The Mother City’s designer big guns as well as its abundance of emerging innovators flaunted their designer stripes in full kaleidoscopic colour over four creatively fuelled days at Decorex Cape Town 2015, declared a triumph by exhibitors and visitors alike.

Firmly entrenched as Cape Town’s premier décor and design show,Decorex Cape Town, saw over 41 500 design devotees converge on the CTICC, where they were treated to a stellar line-up of creative inspiration and a variety of ground breaking interactive installations, in line with this year’s show theme, The Home of Great Ideas.

In addition to the comprehensive showcase of the latest products and services from the décor and design fraternities, Decorex Cape Town also laid on a number of unique platforms to give visitors a taste of the very latest décor, design and lifestyle trends.

Among these was the Decorex Designer Spotlight showcase, which, this year, was awarded to leading local designer Sarah Ord, who put her trademark quirky-eclectic design style to work in a colour-saturated installation decorated in the very latest materials and wallpapers from leading fabric house, Home Fabrics.

Another designer firmly entrenched in the Mother City’s style echelons is Marcelle Crowther of award-winning Hocus Interior Design Studio. For her keenly anticipated Themed Feature installation Black is the new White", Crowther worked her designer magic according to an all-black palette, setting a striking tone for the rest of show.

The city’s leading kitchen designers, meanwhile, showed off their creative mettle in the Franke Make it Wonderful Kitchen Design Project, which showcased four very unique kitchens, each one giving practical application to new directions in ergonomics, greening, space efficiency and more.

Undoubtedly one of the most entertaining features at Decorex Cape Town, the Dining and Entertaining Theatre saw a host of engaging local chefs provide fun home-entertaining talks and cooking demos in a beautiful purpose-built kitchen by Stockhome Kitchenliving. And, as the perfect complement to their culinary mastery, this year also saw the launch of a series of interactive styling and table-décor sessions staged in the dining room adjacent to the theatre.

Another highlight of Decorex Cape Town was the unveiling of the hard-hitting colour trends for 2015, courtesy of Plascon, which revealed its colour forecast for this year in the vibrant Plascon Spaces installation.

The Private Property Trend House, meanwhile, provided a coveted platform for a group of top-drawer local designers, who were tasked with dressing an interactive house-scape, providing guests with the ultimate walk-through design experience.

Design satiated visitors were able to satisfy culinary cravings at the sophisticated Graham Beck Wine Bar, styled by Léan van der Merwe Interiors in association with Home Fabrics, and a space where they could linger over a plate of sushi or a cheese platter washed down with a flute of Graham Beck’s best.

The Consol Gourmet Food Market, too, offered hungry shoppers a vast choice of delicious meals, with the fun option of being served in Consol glassware. While, for those preferring to shop until they drop, a grab-‘n-go latte or something sinfully decadent from the Decorex Bistro provided all the refuelling needed.

A major crowd-puller at this year’s show was the installation presented by the curators of 100% Design South Africa, which launched last year alongside Decorex Joburg and will take place again in conjunction with this year’s show in August. Giving Capetonians a privileged peek of what to expect in Gauteng, the stand, entitled 100% Black, inventively showcased how great design, in its purest form, is best appreciated when it is devoid of all colour.

New to this year’s exhibition was the first ever Creative Business Exchange, a half-day conference sponsored by Caesarstone and an unmatched opportunity for small business owners to be stimulated in a creative-thinking environment with a view to taking their businesses to the next level.

Facilitated by creative consultant and design blogger, Nadia van der Mescht, and carrying CPD credits for both interior designers and architects, the Creative Business Exchange was attended by designers, decorators, architects, retailer and product designers, all of whom reported drawing immense inspiration from hearing key industry players – such as award-winning furniture and interior designer Haldane Martin and textile-business owner Heather Moore of the hugely popular Skinny laMinx – share the secrets to their success stories.

Having all this talent under one roof at Decorex Cape Town is a real privilege, and taking the exhibition to the next level where we actually facilitate business-to-business interaction has been an exciting new step for Decorex SA.

Many exhibitors reflected on Decorex Cape Town 2015 as their best show ever. Heinrich van Zyl of Frameless Glass said the business garnered at the show would keep the company busy for at least six months: "We estimate that we will have done more than 100 sales by the end of Decorex Cape Town."

At Creative Houseware, Krish Foster said his team was working hard to keep restocking their stand with kitchen appliances. "Decorex is important for us to build brand awareness as well as for management to engage with the customers."

At Wiccerly Cocoon, Kathy Friedrichs introduced a brand new product to the South African market, the ultimate shaded sun lounger. "There has been a lot of interest in our product. With the turnout we’ve had this weekend, it’s been the perfect place to launch the Wiccerly Cocoon. We’ll definitely do it again."

Vernon Hendricks of Wild Jinger won the award for Best Newcomer on Decorex Cape Town 2015. He said the public response to his bespoke furniture concept had been overwhelming. "I’ve handed out hundreds of business cards and look forward to using this opportunity to take my business to the next level," he said.

