view Newsletter: February

Its not all doom and gloom out there. Amidst the economic downturn, there are areas that are still thriving and look set to continue their growth. The Middle East has been affected, but the facts and figures that are emerging from the market counteract the media hype.

There is still a huge amount of construction taking place, especially in the capital city Abu Dhabi, the number of visitors to the area are growing at a steady pace and retail and contract spaces are still being built.

New plans drawn up by the Qatar Tourism and Exhibitions Authority (QTEA) are targeting a 400% rise in hotel capacity by 2010 and a 20% increase of new travellers in the next five years which would add up to 2.5 million visitors.

Hotels in the Middle East have recorded a five-year run of high growth in revenue per available room, Abu Dhabi increased 46% while occupancy rose from 8.9% to 81.5% - one of the highest in the Middle East.

UBM, international exhibition organisers, are taking this opportunity to stage yet another fantastic interiors event within this region, using the still flourishing capital of Abu Dhabi as its location. With the construction of hotels, offices and residential spaces, there is even more need for an event to help the industry source products for these amazing new designs.

Interiors UAE will feature key companies from the local area and internationally, such as Kitchens and Beyond, who will be showcasing a Poggenpohl kitchen, Air Nova, Alpha Crystal, Bronte Carpets, stunning wallcovering designs from Cole & Son, Design Design, Geoff Collier, office furniture provider Lammhults Mobel, Patina Italia, Sanpietro and Induplano among many others from the world of interiors.

Opulence is key and the products at the show will reflect this within design-led and product-led halls.

Luxury Cushions, whose cushions capture the essence of a cultural, historic and artistic legacy. The company are in the process of creating The worlds largest cushion which will be displayed at Interiors UAE, and is hoping to be entered into the Guinness Book of World Records. The cushion is a stunning piece of work, decorated with embroidery, bead-work, sequins, antique gold thread and Swarovski crystals, highlighting the ethnic arts of Indian and Persian history. An introduction to their Sufiyana Collection, Luxury Cushions wish to take this message of beauty, creativity, comfort, joy and celebration into as many homes across the world as possible.

So, whilst the rest of the world is suffering, the Emirates are attracting all the business attention. Future plans for the region mean there is a wealth of opportunity in both the capital city, Abu Dhabi, as well as Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Companies are still doing business and Interiors UAE will demonstrate this.

29 March-1 April 2009, ADNEC. www.interiorsuae.com

Trend forecasting is an almost essential part of any design business in order to stay ahead of the game, especially in the current climate. By understanding the trends that will dominate the industry over the coming seasons, your can start to align your product offering with the needs and wants of the consumer. Many events, both political and social, can change the way consumers react to product design, reactions that are often linked to the trends of the fashion industry.

Interiors and fashion often harmonise and as overall trends are shaped by the culture at large, it stands to reason that there will be similar themes in the lifestyle markets such as art, fashion and furnishings. Once companies know how these trends play a focal part in their business, it is then up to them to decide how trend driven their collections will be.

At the recent Interiors Birmingham exhibition at the NEC, Victoria Redshaw - trend forecaster from leading company Scarlet Opus used her superior knowledge to pick out the best designs from the show, giving reasons why they were on-trend. Below are a selection.

ALF Italia

 Sideboard is an increasingly desirable piece of furniture.
 Crystals give subtle glamour

Koo International

 Fantastic use of leather with a copper finish 
 Art Deco style chair with curvaceous arms
 Iridescent colours available red, black and green

Ruiz y Sanchez

 Mixed materials used
 Black oak stained table, finished with metallic
 Metal inlay with material and metal chairs

Mollio

 Curved sofa arms, especially with the curved lower back edges
 Pink is a very fashionable colour

Lighting projects are still going ahead, the retail and commercial sectors are both demonstrating some of the lighting industrys most striking and innovative new designs. Challenging times should not really affect the architectural lighting sector if projects are planned correctly to incorporate budgets from the concept to the final design, of which lighting generally absorbs about 3-5% of the total cost.

If a project has not been carefully budgeted from the concept stage, lighting costs can add up or lower quality products used to replace the originally specified higher quality products. Obviously this money saving could be short-lived as failures and replacements will increase maintenance expenses and less environmentally friendly light sources will increase operational costs.

Interior trend forecasters are predicting that the market will move towards unique and positive lighting solutions, large-scale lighting is increasingly colourful, individual and dazzling in order to encourage the cash-strapped consumer back through the doors of that luxury restaurant or hotel.

None embody this positive and bold approach to lighting more than Advanced Fiber Optics, a Spanish company specialising in innovative lighting solutions using fiber optics and LEDs. Their new range of stunning contemporary chandeliers, made using the finest venetian hand-crafted glass, can reach lengths of 2 meters and feature almost any colour. Contrasting, but equally stunning chandelier designs from leading lighting designer Shane Holland show how metal can be incorporated into a high-end product to unique and futuristic effect. Hollands Hoopla design lights a table or space with style using twin waves of waterjet cut aluminium with high-powered LEDs.

G-LEC, a leading LED video innovator, has created a similarly stunning effect but with added benefits and on a much larger scale. The Solaris system, a balls on a rope design, produces a large curtain-like effect and is able to furnish eye-catching video or graphics effects in entertainment or architectural projects. With no limit to the number of ropes in one single installation, Solaris is able to display elements and textures with a single control and media input. The design is an innovative alternative to a standard display screen.

All these forward-thinking companies displayed their designs at The ARC Show 09, the only exhibition for the architectural, retail and commercial lighting sector. The event, now in its fifth year, will return to Earls Court Two next year from 3-4 February. www.thearcshow.com