On Friday we sadly said farewell to Clare, our Design & Production Coordinator. She has been an important member of our team for the last 4 1/2 years and will be missed. Clare is off to experience life in Amsterdam and we wish her all the best.

I'd also like to welcome Georgina Meuli to Unique Fabrics who is taking over Clare's role. You will be hearing more from Georgina in the coming months as she will be contributing to this blog from time to time.

Maison & Objet is the ultimate homeware show: from drapery and upholstery textiles to furniture, tableware, lighting, bedding, installations and so on. It's a great place to see which emerging trends work across this broad context.

As with last year Andrew Martin's exhibit space was the best in show, with their signature mash-up of vintage curios, gorgeous textiles and furniture. This year they worked a carnival/circus theme using the wallcoverings and fabrics from Compass, their most recent release. It was eclectic, chaotic and lots of fun.

Here are some other Maison & Objet highlights and observations...

Predominant colours of the show: white, cream, white, ivory, white and more white! White really was the colour of the show. For accent colours there was a lot of acid yellow, a muted turquoise, charcoal and some lovely blues.

Fabric and yarns: Velvet and linen were again top of the pops, particularly figured velvet and embroidered linens. The latter often sported botanical/floral designs. There were plenty of washed cottons on show too. Our new collection Not Too Shabby is right on point with this trend.

Patterns: Ethnic designs predominated. We saw ikats, suzanis, kelims, batiks, aztec designs; all manner of tribal motifs translated into gorgeous drapery and upholstery textiles.

A growing number of designs were digitally printed.

We also saw a lot of craft-inspired design. Whether it was chunky crochet and knitted pieces or cross-stitched patterns, the influence of handcraft techniques was certainly a trend.

Furniture: Last year's preference for pale and natural timber continued. The finish was very matte, oiled and waxed rather than lacquered. Many pieces were very refined and elegant with clean lines - á la Finn Juhl and Hans Wegner; very Scandinavian inspired.

The Shabby Chic look was also prevalent, with plenty of rolled arms, loose covers and damask weaves. These pieces were often over-sized and very comfortable - perfect for sinking into at the end of a long day traipsing round the vast exhibition halls of Maison & Objet.

I thought I'd post some images of our Brisbane showroom which is coming together beautifully...

As you can see the cabinetry is being fitted, and we're starting to set our sampling up: Karenne has the huge job of filing the cuttings...

I love the large amounts of natural light and the various work areas the cabinetry is creating.

We can't wait to hang our samples and display drops and welcome you - it's going to look fabulous!

We'd like to invite our clients from the Bay of Plenty area along to the Furnatex trade show. It's being held at the Sebel Hotel (51 Dive Cres, Tauranga) on the 20th and 21st of February.

We'll be showcasing exciting new collections from Andrew Martin, Hooked on Walls and Arte. We will also be introducing the fabulous Houlès range of trimmings, drapery hardware and textiles to our clients.

For those who can make it we're having drinks and nibbles on the 20th from 5pm until 7pm.

See you there!

We have three new collections from Arte I'd like to profile for you.

First up is Penelope Odyssey which sees Arte using muted metallics to great effect again. Arte designers are masterful in the way they use metallic hues, creating beautiful highlights and movement which is never harsh or shiny. The patterns in Penelope are broadly Moorish, with a multi-layered printing process providing wonderful depth. There's a great 'plain' which has a speckled foreground on a metallic backdrop.

While on the topic of metallics - they've been around for a few seasons now but there were still plenty on show at Maison Objet last week.

Cosmopolitan is a riot of colour, patterns and textures. Featuring large-scaled paisleys, ziggurats and ikats, the designs are definitely diverse and bold. The orange colourway below is certainly not for the fainthearted, though Arte always include great neutrals, Cosmopolitan is no different...

As with many of Arte's collections, Cosmopolitan's designs are heavily textured, see the close-up below...

Like Cosmopolitan Marrakech is another high quality vinyl collection from Arte with high-impact patterns. The designs from Marrakech are more painterly than Cosmopolitan with subtle use of metallics and sponging effects. Again we see large-scale designs and texture...

I particularly love the grass-cloth effect of the design Berber...

Marrakech also has a broad colour palette with some lovely neutrals and super saturated jewel colours...

Marrakech isn't all drama, along with the more restrained Berber there's also a handsome embossed design called 'Diamond'...

So three varied offerings from Arte for the new year - certainly something for all design persuasions. I invite you to call into one of our showrooms to view these exciting new collections.