Furniture Show Gains Momentum

The Philadelphia Furniture Show is now entering its fourth year as the largest retail show of handmade furniture and furnishings in the country, and reported $1 million in sales at its last show. Last year, Fine Furnishings-Providence '96 in Providence, R.I., entered the field. It was small but well-received by exhibitors and buyers in the New England area. This year's International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF) featured the work of a handful of one-person and small studios among a wholesale show that otherwise featured primarily designer-manufacturer items.

The 1997 Philadelphia Furniture Show: Feels like home

ABOUT THE PHILADELPHIA FURNITURE SHOW

Dates: May 2-4 Location: Pennsylvania Convention Center Organizers: Philadelphia Furniture Show Number of exhibitors: 216 Details: Third annual show, billed as the largest retail show of furniture and furnishings in the country Next show: April 17-19, 1998. Phone: (215) 440-0718 Internet: http://205.164.137.10:80/pfshow/1997/index.html

At its third-annual show, held May 2-4 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center, the Philadelphia Furniture Show drew 11,000 attendees -- an increase of 17 percent from 1996 and almost 30 percent since its debut in 1995. Show management estimated that 70 percent of attendees were from along the eastern seaboard, and about 30 percent came from across the country, noting specifically St. Louis, Chicago, Iowa and Minnesota.

The increase in attendance is possibly in response to the show's national advertising campaign, which quadrupled from last year. Ads were placed in Metropolis magazine, American Craft, the bulletin for the American Institute for ArchitectsHome Furnishings magazine, among others. Locally, advertising and publicity coverage were also impressive. The Ritz movie theater (in Philadelphia) even showed 10 slides featuring work from the Philadelphia Furniture Show on all 21 screens before each movie, and an ad was placed in the theater's program as reinforcement.

Jack Orrick exhibited his handcarved wooden furniture and sculpture at the Philadelphia Furniture Show.

Individually, exhibitor's comments varied from, "Sales were amazing," to, "People just weren't ready to buy."

Regardless of sales, the prevalent comment about the show was, "I feel really at home here." Supporting that, show management reported about 75 percent return exhibitors from last year. That may be largely attributed to the fact that the show's founders/directors (Josh Markel and Bob Ingram) are artists and exhibitors, and are members of the small studio furniture community. Markel, Ingram and other show staff were said to be accommodating, available, encouraging and professional -- a high priority in today's mega-craft-show environment.

Nora Kalina of Nojo Design in Easthampton, Mass., who exhibited handmade coffee tables, end tables, credenzas, etc., with her partner Jo Roessler, commented, "The show felt almost like you were going to a family reunion. We did a lot of craft fairs before getting into furniture shows, and it really feels like coming home. You're surrounded by this community of furniture makers." Kalina also expressed that the show directors "stick by their word as far as getting advertising out there."

In addition to the home-like atmosphere of the show, Kalina said, "I think it's becoming the preeminent furniture show in the country for people looking for handmade furniture." This year's sales for her and her partner doubled or tripled from last year's.

Becca Gruliow of Ceramic Art Work in Philadelphia was of the small percentage of non-furniture exhibitors. "It was a really good show," she said. "I would do it again." Gruliow also felt that the "show organizers were friendly and relaxed," and that "the show gave you a really good feeling. It was the most painless big craft show I've done."

Sales for Gruliow's unique sculptural animal and human forms, "could've been better," she says, "but I covered costs and made some profit. Plus, I went in thinking only about covering expenses, so I did better than I expected." She added, "Considering I'm not a furniture maker, not in production, and that it was my first time at the show, I think I did really well."

Drew and Kirsi Smith exhibited at both shows. Their "Ayasta Family of 6" bench is shown above.

Gruliow's only suggestion to improve the show is to emphasize the handmade aspect of the show with clarification that there are items other than furniture exhibited there. "Maybe they could modify the name of it, or something," she said, "to indicate that there are accessories or furnishings, too. A lot of people stopped in my booth who said that they wouldn't have come to the show if they hadn't received my mailing. They thought it was all furniture. Some people expected to see things like regular sofas. I think it's important to emphasize the other work that complements the furniture. Overall though, the clientele seemed really intelligent. I made some really good contacts."

