Decorex was a coulourful affair

Textiles, colour, local design and trends were the highlight of Decorex this year, which emphasized a colourful, vibrant and very modern Afropolitan style.
EXHIBITORS at this year’s Decorex Joburg opted for smaller stands rather than miss the City’s largest annual trade and consumer exhibition of interior design, decor and finishes.

Visitors browse for bargainsVisitors browse for bargainsMelanie Robinson, portfolio director of Decorex SA, said that exhibitors chose smaller stands because of the current economic climate.

Decorex Joburg, held in Midrand from 5 to 9 August, celebrated its 18th birthday with the theme Beauty and the Basics, by showcasing clashing prints, creative collaborations, unique designs and green materials.

Deemed the biggest and most comprehensive ever, this five-day event boasted over 700 high-end exhibitors and a flourish of new attractions such as 10 new special show features and trend installations, five halls with newly unveiled products, three DIY theatres featuring 75 special interest talks and demonstrations, as well as nine pop-up restaurants.

Robinson said Decorex commissioned leading lights from South Africa’s interior design industry to create inspirational roomscapes and curate trend-forward concept stands.

“Since the debut of Decorex Joburg in 1994, the show has been on a crusade from home-grown design. It is apt that in our 18th year we celebrate not only the show’s own growth, but also the design revival of Johannesburg and the extraordinary creative energy of our local talent,” she said.

With Plascon the main sponsor of Decorex Joburg since its inception, organisers also celebrated the long-standing collaboration by showcasing Plascon’s 2012 colour palette.

Plascon
Robinson added: “The reveal of the new annual Plascon Colour Forecast and cutting-edge colour trend stands have always been the most highly anticipated show feature and this year is no exception. The high calibre of designers selected to interpret the four themes – Memory, Expression, Mystery and Origins – [ensured] a show-stopping colour experience.”

Chefs are on hand to give out cooking tipsChefs are on hand to give out cooking tipsAnne Roselt, the Plascon colour manager, said the paint company’s 2012 colour forecast strove to be inspirational, informational and exciting, without being prescriptive.

The curator of the colour forecast concept stands, Laurence Brick, added: “Whether you’re an enthusiastic amateur or a seasoned interior designer, the possibilities of colour are endless. It is a simple way to transform or liven up a room, inject your personality, create a mood, turn a blank canvas in a sophisticated space, create an intimacy or sexify a room.”

The emphasis on a modern Afropolitan style was particularly strong at the show this year. “We are thrilled to join a wonderful line-up of designers and fabric houses on a mission to prove once and for all that there’s nothing cliché about an African aesthetic. Neutral interiors now pop with wild, crazy and jubilant spots of colour – whether a funky upholstered chair, wallpaper on an accent wall or a patchwork-covered sofa,” she said.

South African Handmade Collection
Hosting the South African Handmade Collection (SAHC) trade show alongside Decorex is another long-standing tradition.

Robinson said: “We are delighted to be part of this Department of Trade and Industry initiative that helped establish craft and traditional skills as both a national treasure and a trend-forward design form. So successful has this partnership been that SAHC is now a key date on the buying calendar, bringing producers together with local and overseas buyers in a high-design environment.”

She noted that it was a window to the heartfelt and the handmade. From highly collectable ceramics and fashionable bags to designer beadwork, the creations at the trade show were a particularly colourful balance of heritage and innovation.

A new extension was in the inclusion of artists. Also forming part of the SAHC for the first time was the Gabi Gabi 2011 showcase of South African textiles, where the iconic shwe shwe fabric was the highlight.

Fashionable decorating stylesTrendy room designs for the discerningThe multi-faceted showcase of South African textiles was curated by craft specialist Sue Heathcock. Textile leaders Ronel Jordaan and the Design Team launched new products through the Gabi Gabi space, together with 40 emerging and established craft entrepreneurs.

A host of new weaves, trendy textiles and fashionable colour ways unfolded at Decorex Joburg.

The team of LBCD launched its visionary fabrics and trends installation New Look Africa at the show. The trio – Brick; Timna Russell, a trends forecaster in the textiles and home décor industry; and Cathy O’Clery, an expert on interior and contemporary design – showcased South African design in a cutting-edge context.

O’Clery said: “In modern African homes colour is not held back. It is not wishy-washy or subtle; it is intense and bold. Often used with dramatic pattern and printed textiles, tiles and ceramics, the vivid colours hum with life. If colour is an indication of mood then Africa is wide-awake and partying.”

Brick added: “New Look Africa is a fresh and inspiring celebration of contemporary African style – a sensational style which the world has begun to sit up and take notice … The stands, commissioned by Decorex Joburg for the entrance to the main hall, [presented] two innovative and stylish rooms to showcase forward trends in African decorating for 2011.”