Christmas 2019 and Furniture Show update

I’ve finally sat down in the office after a busy and very different couple of weeks. January saw us jetting off to Dusseldorf on our very own Christmas adventure… Although it’s not quite Lapland – I’m sure it’s the next best thing!

From the moment we set foot in the showroom we couldn’t help but get swept up in all things Christmas. The entrance display alone was like entering a wintery wonderland, with sleighs, snow and a giant polar bear!

Coats hung up, coffee in hand we were ready to start. First, we were taken on a tour of all the showrooms, which took a while as kept stopping to admire things along the way. Even though we had been before, each year is different and the wow factor just gets better with every visit.

Christmas Trees were dressed to impress in the most beautiful decorations, baubles in every colour imaginable. Santa, reindeers, flying owls, fairies and much more. Thousands upon thousands of lights made the displays magical, the theatre and thought behind them was outstanding.

“Ok, shall we just get it all?” I ask. “Ermm, noo!” says Marc. So Ange and I sat down and to decide on what our themes were going to be for Christmas 2019 and then the colours within each theme. For instance, there is a traditional theme with reds, golds and greens and then a snowy theme with whites and silvers, but did you know there are so many versions of the colour red? And what other colours are we going to mix into the snowy theme?

After narrowing it down we were ready to shop! I am not joking when I say Michael Bublé is playing as we wandered around, painstakingly considering every one of the 14,000 Christmas products on display. Does this bauble fit with our colour theme? Is it too heavy? Is it too expensive? Do we (and hopefully you) like it?

Marc had a similar job picking out the best Christmas trees, lights and anything with an electric plug, but every now and then he would appear to insist we choose the flying pigs on display, or something equally as wacky!

At the end of two long but productive days, we could almost say our Christmas shopping was done, not bad for January hey! “But you haven’t told us the Christmas themes for 2019!” I hear you shout. Well, I’m not going to give it all away, am I? Let’s just say, make-believe is still in the air… but with a twist!

Marc and I also travelled down to the NEC in Birmingham for the Furniture Show 2019 in January. With 500 exhibitors and 21,000 visitors, it’s a busy event but we made sure we planned ahead and knew which furniture and sofa suppliers we wanted to see first.

Every stand is different and everyone has something new and unique they want to show off to you. When we visited the stand of one of our regular suppliers, we were offered a cup of tea and introduced to the new models for 2019. Of course, we have to try out each one! Will our customers buy this leopard print sofa? Maybe not, but they might if the fabric was in a soft grey with cushions designed to complement it.

This year’s colours aren’t as bright as in previous years. Grey is huge for 2019 but done well and with impact, soft pinks, greens, blues and golds will complement the grey well. We took note of these colours, ready for when we choose our new cushions at our next trade show visit.

It was nice to see a familiar face as we browsed the stunning sofas on offer from our leather furniture supplier, who is also Cumbrian. As we sat back and took five to enjoy some Kendal Mint Cake, the quality and workmanship of these sofas do not go unnoticed and we are excited to add more to our collection.

Oak furniture is one of our biggest selling items at Charnley’s and therefore much time and consideration is given by Marc to choose the right products and crucially, at the right price. Without wanting to boast – we do think we have some stunning pieces of furniture coming this year! So all in all – another successful couple of days shopping!

Until the next time…

Jules x