breaks from all the clichés about African design: the subtle, muted mood is elegant and truly international.”
Trend: Fantasy in design
There is no doubt that fashion trends have a strong influence on interior design. One of the latest trends emerging from the major international fashion houses is “Soft-Goth”. A dark, glamorous bedroom interpreting this trend won By Dezign Interiors the Sanlam/Visi Style Shapers Award at the show. By Dezign’s winning bedroom successfully took the mystery of Goth and softened it with luxurious textures and sumptuous velvets. Strands of gold and silver reflected warmth and light, creating a romantic mood full of passion and seductive elegance.
The winning Styler Shapers, Claire Clarke and Bianca Shakinovsky, developed a look reflecting romance and sophistication, which is bold and sexy – and elegant at the same time. “We wanted to capture the ancient mysterious spirit of Africa and combine it with the latest international fashion trends.”
Gold award-winning Khaya Interior Studio, on the other hand, embraced colour. Desmond Archibald used fantasy elements, energetic colours and the mood of the jungle to create a joyful, vivacious space. Eclectic and exciting, the use of organic elements with flamboyant furniture turned this stand into an artistic jewel.
The look of the moment is playful, with a spirited use of saturated colours like rich oranges, rust and imperial purple, according to Claire Bond, manager of the Plascon Living Concepts showroom. “Clashing combinations have taken a front seat and the old rules no longer apply. Robust reds, hot pinks, green and turquoise are accepted far more readily than five years ago. Fantasy rules with oversized, abstract shapes leaving their mark on walls and fabric, while Paint effects and stencilling return, this time as intricate designer shapes inspired by pop art, nature and cultural patterns.”
Trend: Green design detox
Colour turns over a new eco leaf with the launch of the nature-inspired Plascon Colour Forecast for 2009. “Green is the new mainstream,” says Anne Roselt, colour manager of Plascon. “Never before have we been made so aware of nature’s role in our lives and our part in it.”
Annually, the launch of this Plascon Colour Forecast at Decorex serves as an important industry reference for architects, designers, fabric houses and décor magazines who rely on Plascon’s experience and vision to capture the colours of a new age.
Shedding light on the zeitgeist Roselt added: “With global attentions focused on heightened environmental awareness, Plascon latest Colour Forecast pays tribute to the way nature intended colour to be experienced.”
The latest Plascon colour forecast is filled with colours that mimic the natural world around us and bring its life-giving energy into the home. This trend-setting collection introduces 32 new colours in four palettes within the natural theme: air, water, fire and earth.
If ever there was a colour of the year, the Decorex team would predict that Hot-n-Spicy (Code R5-B1-1) - a hot sizzling red in the fiery ‘In the Heat of the Moment’ colour palette – would take the crown. This is colour at its most dramatic and spontaneous when combined with Sienna Sky, Freckle, Lemon Rind, Time capsule and Turkey Dimple.
Taking green design to glamorous heights at the show was Laurie Owen of Laurie Owen Interiors. Winning a gold for her stand, she illustrated that glam and glitz can combine with organic, natural elements in the most aesthetically pleasing way.
An accolade for the Property Magazine Best Green Stand Award went to @homelivingspace. The green products are all made in South Africa, including Heath Nash-designed lamps made from plastic detergent bottles. The colourful showcase created for these new launch products showed that recycling can be both cool and beautiful.
Also carrying the torch for inventive re-use were Danielle Ehrlich and Ewaldi Grové of LIV Design who exhibited their debut range of eco-products, in association with the green flooring company Edge 9. Their eco-approach lead to sustainable, beautiful products ranging from zip-up felt lamp shades to playful Eco-Baroque pieces: ‘ball and claw’ cabinets made from wire and ‘spare parts’ of second hand furniture. Says Erlich, “As first time exhibitors we were blown away by the response to our designs, winning a Gold Award for our stand and getting so much positive feedback. Decorex is the ideal platform for a young company like ours. The event inspired and motivated us to carry on with the work that we are so passionate about, allowing us to continue empowering and uplifting handmade originals in South Africa.“
Trend: Living with the handmade
The handmade is the mother tongue of a new South African design language, blending the urban with the organic, the neo with the natural, and the sophisticated with the rustic. The rich diversity of crafters fills the country’s national treasure trove with heartfelt traditional pieces, witty objects and highly collectable once-off creations.
