Look back of Maison & Objet in January 2023, Paris, France
The Maison & Objet 2023 took place from 19 to 23 January at Paris-Nord Villepinte Parc des Expositions, Allée des Érables, Paris, France. On a “quest of pleasures”, is a fair for household goods and decorations. Maison&Objet in January 2023 was proudly displaying colours, extravagance, audacity and humour as many added values of this new edition.
The spring edition marked by dynamic international business, confirming the attractiveness of inspiring events. The inspiration theme was invite us to a rediscovered exaltation, to the re-enchantment of our lives, free from the austerity to which society and brands have bowed in response to a world in crisis.
It was in a positive business climate once again that the doors of the decor, design and lifestyle fair, located at the Paris Nord Villepinte Exhibition Centre. The trade show many exhibitors a wide range of products for the housewares and decorative items. Industry professionals from the home decor, design, crafts and lifestyle sectors were able to get together, meet at Maison&Objet to exchange ideas, make discoveries and sense market trends.
This exhibition is communication and information platform in the industry and offers the exhibiting companies the opportunity to present to an audience of experts here. Visitors can learn the detailed and comprehensive information on the latest trends and products in the industry. MAISON & OBJET offers an ideal setting for the professional decoration, design and lifestyle community to build solid business partnerships and find a source of inspiration. The show floor brims with sparkling sets of the newest products available for hospitality professionals, architects, retailers and interior designers.
MAISON&OBJET is the major event for professionals working in the art of living in all its rich and varied expressions. The lifestyle show brings together a 360° product offering. Decoration, design, furniture, accessories, textiles, fragrances, the world of children, tableware … The styles coexist in a multifaceted way, throughout the inventive show design which enlivens the spaces. This extraordinary diversity is in line with the varied expectations of global markets. With each session, the great lifestyle platform, at the intersection of business and creativity, reveals solutions to visitors from around the world in search of uniqueness.
The extensive product offering is arranged into two equal categories: an Objet section dedicated to decorative accessories such as Smart Gift, Fashion Accessories, and more; and a Maison section offering the latest styles in decorations and home interiors such as Craft – Metiers D’Art, Unique & Eclectic, Today, Work! and others. Must-visit is the What’s New area, composed of three spaces and three themes selected for the current event edition to draw a complete picture of the trend forecast for the upcoming buying season.
Maison&Objet in January 2023
For 27 years, Maison&Objet organised by SAFI (a subsidiary of Ateliers d’Art de France and RX France), has been engaging with and bringing together the international design, home decor and lifestyle communities. Maison&Objet’s trademark? Its unique ability to generate connections and accelerate business, both during trade fairs and via its digital platform, but also through its unique talent for highlighting trends that was excite and inspire the home decor world. Maison&Objet’s mission is to reveal talent, spark connections and provide inspiration, both on and offline, thereby helping businesses grow.
Through two yearly trade fairs for industry professionals and Paris Design Week, a public event in September that brings the creative energy of designers and brands together in the City of Lights, Maison&Objet is the go-to platform for the entire interior design sector. Unveiled in 2016 Maison&Objet and more, or MOM, enables buyers and brands to continue their conversations all year round, launch collections and create connections beyond physical meetings. The weekly roundup of exciting new finds constantly stimulates business across the sector.
Build bridges between the world’s different cultures, facilitate new ways of creating and enjoying interiors and design, perpetuate exceptional artisan trades and propel them into the future, shine a light on new and meaningful initiatives that drive forward innovation – that is precisely what the January edition of the Maison&Objet Paris trade fair promises to do from 19th to 23rd January 2023.
In 2023, Maison&Objet deploys new digital services with the launch of three transactional tools. To take things even further, the Maison&Objet Academy now provides industry professionals with an exclusive web channel that broadcasts monthly content focusing on training and on deciphering market trends. Our social media platforms, meanwhile, keep all those design discoveries going by engaging daily with an active community of almost one million members on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Xing, WeChat and now TiKTok.
Highlights
The January edition of Maison&Objet Paris with growing attendance, mainly resulting from the strong international audience, confirming the essential role of this media milestone for decoration, design and lifestyle professionals. As well as an acceleration of the implementation of the Maison&Objet’s strategy through launching new digital services that bring an omnichannel solution to support the whole decoration, design and lifestyle community in growing its business at every stage of development.
