Trade, Industry & Events
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- TRADE & INDUSTRY
Furniture testing and services provider FIRA International has gained UKAS Accreditation to the main flammability regulation for the American market.
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- TRADE & INDUSTRY
Inside tips to help furniture manufacturers attract the best talent and get the most from their training programmes will be delivered at an inaugural regional industry networking event, organised by the British Furniture Manufacturers (BFM) at Ercol.
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- TRADE & INDUSTRY
FIRA International, the furniture industry testing and services provider, is to host an online session taking in a broader look at flammability regulations incorporating the rules for Ireland, California and the U.K.
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- EVENTS
The January Furniture Show will return to its usual dateline with show organisers on Monday confirming dates of January 22–25, 2023 for next year's exhibition.
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- TRADE & INDUSTRY
Furniture services and testing provider FIRA International will open its doors to the trade on Wednesday, May 18 as part of its ongoing Open Day programme of events.
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- TRADE & INDUSTRY
FIRA International, the furniture test house and services provider, says it has gained accreditation to the Irish Government's equivalent to the U.K. fire regs in a move it hopes will make exports easier for British manufacturers.
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- EVENTS
Organisers of The Furniture Awards have revealed the shortlist of 16 potential winners across four categories ahead of The January Furniture Show, this year taking place April 24–27, 2022 at the NEC.
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- MANUFACTURING
BFM Fabric Show organiser British Furniture Manufacturers (BFM) says it is committed to re-investing in the event for next year after last week's return for the exhibition met with a positive response.
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- EVENTS
Organisers of two leading international furniture fairs in China have been forced to postpone their events just days before doors opened after the local Government banned exhibitions, citing a renewed Covid threat.
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- COMMUNITY
The Furniture Makers' Company is holding a black-tie charity ball to celebrate the successful culmination of its 12-month fundraising campaign, Step 2 It.
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- EVENTS
Flooring suppliers have rejected an early autumn Domotex exhibition in Germany in favour of the event returning next January in its traditional dateline.
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- MANUFACTURING
The BFM Fabric Show London event has attracted almost a third more exhibitors than previous editions after an increase in supplier interest ahead of its return next week.
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- EVENTS
The British Furniture Manufacturers (BFM) is to organise a series of regional industry events where it hopes the furniture community will be able to network and share best practice.
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- TRADE & INDUSTRY
Uptake of Level 2 Furniture Standard Apprenticeships has snowballed amid worker shortages according to the Furniture and Interiors Education, Skills and Training Alliance (FIESTA).
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- TRADE & INDUSTRY
The Government agency responsible for ensuring the designs framework enables rights holders to protect designs and enforce their rights has launched a call for views ahead of a review.
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- EVENTS
Proposte, the northern Italian textiles exhibition popular with sofa makers and other buyers of furnishings fabrics, has rescheduled its spring 2022 edition by a few weeks.
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- TRADE & INDUSTRY
Colour Marketing Services (CMS), which supplies a diversified range of sampling services and products to the furniture, flooring and interiors sectors, has appointed Caroline Adams as sales and marketing director. It has also moved into larger manufacturing premises.
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- TRADE & INDUSTRY
Furniture and furnishings test house FIRA International has rescheduled its planned winter Open Day events to the spring, citing visitor and staff wellbeing.
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- CASE GOODS
Legislators in Vietnam imposed some of the most severe Covid restrictions worldwide last year with widespread factory shutdowns, but they are yet to materially damage furniture exports to the U.K.
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- BEDS & MATTRESSES
Foam and sprung mattress imports have climbed for the first time since the early summer according to new figures, ending a five-month stretch of year-on-year declines.
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- FLOORCOVERINGS
The total value of carpets imported into the U.K. fell for a third month in a row in November according to new HM Revenue & Customs data.
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- EVENTS
Invite-only trade exhibition BFM Fabric Show London 2022 will take place at a new venue, the ILEC Conference Centre near Earls Court, when it returns this spring.
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- UPHOLSTERY
U.K. retailers and wholesalers imported more upholstered furniture into the country in November than in any other single month in history, new official data shows.
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- EVENTS
The next edition of Salone del Mobile (The Furniture Show) in Milan will take place in the summer after organisers canned the traditional April show dates because of Covid.
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- EVENTS
Organisers of Heimtextil, the international trade fair for the textiles industry held annually in Frankfurt, have rescheduled the cancelled event for the summer of this year.
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- TRADE & INDUSTRY
The chairman of the Furniture Industry Research Association says the not-for-profit organisation expanded its membership base last year, giving the trade a bigger voice in shaping its own destiny.
