Six Tips for Interior Design Show - IDS Vancouver 2017

 Loading Bay at Vancouver Convention Centre

My followers know how much I love going to IDS, Vancouver Interior Design Show every Fall, browse and report about what struck me most.
You can read my previous articles HERE 

But...this year I was an Exhibitor for the first time so I am going to ramble about my experience on how to set a Booth.
Not having done something similar I did not know what to expect, even though I am used to create interiors, move things around for the best layout, create interest and focal points in a house...well in a 20 x 20 square feet space things are a bit different!
Let's start with the image above, the Loading bay, the secret (to me, until now) place where crates and boxes are entering the trade show space...I did not expect the view of the water, it was beautiful but I blurred it with my exposure so you have to believe me.

I will save you the story of the several months prior, the adventure started in April in Milan at I Saloni, when Jody Phillips and her team came to Rossana Orlandi iconic showroom, met Scarlet Splendour owners and Matteo Cibic, fell in love with the designer creativity and asked him to be a Speaker at the show in September...the rest is history!

Matteo Cibic's ideas for the Booth, rapidly drawn in front of a cappuccino (for me) and a carrot juice (for him) when we met again in Vicenza later on to discuss ideas for the show.

Fast forward...to September

Just arrived at Vancouver Convention Centre for the installation day with my team, wearing my lumber jacket, not aware I had to put on top of it a work vest, definitely not a fashion statement!

The Booth was an island so at the end we decided not to put up any walls, to give visibility from every side to our stunning furnishings and to Cibic's ceramics.
I had a problem deciding about lights, searching everywhere for the perfect ones, but I solved it ordering a central light above and Nancy Bendtsen of Inform Interiors came to my rescue giving me the two beautiful floor lamps Sampei...and the two very comfortable chairs Masters by Kartell.

Our booth was almost ready but it was still installation day with workers putting up the last touches.

Now a few tips if you have never participated in a trade show as exhibitor, learned the hard way:
- Go to trade shows, notice what attracts most people, take notes, take pictures.
- Talk to people you know who had booths in the past, every piece of advice is a treasure.
- Search the web to find suppliers and ideas.
- Ask stores if they could lend you a few pieces to complement the booth.
- Put the most appealing items in a very visible spot to attract the crowd.
- Stay within the budget, even if it is restricted...it is your first show, next time you can go grand!

To be continued...

©2017 Brillante Interiors writes about new trends, timeless decor, iconic pieces, design ideas, or at times just musing about "a certain Italian way of doing things".

If you need help to enjoy your home more, please send us an email.  It will be an investment in happiness at home, because 

a well designed house is always a good part of a great life and 

a beautiful room will make you happy every time you walk in!

Top 25 Interior Design Blogs in the World

Brillante Interiors has been mentioned in "The Top 25 Interior Design Blogs in the World".
I am honored to be nominated and happy to be part of such a great group of bloggers, including my friends Ivan at Meade Design Group and Patricia at Patricia Gray.

Thank-you Designs-n-Deal.


©2013 Brillante Interiors writes about new trends, timeless decor, iconic pieces, design ideas, or at times just musing about "a certain Italian way of doing things".
If you receive this post by Email and wish to leave a comment please click HERE and go to the comments section. I love to hear from you!

Photo shoot of a project

Yesterday…rainy day in Vancouver but exciting photo shoot at Manito new store, where you can find luxurious silk bedding and more.  I have shown the “before” images of this project in my previous post HERE and now you can have a preview of the (almost) finished space.
As you may know a photo shoot requires days of preparation, sourcing for props, arranging furniture, adjusting lights, buying flower arrangements and in this case… steaming every single wrinkle out of pillowcases, bedspreads, bed sheets.

The photographer, very professional and so pleasant to work with, Andrea Sunderland, arrived in full gear with diffusers, lenses, external flashes and all the tricks of the trade.

 

Of course the store looked a …bit…messy since we had to arrange

and rearrange furniture and accessories every hour.

A ladder certainly help to have different angles.

Here I am, comfortably seating (for just 5 minutes!) and checking compositions and light with my point and shoot which I used all day wondering how magical the “real” images from Andrea will be.

Charcoal and pale blue silk for this bed with a vibrant orange lampshade on the side table.

Rich plum and fresh green silk for this image, Hilary Miles beautiful roses

and…do you remember that purple tea cup from a previous post?

A more masculine look with chocolate, champagne and whipped cream silk (yum).

Angela Grossman art piece on the floor.

Designers Guild pillows, Heather Ross new candles on the antique chair

and the vivid color of Miriam Aroeste painting as a backdrop.

My favorite picture of the day? I can’t explain it but it is this one…so dramatic  and theatrical.

Silk becomes regal!

Photography © by Albarosa Simonetti

©2011 Brillante Interiors writes about new trends, timeless decor, iconic pieces, design ideas, or at times just musing about "a certain Italian way of doing things".

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My favorite graffiti!

 

  
My favorite graffiti? are the ones that lead to a well prepared and managed project and I will show you some steps of my latest effort.  Above are some instructions for trades drawn on the walls by the contractor for the correct execution of the project.

      

A large open space in the beginning, with a door going to the secured parkade in the back, no washroom, only a pipe and a hole on the far right corner!

