I was lucky enough to be able to attend the HISPEC 2015 event that was held in the Hotel Dino by Lago Maggiore in Italy this month. After boarding what felt like an extremely thin plane (2 seats x 2 seats) I arrived in sunny Milan and was greeted by a very friendly team alongside beautiful scenery!
The trip consisted of 3 days of meeting new suppliers providing products we use often: rugs, lighting, tiles and sanitary ware to slightly more unusual products. Some products that I found particularly fascinating was a coffee table made of cardboard and another with a solar panel top that was used to charge phones and laptops outside.
Amongst all the meetings, we were also encouraged to network in less formal ways involving island hoping and a treasure hunt around the local town! We were wined and dined al fresco style, at a beach club and on a small island – I have never eaten so much ravioli over the space of 3 days!!!
Amongst all the meetings and socialising a particular highlight of my trip was the Conference held by Vanessa Brady. Her focus was about encouraging the hotel guest to return and stating that when designing an area you should consider the following:
- Practicality
- Budget
- Style
Vanessa went onto discuss as a result of technology every company is now Global, yet because of the advancing technology of the 21st Century people have forgotten that a successful design concentrates on the way you make people feel. She explained she checked into a hotel in New York and throughout her entire stay had no human interaction resulting in an unhappy hotel experience. This is sadly the way the world is heading and so I felt that this made the HISPEC event even more valuable and useful from a designer’s point of view, by encouraging interaction and design around the world.
I had a very enjoyable experience at HISPEC 2015 and would like to thank the team for their great efforts in organising such a memorable time! I created new business relationships, whilst enjoying the food, drink and location, it was all great and I look forward to the next!
For more information on HISPEC visit www.hispec.es