Other exhibitors also expressed some concern about the show's name and image. Drew Smith of Drew Smith Glass House in Logan, Ohio, exhibited with his wife, Kirsi, a Finnish glass blower. "There's no distinction made as far as 'fine' furnishings," Smith commented. "The banners hanging outside the Convention Center say, 'Furniture Show,' and you'd never know what to expect. It attracts a completely different audience that way than if it had a word in there that pointed out the handmade, artistic aspect of it. A large percentage of the exhibitors are fine artists. They could really attract more designers -- that's who's buying this kind of work."

Aside from that, Smith felt that the show was "very well run in all." His sculpted furniture in thick steel and glass was popular at the Providence furniture show last year, and at this year's ICFF in New York City. Despite the same interest by attendees at the Philadelphia show, Smith says he was a little disappointed because he "sold nothing retail at the show and nothing outright wholesale."

Jonah Meyer exhibited his unusually shaped wood furniture and sculpture at ICFF.

Another exhibitor, Jack Orrick, from Muncie, Ind., also was a little disappointed in sales, but said, "I don't blame the show; it was well run, everyone was very helpful, it was a really nice show." And, he added, "It was my first national show, so I'm not very familiar with what to expect."

Orrick exhibited his handcarved, wooden furniture and sculpture with price points from $200 for hat racks with human figures carved in them to $1,000 and $2,000 for his sculptural chairs, and above that for his bed with a bear carved into the headboard. This was his first non-local show, and he commented, "It was nice to be accepted into the show. I believe I was the only woodcarver there, and in a lot of high-end areas, people don't really like woodcarvers." He added that the Philadelphia location "is a very good location for high-end work."

Although Orrick made a few contacts, he has not had any post-show orders come in yet. He plans to apply to the show again, but next time he says will exhibit items in metal, glass and mixed-media with wood. "I'll do a different line of more sculptural work," he explained, "which I really like better anyway. I'd just hate to go back to to [the same show] with the same work and have the same thing happen. But, it was a really good show to be a part of.

Part of the reason exhibitors enjoyed the atmosphere, many exhibitors believed, was the responsiveness of the show organizers. "They really paid heed to the suggestions people made last year," said Nora Kalina. "And, they are always available and always helpful. Plus they stop by your booth and encourage you, which is really nice."

Co-director Josh Markel explained that they are taking exhibitors' comments from this year's show into consideration as well, but have concerns about the suggestion to change the name of the show to focus more on the artistic aspect of the furniture. "If we put something like 'art' in the name, we're not projecting the image of the full spread of what's there. There is also a lot of traditional, utilitarian-style work," he explained. "We do include 'handmade' in all of the ads."

"Woman," by sculptor Christine Marchese, of Marchese Objects and Things, who exhibited at the ICFF.

Overall, Markel thought it was a very good show, and was comfortable with the response from the exhibitors. "It fulfilled our expectations. Attendance increased, sales increased," he said, "the quality of the show was better, everything ran more smoothly for everyone. I think things really clicked a lot more."

ICFF: Intimidating, yet exciting for craftspeople

George Little Management's International Contemporary Furniture Fair was held at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City only two weeks after the Philadelphia Furniture Show, on May 17-20. (Next year the Philadelphia Furniture Show will be held in April.)

The show spanned 60,000 square feet and hosted more than 400 exhibitors -- primarily designers, manufacturers and representatives of contemporary furniture, lighting, floor and wall coverings, textiles, decorative accessories, etc. Much of the work is produced in other countries (Tibet, Malaysia, Mexico, Italy), designed by multiple artists, mass-produced, etc.

ABOUT THE INTERNATIONAL CONTEMPORARY FURNITURE FAIR

Dates: May 17-20 Location: Jacob K. Javits Convention Center Halls 1A, 1B Organizers: George Little Management Details: features designers, manufacturers of contemporary furniture, furnishings, accessories Number of exhibitors: more than 400 Phone: (800) 272-SHOW or (914) 421-3206

While there were a handful of exhibitors of handmade furniture and objects, you'd never have guessed it from the pre-show materials sent to the media by ICFF -- in fact, when I called the ICFF show office, they couldn't tell me the names of any exhibitors who were "craftspeople."

