Greetings from Heimtextil!

The crew returned from the hectic business city of Germany late saturday night. Successfull trip in spite of the economic situation, which seemed to be on everyone's lips. The fair was slower than previous years, clients seemed a bit cautious but we were glad to notice it had less effect than what the worst fear. Even our little mishaps of a fallen backdrop and a shattered logo due to dysfunctional double-sided tape did not dishearten us. It turned out to be a good year after all.


The trend area of the fair was a positive suprise this year. Even though it has been a striking installation previously as well, this year it seemed Messe Frankfurt had put even more resources into it than usual! Six representatives of the trendworld worked together in creating the world of "Expect the Unexpected". Or rather worlds. The display was a tent-like light maze of white, stretchy fabric that created a dreamy and intimate backdrop to the six official trend stories: Illusionist, Time Traveller, Fortune Teller, Alchemist, Witchcraft, Enchanted. Sliding from the dreamy and bizarre Illusionist to the lush jungle of colour and nature of Witchraft was a smooth glide.

Simple things, when presented in an imaginative way, caught the spectator off guard. The everlasting, uncompostable plastic lawn chair was one of the key-interests throughout the exhibition - piled into a chaotic ensemble and splattered with bright pastel paints and curious lighting or hidden within a caleidoscope of black and mirrors giving out a variety of angles. As one example, the ordinary lawn chair re-invented by Jerszy Seymor was an eye opener to a wider issue: what are we going to do with all this stuff that just won't disappear when discarded?

Pattern Bakery's contribution could be seen at the Fortune Teller area. Erja Alander's hypnotic yet folk-inspired black and white pattern had been chosen as part of the installation. Have a closer look at the stories here.

Throughout the trend lectures it seemed the theme of contradiction, search for balance and complimenting extremes were widely addressed. For example, the lecture of Peclers Paris divided the stories into two polars: slow life and fast life. An interesting fact was that the stories all overlapped and affected eachother. One was not even supposed to pick one that was close to heart, but two or even all stories could be fused together in one's life. The slow, basic values in life could create a pressure to realize them in the most effective and efficient way.
Relaxation has become a project.
On the other hand, one is free to choose.

Life is a puzzle at best.

Peclers Paris
Expect the Unexpected
Jerszy Seymor