Anita Labuschagne, managing director of Sweet Temptations expressed that this year’s show was by far the best they have experienced. "We’ve had an absolutely fantastic show and had record sales. Thanks to you and the team for a well-planned event."

Jenny Ellinas, founder and managing director of Cypiot Reality extended her thanks to the wholeDecorex SA team for a very well executed event. "The level of exhibitors and the quality of the visitors was excellent. Cypriot Realty was inundated with queries and we had our most successful exhibition ever - at Decorex CT 2015."

Andre Hollard of Shutterway Stylish Security realises the value in face to face marketing. "It was our second time at Decorex. I must congratulate the entire Decorex team on a well organised and upmarket event. The quality of visitors was a good fit for us, and I’m very glad we’ve added Decorex to our marketing mix." 

Exhibiter awards

A group of Cape Town’s leading décor and design experts undertook the challenging task of judging the most successful stands at this year’s exhibition. This year’s judging panel included Elle Decorationeditor Bielle Ross, Marcia Margolis of SA Décor and Design, interior designer Greg Mellor and John Autard of Interior Placements. The winners were:

• The most interactive stand: The Tea Merchant;
• Most innovative product: Skale Greenwall;
• Exhibitor marketing award: Franke Kitchens Systems;
• Best in the craft and create category: The Institute for the Blind;
• Best in the cooking and cuisine category: The Tea Merchant;
• Best green product or stand award: Easigrass by Van Dyk Carpets;
• Best newcomer: Wild Jinger;
• Best in build and plan: Plantation Shutters featuring Sam Lurie of Sprout
• Best in the bathroom and kitchen: Kitchen Studio;
• Best décor stand: Sarah Ord in Association with Home Fabrics;
• Best small stand: American Shutters; and
• Best overall stand: Caesarstone.

The judges also gave Excellence awards to a number of other high-end exhibitors, credited with setting the scene for trend-forward South Africans. These were: Womag, Franke, Rudi’s Choice, Neolith, Niemann, Neumatic, Spotlight Kitchens, The Natural Fan Co, Forest Flooring, Siemens, Mae Artisan rugs, House It, Hocus Interiors, Mr Price, Plascon, Bathroom Butler and Telkom.

Visitor statistics

•  41 500 visitors attended Decorex Cape Town;
• 25% of the visitors were trade visitors;
• 2% of the visitors were members of the media; and
• 73% were consumer visitors.

Trade attendance

Through an intensive digital trade campaign, Decorex Cape Town attracted a number of industry guests to the exhibition. The trade attendance varied from decorators, designers, hospitality and retail buyers as well as building contractors and specifiers. The extensive trade marketing campaign consisted of partner websites, blogs and newsletters, as well as invited industry guests, through direct mail.

Decorex SA’s Creative Business Exchange attracted a significant interest and attendance among the industry.

Visitor attendanc

Decorex Cape Town’s visitors were predominantly LSMs 7-10, between the ages of 24 and 56-years-old, living in the Western Cape and interested in improving, renovating or decorating their living spaces.

Comments

"Thank you so much for approving my application for Media at Decorex this past weekend, I thoroughly enjoyed the show and have had a great response from my readers, and followers on social media," said Ray Mohamed.

"Exciting start to a Sunday - Joanne Strauss and family chatting to Inscape Design Students at the Spotlight on Talent stand," said Tanya Dreyer.

"Head to Decorex Cape Town today ad tomorrow for fresh inspiration," said Naomi Larkin.

"You did well this year Decorex," said Life Brand on Twitter.

"Feeling inspired and informed after Decorex Cape Town, thank you," said Daisy Critchley.

Conclusion

Exhibitions are a vital element of the marketing mix and customer engagement and interaction is a key aspect of effective business. Decorex Cape Town has once more proved its invaluable contribution to South Africa's décor and design community and is the ultimate platform to boost your brand.

There’s no denying that Cape Town remains an exciting design destination, a fact attested to by its designation last year as World Design Capital. Indeed, the Mother City has a remarkable pool of design talent and we were privileged to showcase some of her stars at Decorex Cape Town.

The size and influence of Africa’s leading décor, design and lifestyle exhibition is certainly growing every year, demonstrating Decorex SA’s vision of offering both members of the public as well as trade visitors a comprehensive showcase of both local and international décor and design.

The success of the 2015 edition of Decorex Cape Town is due to our loyal exhibitors, partners and sponsors. We would like to thank you for your continual support and encouragement. Decorex SA would like to thank their show sponsors Plascon and Caesarstone who have supported Decorex SA for many years.

Should you wish to apply to exhibit at Decorex Cape Town 2016 or any other Decorex SA future exhibitions email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

For more information, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or visit www.decorex.co.za. Alternatively, join the conversation on the Decorex SA Facebook page and follow them on Twitter.