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- EVENTS
Organisers of the Scottish Interiors Showcase, an annual trade furnishings event dating back 14 years, says the 2022 edition will take place as scheduled next month.
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- EVENTS
Associated Independent Stores (AIS) says all of its planned winter show series, including its INDX Furniture event which starts in 10 days' time, will go ahead under current Government guidance for large indoor events and trade shows.
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- EVENTS
Preview22, the planned online bridge for retailers and suppliers ahead of the live trade show period, is to become The Online Furniture Show instead and will run later this month, organisers have announced.
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- EVENTS
More U.K. home and interiors exhibitions have been delayed as a result of either Government restrictions or the threat of them being introduced amid concerns over the spread of the Omicron Covid variant.
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- EVENTS
The return of the January Furniture Show will be delayed by a further three months after organisers rescheduled the dates amid concerns over the Omicron Covid-19 variant.
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- TRADE & INDUSTRY
SATRA, the research and testing organisation, has appointed Tristine Hargreaves to lead its furniture and flooring section as divisional manager. It also announced a new tie-up to provide services to the National Bed Federation (NBF).
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- EVENTS
Furniture fair IMM Cologne has become the latest big international German trade show to cancel plans to return in January, with the event now pushed out to 2023.
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Heimtextil, the international trade fair for the textiles industry held annually in Frankfurt, has been cancelled, with organisers citing the worsening pandemic situation in Germany.
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- TRADE & INDUSTRY
Nick Garratt, the outgoing managing director of the British Furniture Manufacturers (BFM), says the association is primed to expand and that his successor can build on the achievements of the past three years.
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- EVENTS
More than 400 U.K. and international brands have signed to exhibit at the January Furniture Show, which returns to the NEC in Birmingham next month after the pandemic prevented the 2021 edition from taking place.
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- EVENTS
Montgomery Group, organiser of joinery and furniture manufacturing trade show W Exhibition, has cancelled the planned February 2022 edition, citing Covid, Government restrictions, and an ever-shifting calendar of European exhibitions.
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- EVENTS
The 48th edition of the China International Furniture Fair (CIFF) is to take place online next month rather than as a live event in Shanghai, because of the pandemic.
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- TRADE & INDUSTRY
FIRA International will open the doors to its new furniture testing facilities in Stevenage early next year after announcing the dates of its first four Open Day events.
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- EVENTS
The return of Domotex, the Hannover based trade show for carpets and other floorcoverings, will be further delayed after organisers cancelled the January 2022 edition.
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- EVENTS
The U.K. and Ireland were responsible for the largest decline in attendees at the Brussels Furniture Fair, held earlier this month at Brussels Expo in the Belgian capital.
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- TRADE & INDUSTRY
How furniture companies are adapting their sales approach to meet the needs of customers following the pandemic is the theme of the latest webinar in the building back better series organised by The Furniture Makers’ Company.
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- TRADE & INDUSTRY
FIRA International, which delivers testing, inspection, certification and training to the furniture industry along with being the service provider to the Furniture Industry Research Association, has moved to new premises in Stevenage, Hertfordshire.
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- EVENTS
Organisers of INDX Furniture, formerly the AIS Furniture Show, say they they are looking forward to resuming a more usual format as the exhibition returns in Solihull early next year.
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- EVENTS
Exhibition organiser Clarion Events has launched the pre-registration process ahead of the return of the January Furniture Show at the NEC, Birmingham next year.
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- TRADE & INDUSTRY
Carolyn Mitchell, sales and marketing director for the contract division of Buckinghamshire headquartered bed maker Hypnos, is to chair the British Contract Furnishing Association (BCFA) for a second time.
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- EVENTS
Clerkenwell Open, a showroom trail event that featured 62 companies across the furniture and furnishings sector, is to take place again in 2022 after the success of the inaugural edition this year.
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- TRADE & INDUSTRY
The director of sustainability and innovation at Leeds bed and mattress manufacturer Harrison Spinks has joined the roster of experts speaking at The Furniture Makers’ Company’s webinar on sustainability next week.
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- COMMUNITY
The Young Furniture Makers exhibition, a product showcase from the next generation of innovators organised by The Furniture Makers’ Company, is this year taking place as a month-long virtual event.
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- SUPPLY & WHOLESALE
Furniture manufacturing activity in Vietnam is expected to increase after the Government signalled its intent to ease restrictions amid an intention to move away from its zero-Covid strategy.
