Come next year, Sydney’s Home & Giving Fair will run for five days, starting 9am Friday 20 February to 3pm Tuesday 24 February. The addition of an extra day to the traditional four-day fair will allow retail buyers greater time to discover best-selling products, now that three fairs will be running together at the same time and at the same venue.
Home & Giving Fair, held by the Australian Gift & Homewares Association (AGHA) recently acquired FASHION EXPOSED REVIVED, which will run alongside the Home & Giving Fair and Design Life Sydney in February. Retail buyers will therefore have the opportunity to visit three fairs in one at Sydney Olympic Park.
With 32,000 square metres of space, over 500 exhibitors and thousands of brands, retail buyers will require an extra day to ensure they see all of NSW’s biggest gift, homewares and fashion trade event.
Home & Giving Fair is a trade only event and registration requires business identification. For those who already hold a Gift Industry Card (GIC) they can simply scan their card at the fair for quick access. For retail buyers planning on visiting for the first time, they can pre-register online or call 1800 000 470.
After a bit of a break to reassess and finesse their business model, I’m delighted that Mr Pinchy and Co and their gorgeous brass objets are back!
Mr Pinchy the crab, from $49
Husband and wife team Michael and Lou Beer have changed craftsmen and improved quality and are back with “a broader yet more refined offering” and a new website.
The brand, stocked exclusive by Coco Republic and Becker Minty and also available online, prides itself on its masculinity and old world collector charm. “We feel there is a real void in the market for it,” adds Michael. “Our pieces are made to last, making them great life objects to be revered in the family and handed along over time. It’s often not the price tag that makes an inanimate object loved, but it’s the character, rawness and presence it brings to a space.”
Larry the lobster, from $99
With Christmas approaching, the men in our lives can certainly be some of the hardest to buy for, but the Pinchy crab claw bottle opener would surely go down well? As a female though, I have to say I’d be delighted to be gifted any of these pieces. I can’t get enough of gold accessories right now!
Crab claw bottle opener, $89
Other items, including the fabulous new Larry the lobster, are available in polished or brushed gold (moving forward, they will begin to offer antique bronze, antique green and black across some pieces).
Working with his wife is proving successful for Michael: “Lou is my level head. I always want to do the large statement pieces such as crocodile skulls (coming soon), but she reminds me that the price pointed pieces are what people are more likely to buy as gifts or if they are new to our brand and have not seen our pieces or their quality previously.”
Beetles from $59
Read how Mr Pinchy got started and the techniques used to make their products in Indonesia in our 2012 interview.
If you’re a fan of online marketplace Etsy but prefer shopping in person, you’re in luck, because in the lead-up to Christmas you’ll have two chances to get your hands on some beautiful handmade and vintage goods.
In a first for Etsy, they will be holding Etsy Night Out, a Christmas Pop Up Market in Melbourne. Taking place for one night only on Friday 28 November, Etsy, in conjunction with Melbourne-based sellers, will transform the iconic Rose Street Artist’s Market in Fitzroy into a real life Etsy market. 35 of Etsy’s most loved and local shop owners will be taking their businesses offline to meet with buyers and sell their unique designs in person. Goodies on offer will include a range of jewellery, art, fashion, kidswear and homewares.
But if you’re Sydney, never fear, you don’t miss out, with Etsy collaborating with iconic retailer David Jones for a four-day Unwrap Etsy event. Featuring more than 40 Australian makers across art, design, jewellery and homewares, shoppers will be able to find one-of-a-kind Christmas gifts, participate in hands-on making workshops and watch Etsy’s creative community in action via a series of maker demonstrations. Located at the Elizabeth Street David Jones store, the event will run from Thursday 4 December until Sunday 7 December inclusive.
If you’re a retailer or buyer based in Melbourne and looking to source the latest brands and products on the cooler side of style and design, then Life Instyle & Kids Instyle is your playground.
