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Manila FAME International brings together four events in one show
[Wed 26/10/2011 10:53:18]
 The 54th edition of the Manila FAME International trade fair marked an industry milestone as it brought together for the first time three of the country's major design shows – Manila Now, CEBUNEXT and Bijoux Cebu.
“This is a landmark partnership between government and the private sector, which represents 12 trade associations and manufacturers of furniture and furnishings, holiday and gift items, and fashion accessories,” says Rosvi C Gaetos, executive director of the Centre for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM), organiser of Manila FAME International.
“The goal is to open more doors for our exporters, offer more products than ever before to the international market and showcase the beauty of Philippine design and the versatility of our indigenous raw materials to the whole world.”
The trade fair, held from 16 to 19 October 2011 at the SMX Convention Centre in Manila, The Philippines also introduced new products under CITEM’s merchandise specialist program reflecting three global trends Naturalist, Mood Indigo and Graffiti.
International merchandising and branding experts, Michael Cleghorn from Australia and Linda Simpson from the US, trained select Filipino exporters in creating new collections that adhere to global design trends.
Cleghorn, who has worked with leading retailers such as Freedom (Australia), Crate and Barrel (USA), House of Fraser (UK) and Printemps (France) shares his optimism in creating more design-forward products for export.
 “The potential of great Philippine-made products is exciting and the focus should be on what buyers want and great attention should be paid on the current demand of the market.”
Other highlights included the Dreamweavers of Lake Sebu, South Cotabato, who created amazing T’nalak designs on site and creation stations with Filipino artisans working on pieces from indigenous Philippine raw materials.
“The show theme, Weaving Dreams, signifies the intertwining of design and aesthetics with pragmatism and strategy. These four sourcing shows have banded together in order to solidify Manila FAME’s position in the Asian circuit of trade shows and establish a brand that is instantly recognisable worldwide,” explains Gaetos.
Last April 2011, Manila FAME International drew more than 2,000 foreign trade buyers and visitors from various markets such as Australia, Japan, Taiwan, US, India, Hong Kong, and registered a 45 per cent increase in total export sales over the same period last year.
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