Macef - The International Home Show - Abita, con gioia.

Milan, Italy (PRWeb) December 6, 2006 -- After a successful year of restyling Macef, the January 2007 show will bring a collection of new exhibits, attractions and projects unlike any seen since it's conception in 1964. Continuing with a tradition of innovative programming and creating various partnerships with the local Milanese community, the 82nd Edition of Macef, the International Home Show will be the most distinctive yet.

Highlights from this year's show will include:

The Gourmet Area - Using food as the key for interpretation, Hall 5 will showcase daily different industrial districts from around Italy. These districts will include; provinces from the Marche region, Tuscany, Brescia and Verbano-Cusio-Ossola. Each district will present a variety of high-quality food products typical of their region and will host three events throughout the day: a welcome cocktail party, a live cooking session followed by a tasting and a closing happy hour. These events will involve representatives from the respective regions, famous chefs available to interact with visitors, and "mediated" by equally famous journalists and designers who will discuss the unique qualities of each region.

Macef Around Town - Following the theme of the Gourmet project, Macef has involved a group of local restaurants in Milan. Each will offer recipes typical of the regions represented at the Gourmet Area. In addition, they will create a "Macef menu" highlighting the link between the International Home Show and the city of Milan.

Macef at La Rinascente - This community partnership also includes La Rinascente, Italy's original and most exclusive department store. In celebration of the 82nd annual Macef, La Rinascente will create "Macef-themed" windows at the Piazza Duomo store. In addition, there will be a special exhibit on the lower level, previewing new products presented by companies exhibiting at the fair. La Rinascente is well-known as one of Italy's leaders in the distribution of home, table and kitchen design products.

Project Experience - Project Experience (Hall 8) will be home to one of the show's biggest exhibits, the Design in Multi-color area. This is a section of the Spain project, implemented by Spanish designer and entrepreneur, Agatha Ruiz de la Prada and her licensees. This exhibit will highlight the designer's well known offbeat, colorful style, which she has materialized into products, trends and "exciting" novelties for new home living. Other companies involved in the Spain project are located in their respective product-related halls, highlighted by a symbol of Spain.

Host Country Project - In continuation with the Country of the Year Project, the Spain project will integrate a stimulating workshop - on Saturday, January 20 - led by Francesco Morace and his Future Concept Lab. The workshop will explore the state and development of household products and their distribution similarities and differences in a country so close and similar to Italy.

Dal Mondo - A special focus will be made at Macef on the ethnic sector, now called Dal Mondo ("From the World"), which is presented through a combination of ideas from the East - refined and "westernized" for European consumers - and modern design. In the front section of Hall 9, Giulio Cappellini, art director of the Dettagli area, will provide his own interpretation of the "fusion" concept, by mixing products/cultures with items that come "From the World", skillfully matched with design products.

Art Project - Aimed at specialized retailers, the Shop Village (Plaza of Hall 7) has brought back the Art (ex-Assoceramvetro) Project to help promote products tied to the "culture of the table" supported a strong media and image campaign. Following the success achieved in September, by Casaviva, with tables arranged by Marina Carrara, January's Macef will accent the concept "The road of style. Your own." This will review and analyze the idea of style/non-style.

Giulio Cappellini - The mark of Giulio Cappellini, art director of the Dettagli halls, is as strong and evident as ever, but not just in the selection and organization of the Dal Mondo area; it can also be seen in his decoration of the pavilions and the rest areas located around the fire exits of the fairground (especially between halls 9 and 11), and in the Piazza della Communicazione Project, which hosts several dozen Italian and foreign specialist and non-specialist publishers.

Dettagli on the Web - Giulio Cappellini is the author of the second edition of the booklet on the design of the Dettagli halls. In this edition, Cappellini emphasizes communication issues: how to make the stand more comfortable, how to train the staff on business meetings and how to organize media communication. A complimentary copy of this booklet can be downloaded from the website as of mid-November. Giulio Cappellini will also answer questions regarding the Dettagli halls at www.mymacef.it

Main Attractions - The layout of the fair includes great attractions such as; Kitchenware, the Classico Italiano area, Chibi & Cart, Silverware, the Materie Project (supervised by designer Enrico Tonucci symbolized by a greenhouse representing the land/cultivation for craftsmen who use and process different materials), Getti & Oggetti Project (dedicated to bathroom decoration and organized by Paolo Paci's Studio Quid in Pesaro), Festivity, the Exhibition of Christmas decorations, toys, games, carnival items, and party decorations, in full synergy and in partial correlation (January 17-21) with Macef and finally Bijoux. The Bijoux exhibits are home to designers and jewelers from around the world, showing the latest trends in fashion accessories (bags, belts, glasses and scarves), as well as unique jewelry pieces made from gold, silver, stainless steel, precious stones, etc.

The Macef Design Award - Named for Massimo Martini, the founder of the show (decorated by the Italian government for services to industry). The Massimo Martini Design Award by Macef was organized via the Web in January 2006. Its theme is: Ceramics for Breakfast; brunch, lunch and dinner. Dedicated to young designers from all over the world, the competition is conducted via the internet on the specialized website Designboom.com, and has more than 1,200 young designers currently entered. The award ceremony will take place on Sunday, January 21 The Massimo Martini Design Award gives major companies the opportunity to connect with aspiring designers and is an important award to the industry.

www.mymacef.it

About Macef
Since 1964 Macef, the International Home Show (table and kitchenware, decorations, textiles, accessories, costume-jewelry, gift items, and furnishing items) has been one of the largest and most important events for promotion and business in its reference sectors. The net exhibiting space in the January edition totals approximately 500 thousand square feet, with about 3500 exhibitors and visitors. The show is attended by operators in the distribution sector including: international buyers, specialized store owners, traditional retailers, designers, architects, and journalists from all over the world.

Macef is, at the same time, an international and an "Italian" show (foreign exhibitors at Macef account for approximately 25% of the total) and is aimed at bringing together different countries through a multi-cultural approach and shared experiences. Another objective is to make the Italian manufacturing way known throughout the world. In this respect, the design world is drawing increasing awareness with high-impact brands, production types, and products whose presence in the market is driven by design. With so many wonderful exhibitors, attractions and events, there is no question why the theme of Macef January 2007 is Abita, con gioia. Live, with Joy. A tradition the Italians have always been great at.

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