 

Even if we had drawing plans, using tape and drawing shapes of the correct size were necessary to be absolutely sure there would be space for handicapped people to move around in the washroom, before walls were built.

 

The space was carefully measured and the drawing plan created  two separate areas, one for retail and one for the storage, the office and of course for the new washroom. Ceilings being very high the new walls had to be appropriately sized.

 

One of my favorite parts, even if challenging, is testing the paint before it goes everywhere. Of course patches of different paint were scattered around to examine the different lights conditions and left there to dry and be examined at different times of the day. This time the challenge was even greater since there was still no washroom installed so not even a drop of water in the space, but I managed to arrive those days with buckets of water in my car to wash brushes between different colors and lots of rags and paper towels. I was testing the colors myself since there were some delays (sounds familiar?) and trades were busy.

 

 

Washroom and storage area created by the new walls, plus the necessary stereo-radio that every trade likes to blast!

 

Preparation before the first coat of paint.

 

Yards and yards of painter tape…

 

On the window the necessary Permit forms ready for the approaching inspection.

 

Ceiling sprayed in charcoal.

 

Concrete columns were carefully covered  to leave them intact, part of the industrial look that the space had, together with high ceilings and pipes, that I wanted to preserve.

 

Yes, it is me… taking pictures a few months ago at the front window of the new store with its temporary sign. Exciting news: after a few months of decisions making, drawing plans, revising budget, sourcing and testing…Manito store in Vancouver, already open to the public at 1822 West 1st Avenue, at Burrard Street, is about to be ready for a grand opening party!


Photography by Albarosa Simonetti

©2011 Brillante Interiors writes about new trends, timeless decor, iconic pieces, design ideas, or at times just musing about "a certain Italian way of doing things".

If you receive this post by Email and wish to leave a comment please click HERE and go to the comments section.

I love to hear from you!

So many choices, so little time

Elle Decor

Dear readers, I am quite busy with two projects at the moment so I have not much time to blog, since I spend my days (and evenings too) putting together ideas for layout, lighting, color scheme, choice of furniture and finishes for:

A kitchen

House Beautiful

 

House Beautiful

Canadian House & Home

If this project was not enough, and everyone involved in designing a kitchen knows how many crucial details must be taken into consideration and how every inch counts…I also have another project lined up and working on at the moment:

A showroom
for bedding and lingerie to open in October!  Renovation has started already and I am still flipping through books, magazines, previous projects to have everything in place for the interior decorating project presentation.

Jesurum

Style at Home

Etro

Ralph Lauren

I will post renderings, pictures, choices as soon as I will make up my mind…

too many choices, so little time.

Would you please wish me luck?!

©2011 Brillante Interiors writes about new trends, timeless decor, iconic pieces, design ideas, or at times just musing about "a certain Italian way of doing things".


If you receive this post by Email and wish to leave a comment please click HERE and go to the comments section.
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Brillante choice

Tolomeo lamp by Artemide.

The iconic Tolomeo lamp, designed in 1987 by Michele De Lucchi and Giancarlo Fassina, became an instant best-seller. It is produced by Artemide.  The lamp received the highly recognized prize of Il Compasso d’Oro, an industrial design award created in Italy in 1954.

 

Tolomeo Micro Pinza, baby clamp light under kitchen cabinets.

Many years later Tolomeo is still admired for its lightness and purity of lines in the original design and in all the later additions as floor lamp and wall lamp. Interiors & Sources readers named the Tolomeo LED task light the best lighting product of 2010, based on the light’s performance, aesthetics and sustainability.

Do you own a Tolomeo? Tell us where you put it and what you most love about it.

©2011 Brillante Interiors writes about new trends, timeless decor, iconic pieces, design ideas, or at times just musing about "a certain Italian way of doing things".


If you receive this post by Email and wish to leave a comment please click HERE and go to the comments section.
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How to spend $ 85.00

 

Long week-end and a sunny day made me work to beautify my patio. The work is still in progress but almost done for now. As they say on HGTV the total cost of the project was $ 85.00, not counting the labour…which most of the time is the most expensive part, but in this case the labour (me) took only two hours between sourcing, buying, painting.
The mirrors were bought in a discount store, they are very inexpensive and may even last a few years, they went from black to aqua color in 1 hour. Fun to try different arrangements until I find the right larger acrylic mirrors for my patio. I am looking for some that may resemble a door leading to another secret garden.

Mirrors can really do magic things.

I found by chance Sunbrella vivid turquoise pillows  heavily discounted, I bought hot pink impatient for a few dollars at the corner store.
The table base, wrought iron, was found a year ago in my lane…with a glass top it became my favorite place to have breakfast, weather permitting of course! I only wish I had more space for a larger glass top but so far dinner for two was never a problem.

 

 

Mirrors expand the small patio, instantly doubling all my plants and creating some focal points. Did I say that all the trellises were also found in my lane? They were black but with a can of color they blend with the  walls. My friends now call me “The Dame of the lane” but I always loved to go to garage sales and flea markets to find things I love for a few dollars (I actually found quite valuable pieces for almost nothing and the hunt  itself is exciting).

 

A friend is coming for coffee…

©2011 Brillante Interiors writes about new trends, timeless decor, iconic pieces, design ideas, or at times just musing about "a certain Italian way of doing things".


If you receive this post by Email and wish to leave a comment please click HERE and go to the comments section.
I love to hear from you!