world news - 01.02.2010
Furniture industry on the up again in Europe
The imm Cologne, Germany's biggest interior design
fair and the first big furniture event of the year, has wrapped up and
given a first few directions towards where the industry is going --
namely upwards, according to insiders. The
imm Cologne, Germany's biggest interior design fair and the first big
furniture event of the year, has wrapped up and given a first few
directions towards where the industry is going — namely upwards,
according to insiders. German news organization Deutsche Welle reports that the mood during the event was "cautious but hopeful." Gerald
Boese, head of Cologne's convention center, kept his utterings
imm-specific, saying that "the international furniture fair IMM Cologne
is one of the few consumer goods conventions in the world that has been
able to buck the trend and stay stable." But
Euronews reports that "in Cologne, the organisers of the annual
international furniture exhibition believe there are tangible signs
their industry is on the up again." However, the recession's implications are what is coining furniture right now: a correspondent for Wallpaper
magazine writes that a "shift in consciousness resulting from the
economic downturn and environmental awareness was very much in
evidence." And he explains: "Apart from
references to ‘eco' issues and a few examples of blatant green-washing,
there was a distinct lack of gimmicks and a general feeling of a return
to simplicity and tradition. "Giant knitted
objects abounded as did examples of other handcrafts such as well-made
wooden furniture and decoratively stitched coverings." The
same tendency was already observed at two of the world's biggest
interior design fairs last year, the Saloni in Milan and Maison &
Objet in Paris. Organizers of the latter event told Relaxnews pre-show
that this season's trends hint towards more traditional design,
eco-awareness and a back-to-basics approach, due to the "ageing of the
population but also the economic crisis and the wish to go back to
basics." Providing a "refuge from the not very
enjoyable reality," according to the organizers of the Saloni in Milan,
materials such as wood and even plants are used in all their shapes and
interpretations to make for a cozy feel at home. "In
economically weak times people, indeed think more on their own four
walls," Dirk-Uwe Klaas, head of the German furniture industry, told
Euronews. "You think less about holidays. [...] The budget for
furnishings and accessories rises in difficult times."
See also:
- — Australia urged to ban illegal logging
- — European parquet flooring sales declined 15% in 2009
- — Softwood lumber sales in France largely stable at the outset of 2010
- — Export of timber to France is a Scots first
- — Why the Wood Pellet Industry Is Growing
