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Last week we visited MAISON & OBJET’s first-ever trade show event in the US.

MAISON&OBJET is Paris’ premier trade show for design and lifestyle professionals.   This year the event is celebrating its 20th anniversary, according to the website which reads, “The key meeting place for professionals in the art of living brings together a 360° offer that is in line with the diverse needs of global markets. For 20 years this large lifestyle platform, at the crossroads of business and creativity, provides solutions that meet the needs of visitors from around the world.”

Conveniently for us coming from Sarasota, MAISON&OBJECT – AMERICAS was held in the Design District of Miami Beach.  It was really interesting to note the growth of the Miami Design District.  We hadn’t visited this area for over a year, but surrounding real estate appears vastly transformed in that time.  Hopefully this energy can soon help propel our Sarasota Design District (located in the Rosemary District) into a similar transformation.

MAISON&OBJET- AMERICAS was a truly stunning experience and the show was absolutely gorgeous. It was laid out beautifully with a very European sensibility: simple, minimalist, manageable.  It’s always good to see old friends, and this event was no exception.  In particular it was quite pleasant to see many of our European suppliers, who have become friends, without traveling across the pond!

We also left feeling connected with a new market of vendors and resources to bring back to the Sarasota Collection.  It’s relatively rare for us to buy heavily at design trade shows, but boy, did we buy.  And another piece of good news comes back with us: the factory in Peru we helped create is now manufacturing lines for top designer, which is pretty exciting.
One of our friends we were excited to visit was Roberta Schilling, a Brazil native who started her own furniture distribution firm at the tender age of 24 after attending college in Florida.  In 2006, she introduced her own line of contemporary furniture featuring clean, modern lines and striking shapes. Its success led Schilling to start traveling all over Brazil in search of talented local artists who bring a new, creative perspective to contemporary furniture making.
We purchased a couple items from Roberta Schilling’s new collection, including the console table and swivel chair pictured here.  Visit us in store in the next few weeks to see what else we’ve brought back from MAISON&OBJET – AMERICAS.  We’re excited to bring some more fabulous Miami design back to Sarasota!