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- TRADE & INDUSTRY
The Furniture Makers’ Company’s (TFMC) industry webinar series returns this autumn with three more episodes, the first of which will explore what the trade is doing to combat climate change.
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- UPHOLSTERY
BFM, the trade association for British furniture manufacturers, says the BFM Fabric Show London will return next year, taking place in the week commencing March 7.
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- EVENTS
Vaccinated U.K. furniture buyers will now be able to visit next week's Milan furniture show after the Italian Government this weekend ended a longstanding requirement for arrivals from here to quarantine.
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- EVENTS
The China International Furniture Fair (CIFF) in Shanghai has postponed its early autumn exhibition by several weeks to new dates in late September.
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- TRADE & INDUSTRY
The Furniture Industry Research Association has published new guidance for companies in the upholstery and mattress sectors with regard to understanding and complying with chemical regulations.
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- TRADE & INDUSTRY
BFM, the association of British Furniture Manufacturers, has lined up online seminars for its members to be delivered by experts in patent law and dispute resolution.
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- TRADE & INDUSTRY
FIRA International, the Stevenage based furniture test house and industry service provider, will next month host a webinar focusing on safety and compliance for domestic furniture.
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- SUPPLY & WHOLESALE
Andrew Porter UK has rebranded its furniture and homeware storage and fulfilment entity as AP+, specialising in end-to-end third-party logistics (3PL) solutions from its 300,000sqft purpose-built facility.
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- BEDS & MATTRESSES
Visitors are now able to register to attend the 2021 Bed Show, the National Bed Federation has announced.
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- EVENTS
Exhibitors have already pledged their support to the Autumn Furniture Show after its sister Summer Furniture Show successfully heralded the return of trade events earlier this month.
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- EVENTS
The Manchester Furniture Show, this year to be held in Harrogate alongside the Home & Gift Buyers' Festival, has been selected to be part of a limited number of pilot events in the third phase of the Government's Events Research Programme (ERP).
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- EVENTS
Organisers of the Manchester Furniture have reaffirmed that the event, this year co-located with the Home & Gift Buyers' Festival in Harrogate, will be going ahead as planned.
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- TRADE & INDUSTRY
SATRA Technology Centre will host a Technical Forum for domestic furniture this summer where it will highlight proposed changes to industry standards and legislation and provide an opportunity for delegates to give feedback ahead of their implementation.
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- EVENTS
The long-awaited return of trade events ends Monday with the spring edition of the Long Point exhibition seeing showrooms open their doors across the East Midlands.
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- TRADE & INDUSTRY
The organiser of the Manchester and January Furniture Shows is launching Reveal, a new trade ecommerce platform that aims to deliver a permanent digital shopfront for industry retailers and suppliers.
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- EVENTS
Associated Independent Stores (AIS) is to extend its INDX trade show branding to include furniture, housewares, linens and gift food under the banner of INDX Home. The first dedicated furniture event is scheduled for early autumn.
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- EVENTS
Organisers of the Manchester Furniture Show have fixed the details for this year's edition. It will take place alongside the Home & Gift Buyers' Festival, in Harrogate, from July 18–21, 2021.
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- TRADE & INDUSTRY
Four key European furniture and bedding trade associations have united to express their concern over the conflicted response across the EU to the coronavirus pandemic, saying it has created added uncertainty and difficulty.
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- TRADE & INDUSTRY
Batley based furniture maker and retailer HSL is among several industry companies claiming a Queen's Award for Enterprise for 2021.
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- ECOMMERCE
The second Online Furniture Show begins today (April 26) with the backing of eBay, the Internet marketplace website, as its headline sponsor.
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- TRADE & INDUSTRY
The Furniture Industry Research Association has published a guide to furniture packaging present and future, exploring existing materials and alternative regulations the industry may be compelled to adopt.
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- TRADE & INDUSTRY
The number of U.K. furniture, flooring and furnishings companies falling insolvent fell to record lows in the first three months of 2021, despite limited trade because of coronavirus restrictions.
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- EVENTS
The BFM Fabric Show, which had been due to take place at Twickenham in June, has been postponed and will now take place in February/March of next year.
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- SUPPLY & WHOLESALE
Imports and exports of furniture and flooring fared worse than other goods and commodities in the first month since the end of the Brexit transition, initial Government data shows.
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- TRADE & INDUSTRY
Peter Harrison and Tim Stacey, the CEOs of Furniture Village and DFS respectively, are the two panellists in the final webinar in the Innovation in Times of Crisis series from The Furniture Makers' Company.
