XIX edition of Proposte addressing furnishing designers

04 May '11

4 min read

Addressed to designers became the slogan for Proposte 2011's publicity campaign following a conference we held with architects and designers intending to unmask their lack of familiarity with furnishing textiles. Our suspicions were proven right: most architects are sent out into the real world after university equipped with very little knowledge about fabrics. However, since our conference seemed to arouse interest and curiosity about this issue, we chose a slogan that was at once a dedication and a provocation.

This 11th edition of the trade fair is addressed to designers because their professional skills have triggered significant changes in this industry's production processes.

Villa Erba, Cernobbio (Como, Italy)
4-5 May h 9 am/6 pm - 6 May h 9 am/4 pm

The history of design goes back to the second half of the nineteenth century with a milestone called the N° 14 Chair. It was created by Austro-Hungarian cabinet maker Michael Thonet after years of research into using steam to bend wood. Over fifty million N° 14 Chairs were sold between 1859 and 1930. Assembled out of six pieces of wood, its original cost was equivalent to the price of three dozen eggs. Though in the meantime the Thonet brand has been acquired by Poltrona Frau, the N° 14 Chair is still available on the market today.

In Europe in the 1950s, a product's design became a crucial factor in determining its worldwide success. However, designer products were not limited to chairs, lamps, and fabrics. Any object, or any form of decoration for cars, boats, hotels, or shops could have
its own distinctive design. Today, design has grown to include “business design,” a practice that uses new initiatives to guide companies towards production processes that bring together managers, researchers, technicians, advertising agencies, as well as marketing and financial experts.

Over the course of recent years, Proposte has succeeded in stimulating a lively debate about furnishing textiles among businessmen and designers, research laboratories and architects, who have been known to use state-of-the-art fabrics in their construction projects.

In virtue of this intensifying interest in our field, after conferences, meetings, publicity campaigns, and a competition (see the enclosed Image 2012 press release), we can safely attest to our willingness to continue what President Mauro Cavelli declared in an interview with the La Provincia di Como newspaper: “Our goal is to add value through close-knit synergies with the great designers who will be key players at Proposte 2011.”

Another crucial subject that we are confident will merit further discussion, especially for the potential it has to trigger profound changes in our companies, is visibility. Over the years, our companies have become veritable goldmines of creativity, yet almost all of them remain completely unknown to the general public. The time has come for them to become recognisable to end users. Although importers, distributors, and wholesalers are a vehicle for sales, it is only right that our names reach consumers.

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