WHITE PLAINS, NY – SURTEX® Asia, George Little Management’s first Asia-based event created to meet the surface design demand on the continent, was held in Shanghai, Aug. 25-27, and made an impressive debut. The show attracted nearly a dozen top European and U.S. design studios and close to 300 manufacturers and attendees to the 5-star Kerry Hotel Pudong.
“We had an excellent showing of manufacturers eager to buy original and trend-forward surface designs from a select group of the world’s top studios to use in a cross-section of industries, including home textiles, bedding, curtains, wall coverings, and floor coverings,” says Penny Sikalis, GLM vice president and manager of both SURTEX shows.
Sikalis says there's a newly robust – and fast-growing – demand across China and throughout Asia for good quality original designs to keep up with the increasing consumer desire for more sophisticated, better-designed products. Manufacturers arrived from not only many Chinese provinces, but also hailed from Hong Kong, India, Singapore, Taiwan, and Vietnam, as well as Colombia, Russia and Spain.
“Not coincidentally, manufacturers are beginning to understand the value of design to their businesses and are more willing to pay prices that are fair and acceptable to both the studios and the manufacturers,” she said.
Exhibitors included:
•Artwork Design Ltd., UK;
•AVA CAD CAM, UK;
•Cinnamon Joe Studio Limited, UK;
•Crea + Concept, Germany;
•Design Works International, USA;
•Diane Harrison Designs Ltd., UK;
•Giacomo Barzaghi, Italy;
•Jerome Thilly Dessins, France;
•Lemon Ribbon, UK;
•Trendart Srl. Italy;
•Yellow Label Designs & Pure Studio Designs, UK.
There was a strictly enforced ban on photography during the event, Sikalis said. “Not a single photo was taken without permission.”
The show included a conference program, featuring her presentation on the profit potential of good, on-trend designs, including the forecast of “Interior Trends for 2014-15” compiled by Milou Ket, a well-known forecaster from The Netherlands. Sikalis also presented Design Leadership Awards to three Asian textile manufacturers for recognizing the value of original surface design and implementing quality design in their product development.