I am planning a trip in April to Hong Kong and then China. We will go up to Guangzhou (Canton) to the Canton Fair. The Canton Fair is one of, if not the biggest Trade Fairs in the world. It is pretty easy getting from Hong Kong to Guangzhou.

If you had ever thought of going to the Canton Fair, now is the time to go. Royal Brunei has an amazing special on at the moment to Hong Kong, of just $890! that is a fantastic price! I have never seen it that cheap.

We have great contacts in China for acommodation, travel and translation. Accomodation can be pretty crazy at the time of the fair, but we know where to go to avoid paying ridiculous prices. If you would like to go, please contact us and we can talk you through all the costs involved.

We have just got in some great new stock including:

Womb Sofa:
This is a fantastic piece of designer furniture, with beautiful curves and great styling.
It is covered in a top quality cashmere wool. The frame inside is made from premium fibreglass. The leg framing is fashioned from stainless steel

Lip Sofa. What a fashion statement this one is! It is designed in the shape of a lovely pair of lips. It is a very functional piece and very comfy.

 My 2 year old daughter loves this chair. Whenever she come to our showroom, she runs to get on and rock on it. we can't tempt her to sit on anything else at the moment. I must say it is pretty cool and suprisingly comfy too. 

What is it about Eames that makes us love them? They just kept pumping out amazing designs. To be honest the pictures of some of their designs don't really show how special they are. It is not until you see and feel the design that you can really appreciate the design genius that is Eames


We will be reviewing some other designer furniture in future blogs. Do keep a watch out for it.

Don't you just love this chair! It is one of, if not the greatest design pieces of the 20th century. If you are looking to buy of these beauties, here is a couple of things to look out for:

• The ottoman should have 4 legs, not 5! Sure you will get some slick saleperson trying to spin something at you about the benefit of having 5 legs. The problem is that, it looks wrong. The designer intended it to have 4 legs for a reason.
  
• It also should not swivel. It can actually be quite annoying to have your ottoman wiggle all over the place.
• The angle of the support legs is too steep. The angle should actually be quite flat.
• The height of the chair on some of these cheap versions is way too high. They start to look like an upright office chair rather than a comfortable lounger.
• The ply shells are some cheap veneer. Rather than a beautiful natural grain wood, it looks a bit plasticy (is that a word?)

The Barcelona chair is a classic design art piece. Yet, there are so many reproductions on the market, how can you tell the good from the bad?

Here are some things to look out for:

• The size of the cushions - Most reproductions have cushions that are too fat. The original design has sleek thin lines, as most design pieces do. Yet most reproductions "layer" the foam to try to get comfort and structure to the chair.

• The angles of the cushions - You have seen those reproductions where the cushions are a perfect rectangle or square. It certainly makes it cheaper to produce, but cheapens the look as well. The angles of the cushions at the frame should be around 45 degrees, so that is "hugs" closely to the frame.

• The frame should be made out of solid core stainless steel. Some come with tubular stainless steel or chrome, which would tend to bend or warp easily.
• The leather portion - Some try to hide the fact that they are only half leather. Usually it is only the top of the seat that is leather, but the sides, bottom, top, back of cushion is either a PVC or cheaper leather match. You do notice the difference, too. When you sit on the chair you would put your hands on the side of the chair and you can feel the difference in materials.
• The warranty period. Generally any kind of furniture that only offers a 12 month warranty is junk. It could be the construction methods and/or the materials used. If a supplier can only back their furniture with this kind of warranty they cannot be trusted.

Watch out for our top quality Barcelona Chair on the TV show, " Star in Their Eyes". There will be some advertising in April for the show which features a white Barcelona chair.