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- EVENTS
The South West Furniture and Bed Show has announced late May dates for its spring exhibition following the planned easing of restrictions surrounding indoor events.
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- EVENTS
The 15th Scottish Interiors Showcase will rebrand for its first-ever digital event, which has been designed to be the first of many that will run alongside future in-person editions of the exhibition.
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- TRADE & INDUSTRY
Two MPs in furniture manufacturing strongholds will join the heads of Britain's leading industry trade associations for the second episode in the Innovation In Times Of Crisis webinar series.
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- TRADE & INDUSTRY
The lobby group representing Britain's furniture industry has written to the Chancellor calling for support measures such as the furlough scheme to be extended when the Budget is announced next month.
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- TRADE & INDUSTRY
SATRA Technology, the research and technology organisation, has become a corporate member of The Furniture Makers' Company, the industry charity and City of London livery company.
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- UPHOLSTERY
BFM Fabric Show London is to take place at Twickenham Stadium from June 8–9, 2021, subject to small indoor trade events being permitted at the time.
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- TRADE & INDUSTRY
SATRA Technology, whose diversified research and technology services include the testing of furniture and floorcoverings, is expanding its regular programme of technical webinars to include more topics of specific interest to those two sectors.
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- EVENTS
The Proposte fabrics show will take place at the same time as Salone del Mobile (Milan furniture show) with organisers hoping visitors will be able to visit both fairs in a single trip to northern Italy.
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- EVENTS
More than 1,200 people from across the industry had visited the inaugural Online Furniture Show by the halfway stage, organisers said today (Wednesday).
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- EVENTS
The already-revised international home and contract textiles show Heimtextil has been cancelled until 2022, with organisers saying there is nothing to be gained by a further delay to later this year.
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- EVENTS
W Exhibition & Elements, the trade show for the furniture manufacturing and joinery industries, has been postponed until February 6–9, 2022, organisers have announced.
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- TRADE & INDUSTRY
Leading minds from the across the industry will tackle topics ranging from innovation in manufacturing to sector survival and retail in a new series of webinars to be hosted by The Furniture Makers' Company.
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- EVENTS
Furniture Show Birmingham at the NEC will return in a year's time after organisers rescheduled the April event to January 23–26, 2022 as a result of the current restrictions designed to curb the spread of Covid-19.
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- EVENTS
Organisers of the Online Furniture Show have issued another call to potential exhibitors ahead of the launch of the inaugural event.
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- EVENTS
There will be no physical Domotex exhibition in Germany this year after organisers postponed the rescheduled floorcoverings event.
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- TRADE & INDUSTRY
44 fewer U.K. furniture, floorcoverings and furnishings companies filed for insolvency in 2020 despite the pandemic hitting businesses across the country since the early spring of last year.
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- EVENTS
Clarion Events has expanded and reorganised the management of its Retail portfolio, which includes its furniture shows at both the NEC, Birmingham and Manchester Central.
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- EVENTS
Organisers of the Online Furniture Show are to allow exhibitors to the inaugural event to display their products for free when it goes live for the first time next month.
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- TRADE & INDUSTRY
SATRA, the testing and technical services provider, has appointed standards and testing expert Phil Reynolds to lead and expand its furniture and floorcoverings division.
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- TRADE & INDUSTRY
Brian Ahern is the new chair of the Furniture Industry Research Association. He is succeeding Charles Vernon, whose four-year tenure came to an end in September.
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- TRADE & INDUSTRY
The Furniture Industry Research Association has published a guide to the new UKCA Mark ahead of it coming into force on January 1, 2021.
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- EVENTS
Organisers of the Salone del Mobile furniture exhibition in Milan have fixed the dates for the 2021 edition, moving the event to an autumn dateline for the first time.
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- EVENTS
Organisers of the China International Furniture Fair (CIFF) have penned in the dates for the spring 2021 editions, which take place in two tranches next March. In Europe, the timeline of another important event has been shifted.
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- EVENTS
Koelnmesse, organiser of the IMM Cologne international furniture fair, has cancelled the 2021 edition. The next iteration of the event will now take place in January 2022.
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- EVENTS
Organisers of the Online Furniture Show say they will postpone the inaugural event to early next year as a result of ongoing supply chain issues that mean many companies are focussed on existing orders.
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- IMPORTS & EXPORTS
It is crucial all organisations start to prepare for the U.K.’s departure from the E.U. at the end of the year, writes Pamela Dennison, chair of the Northern Ireland Freight Transport Association (FTA) and development manager at furniture storage and logistics provider WS Dennison.