With more than 67,000 trade visitors, nearly 45% of whom were international, this session once again demonstrated the essential marker the show represents in the agenda of brands, buyers and specifiers in the home decor, design and lifestyle industries. More than 2,300 brands, spread over 7 halls, benefited from a strong traffic dynamic and proudly embodied what has made Maison&Objet Paris famous since its creation: booths with meticulous set designs and innovative collections launched by emerging brands or major names in interior design.
Alongside icons such as Editions Serge Mouille, we noticed the return of fine Italian companies such as Gervasoni, Meridiani and Martinelli Luce or Pulpo (Germany), Baobab (Belgium), Lladró (Spain), Alessi (Italy) as well as the remarkable debut of new participants such as Maison Matisse (France), Mogg (Italy), or Stamuli (Sweden). They embody, from an international perspective, the elegant and innovative decorative spirit of the sector.
A mindset geared towards ”Haute Facture”, with many French iconic manufactures gathered by the Ameublement Français, as Atelier Alain Ellouz, la Manufacture des Emaux de Longwy or Taillardat. We also noticed the return of Japanese and Korean brands, always refined and often new to Europe, especially in the “OBJET” section
The visitor experience was also the focus of the Maison&Objet teams, who wanted more than ever to ensure that a visit to the show was more than just a shopping experience. With the theme “Take Care!” and special events such as the Apothem Lounge, inspiring calm and meditation, designed by Raphael Navot, named Designer of the Year, visitors were able to take a break and recharge their batteries in a particularly sophisticated environment where every detail, from the musical ambience to the colors and textures, has been carefully thought out.
And further down the aisles, from pretty lounge chairs for resting to gourmet waffles for indulging, from unusual ping-pong tables to scenic restaurants, the opportunities to recharge one’s batteries – literally and figuratively – were enjoyable for all.
As regards to inspiring and inspired designers, this session was not left out with a focus on the next generation embodied by 7 Spanish Rising Talents. But also on the United Kingdom with a colorful British Capsule: Bethan Laura Wood and Lee Broom were there with the so French Talents, Elise Fouin, Grégory Lacoua, Victoria Wilmotte and Cédric Breisacher, known for collaborating with brands and came here to promote their own collections. We also saw Jean-Charles de Castelbajac introducing new collaborations or Philippe Starck himself launching on the show his eco-designed collection with the Spanish company Andreu World
The theme was thus illustrated in many ways, including highlights dedicated to sustainable design. The Confederation of Danish Industries, in association with Laurence Carr, an expert in design and the circular economy, proposed a showcase of 11 exemplary houses, “Circularity in Action”, inaugurated in the presence of Princess Marie of Denmark, while the 3 very young winners of the Future On Stage award proposed new products embodying the commitment to the future of the industry. A horizon also illustrated by the 500 companies exhibiting for the very first time, to the great pleasure of buyers in permanent search of new suppliers, whose youngest designers of accessories and objects could be found in new areas grouping them, called “Spotlight”.
A buoyant creativity and know-how were felt in the aisles of the show and then in Paris, where Maison&Objet In the City brought together nearly 100 decorators, interior designers, galleries, major companies and exceptional artisans to complete the Parisian experience.
Refocus, regroup, indulge your senses, reconnect with your inner self, with others and with the environment. January 2023 was all about taking care of each other, of our expertise and of our planet. From 19th to 23rd January, Maison&Objet Paris is set to shine a light on these highly meaningful forward-focused values. The theme is set to sweep across the entire trade fair, even rippling out to the talks and the trend zones. Taking care is something that has become a veritable necessity at a time when we are all actively seeking meaning and tranquillity. The January edition of Maison&Objet Paris is set to breathe life into something that is now deemed an absolute must.
The major social, economic and political upheaval we are all currently experiencing is inciting everyone to stand up for their convictions. It is also encouraging brands to be more transparent, inclusive and responsible when reaching out to consumers, who are themselves more invested than ever in the way in which they engage with brands. Now is a time for straight talking, taking action and being open-minded, even if that means beating a drum in order to drive forward change. The design on show at Maison&Objet was look to challenge the modern-day aesthetics of what is Beautiful and provide a springboard for what is Good.
Brands and designers are now looking beyond simple aesthetics to come up with increasingly meaningful creations that invite us to take care not only of our bodies, as is the case with Waterrower’s wood and metal sports equipment, but also of our mental health. “There is a huge trend for solutions dedicated to wellness and physical health, which suffered so much during the pandemic”, explains Vincent Grégoire.
