(November 2010) The Polish colleague was right: after a quick tour of the Marmomacc (September 29th to October 2nd) he noted that a proportionately great number participants were showing bamboo in stone either as an inspiration for mosaic or as an imitation of the natural product.
Italian-based Citco company, e.g., presented a bamboo wall in Desert Honey limestone. Citco also presented „Liberty“, a brass tile with various marble inlays. Other creations were „Animalier“ with inlay in Imperial Black marble in Giallo travertine and „Jewels“ made entirely of onyx.
The mood at this year’s Marmomacc was upswing – „economic“ crisis banned from the vocabulary. On the other hand, one highlight of the fair seems to have been overdone: Marmomacc Meets Design is less and less a platform for innovative product ideas and, for many exhibitors, increasingly a mere marketing tool.
That in itself is not all bad: at least unusual exhibit design is a positive by-product. But considering the enormity of design potential in the stone market, it would be more than desirable for the engine of the trade branch to create impulses. In its four-year existence the campaign has failed to define „design“.
Recently videos showing interviews with the designers were presented online.
By the way: the trade publication Nowy Kamieniarz will present the winners of this year’s Design Competition at the Kamien-Stone from November 10th to 13th in Poznan (Polish). Every-day use was one of the distinguishing features of the task.
Inexcusably we have neglected to report on a campaign under the auspices of the Trade Organization of Verona in our past reports. „The Design of the Villa” presented interior design ideas again this year and 33 Verona-based manufacturers of furniture, siding and flooring in stone, wood and a variety of other materials participated. The idea was born by the exhibit’s curators Designer Luca Scacchetti, Barbara Branciforti and Stefano Calchi Novati.
We chose to present some of the pieces. A brochure with Photos and the names of producing companies is available by mail from the Verona Chamber of Commerce (Mail).
This year’s prize for „Women in Marble“ was presented to designer Patricia Urquiola, whose award-winning entry by Budri company was reported in our October publication.
Two of the events of the trade fair are the subject of reports in this issue of BusinessStone.com.
A 6% increase in the number of visitors could be registered at this year’s Marmomacc – noteworthy because the fair is no-longer open on Sundays and thus frequented almost only by representatives of the trade. Worth noting is also the 13% increase in foreign exhibitors – a 9% gain over last year’s quota. For more statistics, see the table at the end of the photo gallery.