Paper Empire
The annual Life Instyle trade event invites retailers and buyers to Meet Your Makers at the Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne (from 31 July to 3 August). This exhibition welcomes an outstanding curated line-up of over 350 carefully selected exhibitors representing premium, bespoke and design-led products across homewares, gifts, lifestyle and children’s products within a beautiful, intimate shopping environment. Considered Australia’s destination for style, Life Instyle Melbourne continues to support the best in Australian design and is set to bring to life Melbourne’s true essence.
‘We’re delighted to return to Melbourne, a city that celebrates design and style, culture and art. This year, retailers are invited to Meet Your Makers by discovering the story behind the brands, meeting the creators themselves to unearth where inspiration really begins,” says marketing manager, Emma Radford. (Read Interiors Addict’s interview with maker TJ Guzzardi).
Bonnie and NeilAURA by Tracie Ellis
Life Instyle Melbourne promises to provide inspiration, a hub of design activity and a place to hunt for the latest trends and coveted brands. Following the success of Life Instyle Sydney, they welcome new Style Lab host, Melbourne-based paper artist and stylist, Marsha Golemac. Marsha’s known for her inspiring paper installations and impeccable styling, featured in Est and Real Living magazines.
Ahoy TraderKate and Kate
“Life Instyle continues to be the top destination for Australia’s most innovative brands and retailers. Unique to this year we will unveil a new and breathtaking set of initiatives, including our Meet Your Makers studio, bringing together key artisans and designers in a live workshop experience; plus our Conversation Series will feature a stellar line up of Q&A seminars from some of the most sought after industry experts,” Emma adds.
DesignByThem
Artisans and designers will collaborate to showcase the very best in contemporary design via First Instyle – an exhibition which celebrates emerging design professionals of home, lifestyle, kids and baby products. Running alongside Life Instyle is Kids Instyle, showcasing babies and children’s fashion, accessories and homewares.
Visitors can expect to source from premium brands including Bonnie and Neil, Ahoy Trader, AURA by Tracie Ellis, Design by Them, Bison Home, Kate & Kate and Paper Empire.
Bison Home
Life Instyle and Kids Instyle are Australia’s destination for style and design and an opportunity to explore the irresistible world of the finest and most distinct products available worldwide. Registrations are still open to Australian and international retailers and buyers to attend.
For those with weddings on the horizon, here’s one reason to get excited (aside from your impending marriage!): West Elm have introduced a wedding and gift registry.
With online access, you can manage your registry from wherever and whenever you want. Plus guests can purchase gifts for delivery anywhere in Australia. You can also enjoy the exclusive benefit of having an extended return date for exchanges, meaning there’s no need to rush back to the shops after you’ve tied the knot.
More so, and I think this is the most exciting part, West Elm’s free home stylist can meet you at your home or in the store, and help you pick items for your registry and to style your space.
You can also register with the rest of the Williams-Sonoma family: Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids and Williams-Sonoma, with all of them having their own wedding and gift registries as well.
Unique, diverse and exciting, Australian design has much to offer. We are blessed to live in a country that provides great weather all year round (well almost!). This means that cheerful alfresco dining is often popular in warmer months, and during the cooler seasons we can hibernate indoors with industrial furniture and storage pieces incorporating natural minerals and warm earthy tones.
In addition to this, trendy timber touches to furniture with colourful and soft textile detailing have become common in many Australian households. You can expect a blast of ocean colours. Sea palettes used on walls and a greater emphasis on the vast outdoors are ever-present. We are now closer than ever to having articulated an authentic Australian design identity!
Design without the compromise!
We all know that gift and homewares products reflect current and up-and-coming trends in the Australian market. Wholesalers are constantly being challenged with having to balance creativity with the demands of cost-effective and innovative production processes.
Dani Rosen, from Dan300 who will be exhibiting at Design Life, an event exclusive to the Home & Giving Fair, prides herself on the high quality of her textile and fabric products, due largely to local manufacturing allowing more control over design and production.