Co-located alongside Decorex as a dti-initiative the South African Handmade Collection craft trade show shaped handmade craft into a contemporary form and introduced it to this high design show environment. As a brand this definitive collection represents the highest quality, design led, and well manufactured, environmentally friendly South African craft products, conforming to fair trade practices. Each work in this collection represented a strategic step taken by its creator towards becoming a successful local entrepreneur and exporter.
The exhibition included a special pavilion for Craft IKons, including Elliott Mkhize, Thembi Nala and Rebecca Matibe.
A show stopper was the signature stand by renowned interior designer Stephen Falcke, incorporating craft pieces he selected from the SA Handmade Collection with modern designer items. Here a group of white giraffe wood carvings were used to illustrate how craft has moved from the curio category into high design. A fresh, bright apple green colour palette brought a touch of humour to the interior.
Winning the award as the best craft product on show was Woomen, the highly collectable range of handcrafted soft toys for adults and kids created by Pete and Elaine Woodbridge of Cape Town. These wacky creatures have international appeal and are bound to become cult classics.
RESULTS: DECOREX JOBURG BEST STAND AWARDS
At the award ceremony Cairey Slater, general manager exhibitions, noted that the excesses of the 1980s and the style-first approach of the 1990s have been replaced by the era of emotion-in-design:
“What people want now is to make emotional connections and to be surrounded by things that mean something. More than ever we want to be comforted by beauty, by quality, great craftsmanship and eco-conscious design. The successful exhibitor understands that we live in the Age of Aesthetics, and that good design transforms both culture and economy. The winners offer that x-factor that draws us in on an emotional level.
The best exhibitors are those that find inventive ways to present themselves and their products in the most aesthetically pleasing way. Even the smallest stand can be a monumental stage if the basics are understood and combined with a fresh, innovative approach. Yet, a successful stand is more than just a pretty face; it is about giving careful consideration to the most minute details. Design Africa, the best overall winner, understood all this, turning a blank canvas and an empty stand space into something distinctive that made the heart beat faster.”
Category: Best Overall Stand on Show:
Winner - Design Africa (stand designer – Josef Greeff)
Category - Gold Awards:
Strey Architects; Laurie Owen Interiors; Khaya Interior Studio; Marble Classic; Imiso Ceramics, LIV Design / Edge 9; Stone Connection; SieMatic by German Kitchens & Appliances; By Dezign Interiors (also won the Sanlam/VISI Style Shaper design competition).
Category - Silver Awards:
SA Garden / Tuin Paleis; Abacus Gardens; IID (the South African Institute of Interior Design Professions) ; Craftsteel; @homelivingspace (also won Green Award); Italtile; Flamingo Upholsters; Classic Trading; Rhoms Timberworld; Forest Flooring.
Category - Bronze Awards:
Elle Decoration; SA Décor & Design; Ambiente Luce; Feast de Renaissance; Farmhouse Kitchens; SMEG Appliances; Castelyn Berg; Steel Rooster; Real Simple; Simply Freestanding; Antique Bathrooms; Cobra Watertech.
SANLAM/VISI STYLE SHAPERS DESIGN COMPETITION
Winner: Claire Clarke and Bianca Shakinovsky of By Dezign Interiors.
PROPERTY MAGAZINE GREEN AWARD
Winner: @homelivingspace
ENDS
Issued for Decorex Joburg by Errieda du Toit PR
Contact: Errieda du Toit
Cell: 082 921 3842
Tel: 021-913 2248
Email: errieda@edtpr.co.za
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