#MO19
If you’ve read my previous blog post or seen any of my social media posts, you know that I recently attended Maison & Objet, which is a tradeshow that boasts itself as the international authority for home decor, interior design, architecture and lifestyle culture and trends.
I think the organization may be right on that claim as I was floored and overwhelmed with all the latest trends for the home.
With 8 halls including cookware, kids items, gift and fashion accessories, fragrance and wellness, and lighting, fabrics, and furniture - almost 3,000 exhibitors - there were abundant amounts of design eye candy, to say the very least.
I attended the show for two days and mostly focused on two halls, which were the home fragrances hall, and kids and family and smart gift hall, and I loved some of the innovation I was able to see. As you may have guessed, natural, organic, and plant-based products continues to be the ongoing direction for home fragrances.
In the home fragrances hall, here are a few booths that caught my eye. I spoke with the owner of Vanilla Blanc London and I really liked his brand. The diffusers are made from chemical free organic ingredients of the highest grade sourced locally in Surrey, England, and their packaging is also committed toward sustainability. Also, while many of the companies I saw did not have US distribution, this company has distribution in Whole Foods!
I loved speaking with this husband and wife team who just launched their brand, La Promenade. They were so lovely! They actually started off as perfumers and then branched out to create their own line of diffusers and candles. Each perfume is developed and produced in Grasse, with carefully selected raw materials. All the candles are based on vegetable and mineral wax to restore the best perfumes and have a cotton wick.
I also enjoyed speaking with the company representative from Sprekenhus, a Norwegian apothecary brand that launched in 2010. Based on the Scandinavian tradition where functional design meets beauty in simplicity, their hair and body care products are made from botanical and laboratory distilled ingredients. One of their best selling products is their Argan Oil, but they also have great candles and skin care products.
Finally, I spoke for quite a while with the representative from Made by Zen, a British lifestyle brand that had some of the most beautiful diffusers I have ever seen! Made of Parisienne cut glass, hand blown glass, or the gorgeous hand finished mother of pearly glass mosaic diffuser seen below, it will be a cinch to elegantly diffuse essential oils throughout your home.
As you can see, there were so many fantastic home fragrance goodies! Here are more photos, including a stop at homegrown, OC-based Voluspa, which is a former client of one of the companies I worked for. Their new rose line is beautiful.
The next day I hit the Kids and Smart Gifts Hall. Again, so many fantastic goodies to drool on. Here are just a few. I especially liked the kids puzzles from Londji. Jax loves doing puzzles so I wanted to buy a few off the spot! I also loved the backpacks from Trixie. I also wanted to purchase one for Jax, but alas, the buying day was on Tuesday and I left Paris Monday morning.
Finally, it was impossible to not discover new furniture and lighting, since it is primarily an interiors show! Check out these beauties below, including the first photo: a fantastic chandelier from Lladro!
Clearly, a very productive trip and an awe-inspiring show. Suffice it to say, trends are most definitely discovered here, so I have bookmarked this tradeshow for the future!