Cersaie, Italy Tile Show 2012

Steven Lewis, owner of Lewis Floor & Home, Susie Axelrad, VP Sales and Merchandising,  and buyers from all over the world descended upon Cersaie 2012, the International Exhibition of Ceramic Tile and Bathroom Furnishings, Sept. 25 to 28 at the Bologna Exhibition Center to see the latest in ceramics trends. Attendance for this year was 75,563, compared to 81,500 in 2011.  Due to the US recession, Lewis Floor & Home did not attend the tile or stone show held in Italy last year. It was the first time in almost a decade that we didn’t make the trip to see new products.  The year before in 2010, only 7 American companies attended and it was a very disappointing and scary situation. This year over 20 American companies were represented which tells us the US economy is improving and it’s time to invest in new tile product and design again.

“This year’s Cersaie was definitely a rebound from the past editions with a noticeable increase in the number of visitors,” said Gianni Ruberti, sales representative for Impronta, an exhibitor at the show. “It’s important for U.S. buyers to visit Cersaie, not only to get a comprehensive view of the new products but to also get a sense of where the industry is moving and the elements, shapes and colors that define today’s design.” Trends this year continued to lean toward large format, thinner tiles and more trim pieces. “Everything seems to be bigger and thinner in Europe,” Rabaioli said.

“A lot of companies presented very large formats and also big slabs of 4 x 10 feet and only 6 mm thick.” Inkjet technology has knocked out older rotocolor technologies as well. “For the first time I can say that there were almost no rotocolor at the show, it is evident that this new technology has been rolling very fast leaving behind the old rotos,” Ruberti said.  Clearly the dominating trends seen across the board was large format tiles as big as 18 x 36, rectangular tiles in every size, color and design, and every kind of wood look imaginable from hand scraped, rustic to planks as long as 8 feet!!!  It will be a year or two before the more extreme designs hit theUSbut you can be sure, the Italians are pushing to get those products across our country as soon as possible.

During the same week Verona, Italy is the host city for the international stone show called Marmomac.  There buyers shop for natural stone tiles and slabs from suppliers all over the globe.  We found many interesting marble, granite and quartzite slabs.  Containers are on the water now and some will be here as early as Thanksgiving.  Good quality white stone is getting harder and harder to locate due to the condition of the quarries producing the materials. In the meantime, you can be sure the assortment of tile and stone products found at Lewis Floor & Home not only is one of the best offerings in the Chicagoland area but also extremely competitively priced.  By importing direct, we are at a huge advantage in the market place and everyone knows our slab fabrication is the best thanks to Ayhan at Best Buy. 

Many tile and bath products were exhibited at Cersaie and wood-look porcelain tiles are standing out as the popular trend

 

 

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