Earlier this month, I was fortunate enough to be invited by Treniq to visit Singapore specifically for the International Furniture Fair Singapore (IFFS) 2018, in conjunction with the 35th ASEAN Furniture Show (AFS) and NOOK Asia 2018. Having never been to Singapore, I was intrigued to explore both inside and outside the show!
Arriving at the airport, I met with fellow Treniq guests and we were taken to our hotel, Village Hotel Katong for a quick shower and change before heading down to the welcome reception. The IFFS team talked us through the history of IFFS and what to expect to find at the show. Giulio Cappellini spoke about his involvement with The Italian New Renaissance showcase which featured brands such as LA Murrina SRL and Icone SRL.
On Thursday morning we congregated at the Treniq stand for a briefing and a quick photo opportunity before being taken on a VIP tour of IFFS.
Our tour started in NOOK Asia at The Shivalika Rugs stand; a large stand with a broad variety of rug patterns, textures and colours, they even had rugs with fibre optic lights woven into them! Admittedly, not desirable for every project, but it was fun to see something unusual straight off the bat. Next stop was Jatra Design Studio who embrace the natural beauty of wood and let it shine through their designs. Then onto Resource Décor, a company that distributes products from well-known designers such as Kelly Hoppen and Andrew Martin. Their room sets proved popular with our crowd and everyone took a lot of photos. Danish lighting company, Vita Copenhagen, was next on the tour – although a more local company to us in the UK than some of the suppliers exhibiting, I hadn’t seen their range up close previously and was fascinated to learn that all of their designs come in small flatpack boxes for you to construct on arrival (great idea for smaller projects, but possibly not ideal for some of our larger hotel projects!). The Rug Republic by Sharda had a colourful stand complete with authentic Indian pedal bikes! Bellagio Asia and NS Furniture both had a good selection of indoor furniture, with Manutti showcasing stunning outdoor furniture ranges. Ningbo Antique House had a vast range of furniture, accessories and lighting. Our tour finished in the Buyers Lounge, so we could take stock of all the information we had learnt along the way – all the suppliers had been keen to share with us their lead times, delivery options, project suitability, pricing! Fortunately, Treniq works with all these companies and therefore provides an easy sourcing route for designers to learn more and place orders.
For the rest of the day and the following day we were free to walk through the show at our leisure and discover the other suppliers participating at IFFS. I was particularly impressed with some timber furniture that had timber ‘upholstery’ to the padded seat – it really made for a seamless look. Likewise, I was intrigued and inspired by Timothy Oulton’s new recycled denim upholstery range, which is wonderfully soft and has a beautiful finish to it. It was beneficial to meet with such a vast range of suppliers and see offerings from Europe as well as the Middle and Far East. We never know where our next project may be so being able to source from potential local suppliers around the World is extremely advantageous.
We were also able to take time to explore Singapore. Myself and some of the other guests took the opportunity to attend Timothy Oulton’s drinks party at Curio, Dempsey Hill – an intriguing neighbourhood consisting of former British army barracks which are now home to a selection of unique stores and restaurants. It was fun to explore the area and try some chilli crab! We also visited Marina Bay Sands Skypark to admire the views over Singapore. On Friday morning I decided to explore Singapore on foot and walked from the hotel along the coast to the Marina Barrage and across to the Gardens by the Bay to view the Supertrees. It was great to have time to discover some of the sights, and I came away feeling as though I had learnt and achieved a massive amount during my 48 hours in Singapore!
Many thanks to Treniq for hosting me – it was a fantastic trip and IFFS was well worth attending.
To learn more about Treniq, visit their website www.treniq.com
To learn more about IFFS, visit their website www.iffs.com.sg