The January trade fair was encourage visitors to take their time and clear their heads in spaces such as the ‘What’s New?’ trend zone, curated by Elisabeth Leriche and appropriately named “In the air” as an invitation to openly embrace lightheartedness and relaxation. Trend-spotter François Delclaux was encourage us to get onboard with “Slow Hospitality” by whisking us off on a journey that inspires us to take the foot off the accelerator. The soon-tobe-announced “Designer of the Year”, meanwhile, was put together a peaceful and atmospheric space to help us disconnect from the stresses of daily life.
For a number of years, the trade fair has been awash with up-and-coming socially minded brands, who are proactively embodying a “brand-new ethic that is finding a foothold amongst consumers, echoing the slow living trend”, the trend hunter continues. These include La Fabrique à Sachets, which inspires us to give nature a helping hand by sowing our own seeds, or Dopper, which is highly committed to fighting the good fight against single-use plastic bottles with its own attractive, ingenious and sturdy vessels. Knife maker Jean Dubosc, meanwhile, designs pieces whose handles are made from waste plastic that has been collected and recycled in France.
A huge number of brands are now committed to reforging links between generations, social classes and cultures, and as such are looking beyond simple aesthetics. François Bernard’s zone that helps visitors home in on new trends will’What’s New?’ shine a light on the relationship between raw materials and nature in an installation titled “Grounded”, illustrating a new kind of luxury that sees gold and glitter make way for simplicity.
Brands are increasingly placing the accent on all things local, reflect a mindset that is underpinned by a sense of commitment and the desire to root design in a specific region, drawing on local expertise and culture. Reine Mère works with wood from the Jura region. Cristel’s saucepans are 100% Made in France. Then there are designers such as Samuel Accocebery, who collaborates with craftsmen in the Basque country, or Youssouf Fofana from Maison Château Rouge, whose creations celebrate this French capital’s district.
Young brands and centuries-old firms present at the trade fair are all keen to ensure this valuable heritage gets passed down to future generations. In France, brands such as Drugeot, Delavelle and Sollen are giving French cabinetry a resolutely twenty-first-century spin with collections that flaunt overtly contemporary silhouettes. AS’ART, meanwhile, selects pieces from South Africa, encouraging and promoting traditional expertise with a view to contributing to the socio-economic development of artisan communities.
Rising Talents
Maison&Objet tracks down and celebrates hot new talent every single year, and the January edition was place seven Spanish “Rising Talents” firmly in the spotlight, all handpicked from the country’s vast pool of up-and-coming talent by some of its more well-established design names. These talents all represent a socially minded generation, with their creations echoing the widespread desire to care for the world around us. Those self-same values are shared by the three design talents that have been invited to be part of the new “Future on Stage” program, which allows recently launched brands to showcase their convictions.
Social responsibility
Above and beyond the increasingly responsible approach being adopted by the trade fair itself (recycling 50% of waste, using more and more LEDs, storing and reusing signage, donating unsold food to the Red Cross, sourcing water locally and turning down the heating), an everincreasing number of exhibitors at Maison&Objet Paris are themselves keen to defend these pivotal values with a view to shaping a desirable and inclusive future.
There is Noma, for example, the French design house that works solely with recycled materials. Or la Ciergerie des Prémontrés, which perpetuates the traditional expertise inherited from the Pères blancs monks at l’Abbaye des Prémontrés. Other good examples would be Care by me, the Danish brand that designs soft and warm clothing ranges and accessories, or Laines Paysannes, whose rugs are crafted solely from locally sourced materials. These are all just a tiny handful of so many stands that bring joy to our hearts and meaning to our interiors.
For the past few years, the brands that boast the most exemplary CSR initiatives have, indeed, been singled out by an independent jury of experts to feature on the trade fair’s “Sustainable” itinerary. It is also worth noting that as of December, Maison&Objet’s digital platform, MOM, is set to showcase products that can help us save energy, a testament to just how red hot the topic is this season.
Digital services
Maison&Objet is launching additional digital services for its international community, with 3 major developments that was support buyers and brands in their commercial transactions and development throughout the year. These new services reflect the commitment to develop an omnichannel ecosystem, dedicated to the development of companies in the industry, which only Maison&Objet can provide through its knowledge and experience of the market.
Maison&Objet is going beyond lead generation and, starting in the spring, was offer a marketplace (order taking) through its MOM (Maison&Objet and More) platform to prospect and initiate business with new contacts in Europe throughout the year. In addition, or separately, European brands was also be able to create their own BtoB e-shops on their website, in order to accelerate and streamline sales with their existing customers. Finally, starting with the next edition of Maison&Objet Paris, participants was also have a service to enter and place their trade show orders online.