If you are not familiar with Decorex Africa, it is a renowned platform that brings together industry professionals, designers, design enthusiasts and artisans from all over South Africa. We are very lucky to have exhibited alongside brilliant local brands such as Houtlander, Modern Gesture, Hutch Custom, Studio Anata - just to name a few!
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It was a gloomy Wednesday morning, the sun was barely out and the road to Cape Town was wet and full of the usual commuters. Beyond excited for our first trade show, we couldn't care less about the time we wasted in traffic!
Upon our arrival we were greeted with a rush of exhibitors racing against time to finish up their stands before the end of day. I wouldn't say we had the smoothest set-up unfortunately...
We started with the positioning of our hanging pendants. Once the hooks were fixed and the wiring complete, we hung the pendants in order and flipped the switch. Nothing. Not a flicker or a flash! What did we do wrong? Instantaneously we assumed that our wiring was not correct and began to redo everything. About half way through we heard the murmurs of our neighbours complaining about their lights also not working. Was this to blame on our wiring?
Thank goodness that was not the case and our wiring wasn't wrong either! On to the next!
At last we could continue with set-up. We went on to painting the stand, fixing the shelving and adding the vinyl branding.
At last we could continue with set-up. We went on to painting the stand, fixing the shelving and adding the vinyl branding.
The time flew by and before we knew it people were finishing up and getting ready to leave. As I have attended this show previously with a different company, I knew the mad rush that was coming as the loading bay is never big enough for everyone!
I made a run for it to the parking lot, but to my disappointment found that the car battery had run flat and I was no unable to get the car out of the parking lot!
A few minutes went by with me panting and panicking and all I kept thinking was "what else could go wrong!". After what felt like forever, a person who just clocked out came walking into the isle of cars and of course I asked for assistance. The friendly person was happy to help and shortly after I was on my way again. Now, in the midst of the chaos I somehow managed to get ahead in line and before I knew it we were all loaded and ready to call it a day.
But, the universe had other plans for us...
As this was at the end of a business day in the middle of the week in the city centre, you might have already assumed that we were now stuck in what Capetonians call Rush Hour(s)! But, things took an even worse turn!
While we were cruising, sitting in traffic, we suddenly noticed smoke coming from the bonnet (Are you kidding me, as if this day wasn't challenging enough). Long story short, after 2 hours of sitting in the middle of the road on the N1 we were finally towed away and returned home just in time for the clock to strike 12.
Lucky for me, the rest of the show was smooth sailing!
We met great people, bonded with old friends and we were overwhelmingly surprised by all of the beautiful things on show. We enjoyed the informative future talks about topics that explore the wide social, ecological and cultural context in which we design.
Decorex Africa 2023 left us feeling inspired and proud to be part of the South African design community. If you missed it, we suggest you reschedule your plans and attend the next addition as it is definitely not a show worth missing!