Objets of whimsy

When French furniture and home furnishing fair Maison&Objet makes its Asian debut here next year, visitors can expect a well-curated show of stylish accessories from a myriad of international exhibitors.

The twice-a-year design trade fair, which unveils trends in interior design, home furnishings and lifestyle products in January and September in Paris, will be in Singapore next year at the Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Center from March 10 to 13.

One hundred and twenty exhibitors will be flying in from around the world to showcase their wares as well as interior design. Among the well-known names taking part are high-street home furnishing chain Habitat, Belgian home fragrance producer Baobab Collection and French silverware company Christofle.

Mr Philippe Brocart, managing director of the 18-year-old fair's organiser Salons Francais Et Internationaux, tells Life! that he hopes to confirm at least another 30 exhibitors by the time the show opens in Singapore.

The number of exhibitors will be far smaller than the most recent one in Paris, which saw about 3,000 exhibitors taking part. About 85,000 people visited over five days, starting from last Friday.

It took up eight sprawling halls - 130,000sqm of space - at the Paris Nord Villepinte Exhibition Center, which is about 30 minutes outside of Paris.

It costs about €40 million (S$67.5 million) to stage each year, says Mr Brocart, 49. Still, he says that there will be a good mix of both European and Asian brands represented at the Singapore fair.

"We thought it was going to be mainly Asian exhibitors who would be interested, but we have gotten much interest from European ones too. But we don't want to produce a 'French show'... We'll show products that will be good for this region."

This is the first time Maison&Objet is being held outside of France.

He expects about 25 per cent of the brands to be from Asia, while the rest will be international companies. Asian companies that have confirmed their attendance include Indian home decor accessories and furniture design firm Kanchi Designs and Singaporean lifestyle and home accessories label Sam & Sara, which has an office in Cecil Street.

In Paris, about half the fair was helmed by French brands, while the rest were mostly from neighbouring European countries such as Britain and Italy.

As is the case with the Paris fair, exhibitors coming to Singapore are curated by a team assembled by the organisers. They are selected for their range, quality, branding and regional sales presence.

Brands coming for Maison&Objet Asia say they jumped at the chance because they feel that the economic focus is shifting from Europe to Asia.

One of them is Hamburg- headquartered company Bull & Stein, which is well-known for making fruit sculptures - mainly of apples - in materials such as ceramics and crystal, with prices starting at €80 for a 12cm-wide crystal apple to €30,000 for a 1m-long bronze cast apple sculpture. It will have a 32 sq m booth in Singapore, about half the size of its Paris one.

Bull & Stein's co-founder and owner Marcus Bull says about 30 per cent of his company's business, from hotels, architects, interior designers and restaurants, already comes from the Asian region, and he hopes to increase that figure to 50per cent by taking part in the Singapore fair.

"Europe seems to be stagnating now, so everyone is looking to Asia to do business," he says. "Singapore is the perfect location because it's elegant and people appreciate design. Compared to China, where people try and copy your designs and make it for less, with bad quality, it's not cheap or vulgar."

Other brands were sold on Singapore's cosmopolitan vibe. Founder and managing director of French linen store Artiga Quitterie Delfour, 52, whose company will be taking part in the Singapore edition, says: "I think the French aesthetic of stripes and pastels is something that Asians can appreciate. I think we will get some business at the fair."

Exhibitors in Singapore pay about $400 a square metre of booth space - comparable to the French version. With less booth space here, brands Life! spoke to say they will bring select products to the country.

While the Paris edition is open only to trade visitors, such as interior decorators, home furnishing retailers and design journalists, Mr Brocart says that in Singapore, at least 5,000 VIP clients of sponsors and exhibitors will be invited to view the show for a couple of hours one evening. For now, they will not be able to buy items from the fair.

While trade visitors in Paris paid an entrance fee of €65, those who want to see the show in Singapore have to first register or be sent an invite by the exhibitors or organisers. Registration starts next month.

There will be three sections at the fair - design, interior decor and luxury goods. The Paris show has additional sections for ethnic craft, textiles, home accessories and cookware.

Going by what Life! saw at the Paris fair, Singaporeans have much to look forward to, and not just in terms of the products on offer.

Exhibitors upped the ante with whimsical booths, with some shaped like houses, complete with chic rooms, while others went for the over- the-top look.

For example, Dutch furniture label Fatboy, known for its bean bags, had a gigantic lamp taking centre stage at its booth, surrounded by supersized balloon dogs. French company Bleu Nature created a forest-like entrance with entwined branches to match its collection of wooden furniture.

Mr Brocart expects the brands to bring the same level of design panache to their booths in Singapore. He says: "We pick them based on how creative their concepts are, and the Singapore show will be just as exciting as Paris'."

A highlight of the Maison&Objet fair in Paris is the Designer of the Year award, which is given out to a designer who has made a significant impact throughout the year in the design and architecture scene. This year's recipient was French architect and designer Odile Decq.

The Singapore edition, too, will have a Designer of the Year award. Mr Brocart says the winner will likely be from the region and organisers are still in the process of picking a winner.

There will also be fringe events at the showground. For example, at the Paris fair, there were Talents A La Carte, a section showcasing furniture prototypes from young up-and-coming talent; and Inspirations 2014, where French designers Elizabeth Leriche, Vincent Gregoire and Francois Bernard gave their take on the fair's theme, Energies.

They put on an installation featuring quirky furniture, lights shows and sculptures, including a chandelier made of rubber-framed spectacles.

More details about fringe events in Singapore are being worked out, though Mr Brocart says they will plan around the inaugural Singapore Design Week, which is organised by the DesignSingapore Council and will take place from March 10 to 16.

Singapore's presence was very much felt at the Paris fair, with many billboards and pamphlets announcing the inaugural Asian edition.

One company which has big plans for its visit here is Habitat, the British retailer which was bought over by French company Cafom two years ago. It will take up a booth at Maison&Objet Asia, in the hopes of finding a partner who can help it re-enter Singapore and the other Asian markets. Habitat had a store at Marina Square in the 1990s which closed in 1996.

The company does not have a booth at the Paris show because it is already well known in Europe, says Habitat's marketing director Remy Poirson. But he says setting up a booth in Singapore will help the brand get a feel of what Asian buyers want and also let them learn about its products.

"We have spoken with three companies about opening a shop in Asia, but we haven't found the right partner. We are hoping that our stop in Singapore will lead to good things," he says. "It's the perfect place to start because it's similar to how Europe does business and it can be our bridge between Europe and Asia."

natashaz@sph.com.sg

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