Over the past few years, there has been an enormous surge in the variety of homewares available in Australia. As consumers, we are now spoilt more than ever by a diverse and inspiring range of styles to choose from. Whether it be a specific pattern (chevron was everywhere in 2013!), a beloved texture or simply an eye-popping colour – we all want what is hot right now.
Interior, fashion and industrial designers are constantly on the lookout for the next up-and-coming trend. The gift and homewares industry is no exception. In February, the Home & Giving Fair will collect some of Australia’s best wholesalers under one roof to present Design Life Sydney. Design Life is an exclusive area of the Home & Giving Fair that delivers to retail buyers the very best in innovative and inspirational design.
This husband and wife pair, Kate and Graeme from The Story of Us, are more than a bit awesome, they’re a creative force to be reckoned with!
Kate reached the status of one of my favourite people of 2013 after designing my wedding invites and editing our amazing, much talked about wedding video (I know, enough about the wedding already!). Here’s what they’d like from Santa this year…
Papier d’Amour know a thing or two about gift wrapping so it’s a pretty safe bet their pre-wrapped gift ideas will have recipients seriously impressed (they don’t need to know you didn’t do it yourself).
The Double Bay stationery and gift store has not 1 but 3 pop-ups this festive season at Westfield Sydney, Westfield Bondi Junction and Chatswood Chase.
Gone are the Daylesford days! The gorgeous gift and homewares store Lark officially opened its new doors on Gertrude Street in Melbourne’s Fitzroy on Friday.
The beautiful shop front has huge glass windows with striking typography and gorgeous displays. The space itself has amazing high ceilings with stunning decorative detailing. Being my first ever visit to a Lark store I was amazed as soon I stepped foot in the door! The range of products is incredible and even though there is loads of variety it all seems to mesh together so well! It’s definitely one of those places where you will always find something you want to buy.
Beautifully done Aussie table linen by Utopia Goods
It’s now less than a month until Life Instyle Melbourne. Are you going? I am! Today, I’m pleased to share with you a first look at the look books for Life Instyle and Kids Instyle and share with you a few of the exhibitors I’ve got my eye on.
Vases from The Design FarmBeautifully done Aussie table linen by Utopia Goods
I recently had the pleasure of visiting the Lark store in Daylesford for the first time. Cutest. Shop. Ever. But its range is nothing like what’s offered online and the great news is their annual winter sale starts at midnight tomorrow for 3 days with savings of up to a whopping 80%.
Hundreds of new and recent products have been heavily discounted. Products include selected Orla Kiely (up to 40% off) and Rice (up to 50% off) products, Heico lamps (25% off), Blafré children’s home accessories (up to 50% off), selected toys (up to 40% off) and party goods (up to 80% off).
I discovered Edenborough Evans on Facebook some time ago. My pick for Mother’s Day is their personalised silver necklace for $79.
I have two bracelets (they’re $59) and one has my (future) wedding date on it, while the other says ‘Be Nice’ but you can have whatever you want up to 8 characters (just enough for supermum?). Or buy her a gift voucher so she can choose her own.
I have the neon pink version of this and it gets so many comments! Bonnie and Neil’s handprinted table runners are great value in my opinion, starting at $65.
I wish you could smell how good these are but you’ll have to take my word for it! The packaging is great too, and once the candle’s all gone, you still have a latte glass. Winning! I’ve been a fan for some time.
They burn really cleanly and are made from soy, coconut and beeswax in Australia. The fragrance throw (that’s technical candle speak) is amazing. Expect it to fill your entire home. They’re $49 with free shipping at Hard to Find.
Everyone should have a little piece of Dinosaur in their life. I have several little pieces 😉 How about this small ball bowl, available in a variety of colours, for your mum?
At $68, they’re entry level Dinosaur, but a lovely gift and something you might not treat yourself to.
Clockwise from top left: Design Twins harden up crushed cups, $19.95; Studio Arhoj melting mug, $33; Curated and Made planter, $35; Evie Group tall hex box, $53.