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- EVENTS
The January Furniture Show has been rescheduled to spring 2021 as a result of extended travel restrictions and the re-imposition of lockdown in England. It will be renamed Furniture Show Birmingham.
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- EVENTS
The next edition of furniture exhibition Long Point will be brought forward by two months to a late winter dateline, trade journal Furniture News reported.
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- EVENTS
Kölnmesse, organiser of the IMM Cologne furniture exhibition held annually on the banks of the Rhine, say the upcoming edition will be a four-day event rather than seven.
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- EVENTS
Plans to reschedule The Flooring Show to early spring 2021 have been shelved with the event to return to its usual autumn timeline.
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- EVENTS
The next edition of the Scottish Interiors Showcase will take place early 2022 after this coming February's edition was postponed because of the pandemic.
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- EVENTS
The National Bed Federation (NBF) has fixed the 2021 dates for its Bed Show. It will be held September 21–22 at the Telford International Centre.
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Three well-known furniture professionals will this autumn launch the inaugural Online Furniture Show and are urging retailers and suppliers from across the U.K. and international trade to participate.
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- TRADE & INDUSTRY
An Introduction to the Domestic Flammability Regulations is the fourth in a series of online training courses to be launched by the Furniture Industry Research Association.
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- EVENTS
Organisers of the January Furniture Show (JFS) say they remain hopeful of delivering a successful event for the furniture community as they await updated Government guidance following the delay in the return of mass gatherings.
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- EVENTS
The Autumn Furniture Show, the exhibition that had been due to kickstart the return of mass gatherings in the U.K. furnishings sector in under a fortnight's time, has been cancelled.
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- UPHOLSTERY
The BFM Fabric Show London 2021 will take place as scheduled next year as long as indoor events are permitted, organisers have said.
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- EVENTS
Organisers of the International Furniture Fair in Cologne (IMM) have reaffirmed the event will take place as planned in January amid a backdrop of compatriot events being postponed.
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- EVENTS
The long wait ends today as furniture shows recommence with the autumn edition of Long Point, the swish trade-only event held in showrooms the length of the East Midlands.
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- EVENTS
Domotex, the international floorcoverings exhibition held annually every January, has postponed its next edition until May 2021.
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- TRADE & INDUSTRY
Events and administration specialist Niki Rodhouse has joined British Furniture Manufacturers (BFM) to support the trade association's expanding calendar of activities across the sector.
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- UPHOLSTERY
The London Fabric Show has become BFM Fabric Show London ahead of its 2020 edition in a move that opens the door to possible expansion around the U.K.
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- TRADE & INDUSTRY
Wincanton, one of the leading providers of warehousing and delivery services to the U.K. furniture industry, has renewed two major contracts with companies in the sector.
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- EVENTS
Organisers of the January Furniture Show have opened pre-registration ahead of the next iteration of the U.K. furniture industry's largest trade-only event.
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- TRADE & INDUSTRY
Now and in the future: How the office block might look and (inset) FIRA's familiar entrance.
The FIRA building in Stevenage — one of the furniture industry's most recognisable landmarks — will be demolished if redevelopment plans put forward by the property owner go ahead.
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- EVENTS
The 42nd edition of premium interior design show Decorex International takes place in just over a month's time in London with 50 new exhibitors among the lineup.
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- EVENTS
Organisers of the International Furniture Fair Singapore (IFFS) have canned the 2020 edition of the event, saying they will take a break to "rethink, recharge and revitalise" the exhibition.
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- EVENTS
Decosit, the one-time dominant European trade fair for upholstery fabrics, will return this autumn after the show that succeeded it was cancelled.
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- EVENTS
Stamford Bridge, Chelsea will host the event again in 2020.
The 2020 edition of BFM London Fabric, the upholstery and soft furnishings fabrics exhibition formerly called London Fabric, will take place February 25–26, 2020.
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- EVENTS
Visitor numbers were in line with last year's edition.
Organisers of the Manchester Furniture Show say they will build on the event's decades of heritage, with planning for the 2020 edition next summer already underway.
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- COMMUNITY
Industry fundraisers in Yorkshire generated over £3,000 for The Furniture Makers’ Company at the fourth annual curry night, which took place June 13.
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- OPINION & ANALYSIS
Supporters believe the regs have saved many lives since their introduction in 1988.
Loved, loathed or tolerated, Britain's furniture fire regulations are some of the most stringent in the world. Introduced in 1988, they are also in need of a serious overhaul.
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