Aside from that, craftspeople-exhibitors raved about the publicity that the show obtained, the size of the press room and the number of magazines involved in presenting awards and touring the show (e.g., Elle Decor, House Beautiful, Metropolitan Home, etc., and a large number of publications from overseas). "The number of magazines coming through there is great," said Jonah Meyer of Woodstock, N.Y., who creates wooden sculpture and sculptural furniture out of uniquely twisted and contorted wood. Meyer is one exhibitor who undoubtedly had an excellent show -- he sold everything in his booth, and all to one buyer. "I feel very lucky," he said. "It was kind of a freak thing."

"The Ancestors," part of the "Ancient Icons" rug series by Kate Mellina and Dave Christopher of Cleopatra Steps Out, was featured at ICFF.

But, Meyer, who has attended the Philadelphia Furniture Show in the past, also believes that the right audience attends the show: "It's a completely different scene than a craft show. It's all buyers and big companies; they have more money to spend, they're in a much more high-end situation. ... It brought in a really great clientele."

Meyer makes his furniture one piece at a time and felt that his work stood apart from all the mass-produced items. It was, however, "very intimidating," he said. "It's like you're in with the big boys. At other furniture and craft shows, you're surrounded by people like you; at ICFF, you're not."

Staten Island, N.Y., artist Christine Marchese, a sculptor for whom the show was her first endeavor to create and sell sculpted furniture, agreed that the show was intimidating. "I was a little fearful at first," she said. "I walked in and saw all this progressive, sleek design, and at that point I was a little intimidated."

Marchese, like Meyer, believed that her work stood out because it was different. "I think the fact that it was handcrafted was a very big selling feature. People were sort of intrigued by it and wanted to hear [what inspired it]."

Although Marchese commented that the show management was "very nice and accommodating, and very organized," she is considering doing "a different type of show. I was happy with it, and it was fun and also a good learning experience. I just don't know if it was the perfect place for me. There's just so much progressive design, that it may not be the best venue for my work."

Nora Kalina and Jo Roessler attended both ICFF and the Philadelphia Furniture Show this year. Kalina believes that they, too, held their own at ICFF as a two-person studio. "We weren't lost like we thought we would be," she said. "I think it worked in our favor."

As for the show organizers, Kalina said they did a "good job, and they brought in buyers from all over the place ... but they could've been a little more visible, more accessible." Some of Kalina's and Roessler's work was broken by the Javits staff and, she said, "no one was too helpful about it."

Nojo Design's "Vertical Chest" is 53 inches high and features five drawers. Nojo Design exhibited at both shows.

Kalina commented that the Philadelphia show and ICFF "were both successful for us, but in completely different ways. Philadelphia was a gorgeous show, and a little bit more our speed, I think. Both shows are not for everyone."

Kalina noted other differences between the shows: "At [ICFF], people know exactly what they're looking for. They don't walk around going into every booth, like people do at furniture and craft shows, so it can feel a little slow." But the furniture-making couple gave away 700 wholesale packages. "If we get even a two percent return on that, that'll be astounding," said Kalina.

She also commented, as did other exhibitors, that ICFF "is not an order-writing show." She and her partner took home only two orders, but expect orders from the contacts they made.

Kate Mellina, an Asbury Park, N.J., artist who, with her husband, Dave Christopher, designs rugs which are hand-tufted by a small artist studio in the U.S., did well at ICFF, despite being a little disappointed in attendance. MellIna, whose wool rugs sell for $55-$75 per square-foot, said, "I made a lot of excellent connections. I was just surprised the attendance wasn't higher." The buyers, however, Mellina commented, "seemed to be split between retailers and designer professionals, and were there to buy."

Breakdown and set up ran smoothly for Mellina, who said, "You hear horror stories about Javits, so it went a lot smoother than I thought it would."

Drew Smith found ICFF to be exciting and impressive in regards to publicity. "New York is a whole different level show. I'm puzzled after seeing the press room there that all shows don't have the same kind of thing." (Press kits for most exhibitors lined the shelves.) In addition, Smith said, "People at [ICFF] weren't as scared off by the prices as they were in Philadelphia."

As far as recommending the show to fellow craftspeople who prefer to make things by hand, Jonah Meyer said, "I don't know if I would. Every show is always a risk. I did really well, but who knows."

Noelle Backer is associate editor of The Crafts Report.