Moscow Furniture Fair a Smash Hit
December 8, 2003
MOSCOW—The Moscow Furniture Fair "Furniture 2003" held in November at the Expocenter here was a huge hit by anyone's measure, filling 11 halls with exhibitors.
The sprawling fair included furniture, hardware, fabrics, kitchen cabinets and woodworking machinery, and proved that flock upholstery is very much alive and well.
With the Russian economy booming at an annual GDP rate of 6.6 percent through October, 2003 compared to four percent for the same period of 2002, leather and faux suede are turning orders for flock mills in Russia. The embossed flock is hard to tell from jacquard woven velvet, one observer said. "Flocks have taken the place of cheap Chinese and Turkish solid-color chenilles. Turkish chenilles are still favored for the low end but flock has gained dramatically."
The source noted that Russian furniture manufacturers copy Italian designs for traditional frames and seek out German designs for contemporary styles.
The sprawling fair included furniture, hardware, fabrics, kitchen cabinets and woodworking machinery, and proved that flock upholstery is very much alive and well.
With the Russian economy booming at an annual GDP rate of 6.6 percent through October, 2003 compared to four percent for the same period of 2002, leather and faux suede are turning orders for flock mills in Russia. The embossed flock is hard to tell from jacquard woven velvet, one observer said. "Flocks have taken the place of cheap Chinese and Turkish solid-color chenilles. Turkish chenilles are still favored for the low end but flock has gained dramatically."
The source noted that Russian furniture manufacturers copy Italian designs for traditional frames and seek out German designs for contemporary styles.
