Expectations greatly exceeded at first edition of Design Nation

The brand new trade event Design Nation was set up with a clear message: to efficiently show professionals active in the contract and project market the design products and trends of tomorrow in a pure b2b concept. The 2,652 design professionals, who dropped by nicely spread over the two days (Thursday, Oct. 19 and Friday, Oct. 20), illustrated how much the sector needs this initiative organized by Kortrijk Xpo.

We gathered numerous reactions on the exhibition floor and received confirmation that Design Nation more than lived up to expectations. Moreover, we found that visitors were very charmed by both the unique, inspiring scenography and the many lectures on the trend stage, where trend watchers and other experts shared their vision of design and the future with their fellow professionals.

Promising concept

"We were aiming for 1,500 to 2,000 visitors over both days. If you then notice that on the first day you are already almost living up to your wildest ambition, this is particularly pleasing," responds exhibition manager Hannelore Caenepeel. "We received confirmation that Design Nation does fill a need and that this concept is very promising. Whereas Architect@Work focuses more on the technical side, we notice that professionals appreciate the fact that with Design Nation we emphasize more the aesthetic, beautiful side of the offering. Finally there is now a solid, all-in b2b concept for furniture providers! This seems like the right continuation of Interior Biennale, with no longer an end-user focus."

On the show floor itself, we got nothing but confirmation that Design Nation debuted more than promising. The exhibitors and visitors we polled about their experiences all responded enthusiastically. "We really liked this new approach in a unique concept and with excellent service," say Gregory Gyselinck and Christian Drescher, respectively agent for Belgium and France for Tecta and owner of Tecta. "We stepped in very quickly and received confirmation that our belief in this new approach was justified. What we liked very much is that we had nothing but the right professionals coming over, especially architects and interior designers. We feared beforehand that a Thursday and a Friday might not be ideal days, but practice showed that this was not an obstacle."

Excellent visitor mix

We recorded a similar reaction at BuzziSpace: "We are very pleased with the particularly good atmosphere that prevailed here and with the quality of the visitors," Yves Vandermoere responded. "We were particularly struck by the excellent mix of architects and interior designers active in the project world. This was literally extremely well prepared by the organization. Whether the high turnout surprised us? Actually not, in advance it was already clear that this concept had everything to make it!" Among visitors, enthusiasm was correspondingly high. Among others, we spoke with Gerd Couckhuyt, a local product and interior designer who has already won numerous design awards and who occasionally explores the boundaries with architecture: "I was skeptical at first, but after my visit I completely changed my mind," he says. "This concept is light-hearted, very direct and really highlights the products. What I also really like is how it targets B2B visitors and responds to the spirit of the times. Where in the past the focus was mainly on the spectacular, now you have to create a wow-effect in a smaller setting and stay 'to the point', even if your intention is to present more lifestyle." We caught a similar sound from Michèle Perneel, who with Tom's Factory is known for her mostly wool rugs with bold color schemes and often geometric motifs: "I don't regret my visit at all. This is an interesting concept, in which I made some great discoveries. To cite just one small example, the recycling of smaller residual materials used to make fun, new things. I literally have nothing to criticize about this organization, the only thing that might need some attention is the signage. It took me a while to find what I was looking for."

Next edition: Oct. 17 and 18, 2024

To mark down in your diary now: the next edition of Design Nation will take place on October 17 and 18, 2024, again at Kortrijk Xpo. Thereafter it will be organized biennially, each time at the same location.