Life Instyle, Australia’s only boutique trade event, is taking over the Royal Hall of Industries and Hordern Pavilion with 600 brands exhibiting homewares, lifestyle, apparel, jewellery and designs for children.
Yesterday morning, the HB team roamed the event’s halls to give you insights into trends and styles you can expect for 2017.
We were excited to see a range of Australian businesses displaying stylish locally sourced products. Victoria-based Sands Made showed us a range of smooth, finely made yet sturdy plates, bowls and serve ware. All designed in Australia, some products are made offshore while other pieces, such as the Slotted Placemat and Slotted Coaster, are made by owner Robbie Sands himself. New to the collection is the Chef Block, a thick slab of timber made of crosscuts of White Oak.
Unsurprisingly, Scandinavian brands make up a large proportion of exhibitors at this year’s event, bringing us soft blues and baby pink palettes contrasting with simple, clean-cut pieces that prove less is more.
More and more focus is placed on fair trade with many brands taking a more ethical approach to designing items for the household. Nkuku, for example, presents a tableware collection that is handmade by specialist artisans across the globe. It is simple, understated and sophisticated.
