July saw the long-established and well-respected Manchester Furniture Show return to Manchester city centre, and, as always, the event presented a plethora of impressive and original product launches. Victoria Noakes reflects on her visit to the show, and shares some of her highlights...
Having become renowned over the years as being a vital platform for both new and returning exhibitors to unveil their latest product to the trade, again this year, Manchester Furniture Show was packed full of innovation. With a variety of novel concepts emerging within different sectors across the board, visitors to the event were sure to be spoilt for choice.
The organisers reported an attendance of 120 exhibitors and almost 4850 visitors this year, marking a small increase on last year. Exhibitors were said to have recorded good results from the event, with sales figures up for many, and re-bookings are apparently at the best level they have been for several years.
The Kingstown Furniture stand hosted striking new collections for this year, including Hickley, with its traditional French country cottage style with a modern twist; Helena, inspired by the vintage revival, with a creamy painted finish with a grey distressed effect; and Aylesbury, a simple, classic and traditional collection in white.
In addition, Kingstown’s new Estelle sliding wardrobe range – which proved a hit at the show - is based on Scandinavian influences, features intricate textured detailing to the doors, and is available with a choice of coloured or mirrored glass. Ocean, another of the company’s impressive wardrobe range, takes its inspiration from the ocean, with a wave-textured design up to the waist of the unit, creating a dramatic effect.
Another standout innovation was to be found on Staingard’s stand, in the form of Delis’ unique mattress protection solutions. By harnessing natural products such as cotton, and combining them with technologically-advanced, completely impermeable membranes, Delis offers hygienic and moisture-resistant bedding protection in the form of fitted sheets and mattress, duvet and pillow protectors.
To complement this, Delis’ new revolutionary ‘thermal intelligence’ concept, Perfectex, benefits from the integration of thousands of intelligent thermo-regulating microcapsules that work in harmony with the body to regulate temperature during sleep.
Vogue Beds displayed its impressive Sports Therapy Mattress at the show, which combines the company’s own Blucool memory foam with latex to create a mattress with a superior comfort level. MD Ebrahim Patel said: “I want to congratulate the organisers for a wonderful show. The event was positive for us- we took the opportunity to promote the brand message behind the Sports Therapy Mattress, with the stand featuring testimonials from sportspeople who have personally used it. This proved very successful .”
More of my personal highlights included Dormeo’s Octaspring memory foam pillow and hybrid bed, containing both Octaspring memory foam and pocket springs, and Heartlands Furniture’s three new children’s car beds – Jeep, Spirit and Drift - which stood out from the crowd with their unique, striking metal frames.
This year’s show was an ideal example of the industry’s creativity, modern thinking and originality, with industry players showing a clear desire to bring something fresh and different to the table.
