A good atmosphere and lots of innovative ideas for the home

Young & Trendy was one of the main themes at Tendence 2011. Photo: Tendence

Scholtissek is renowned not only as a manufacturer of high‐quality, solid‐wood furniture. At Tendence, the company presented these original, hand‐painted iron frames which can hold glass or ceramic objects and represents an attractive eye‐catcher in any garden. Photo: Scholtissek.

World première at Tendence in Frankfurt: Schütz Flechtwelt presented for the first time its Spline line, which shows rattan design in a completely new dimension. Photo: Schütz

As in previous years, the Tendence consumer‐goods fair in Frankfurt from 26 to 30 August offered a broad spectrum of interesting and innovative new products for buyers from the international furniture trade. Innovations that enable the trade to cater for individual home and furnishing wishes were to be seen in both the classic furniture segment and throughout the increasingly important field of specialist products.2,055 exhibitors (2010: 2,049) from 66 countries presented their new products in the furnishing, living and giving segments for the coming autumn, winter and, in particular, the high‐volume Christmas business on 130,000 square metres of exhibition space(gross). Numerous exhibitors showed how they envisage the home trends for the coming season. Many of them are banking on opulence, which aims to transform the home more than ever into an oasis of well‐being remote from economic reality. Unusual combinations of materials are transforming traditional products into modern classics. For example, felt was brought together with neoprene and oak with linoleum. Sustainability – a key international trend – was an important theme at Tendence and was emphasised, for instance, by the use of bamboo and rattan. Tendence 2011 was a success not only in terms of the innovative new products and the quality of the presentations but also the number of visitors. At the close of the fair, some52,000 trade visitors from 101 countries had passed through the turnstiles (2010:56,968). The share of trade visitors from abroad amounted to 22 percent, of which around 80 percent came from neighbouring European countries. The Top 5 visitor nations were Switzerland, The Netherlands, Italy, Austria and France Many exhibitors mentioned that although there were fewer visitors to this year’s Tendence, those visitors who did make their way to Frankfurt were distinguished by ahigh propensity to place orders. In particular, they said that the high quality of the new business contacts made was responsible for the good mood prevailing at the fair. It was not only the established exhibitors who expressed satisfaction with Tendence2011. With two ‘Talents’ areas in the Galleria and Hall 9.3, Tendence once again showed that promoting international young designers is an important aspect of its concept.