In the world of ceramics and sanitary ware, the last week of September is one of the most important of the year. The annual Cersaie trade fair takes place in Bologna and visitors have the opportunity to see interesting innovations from manufacturers in the fields of surfaces, ceramics, bathroom furnishings, wallpapers, wood and marble.
During the span of 5 days, visitors from all over the world saw 889 exhibitors from 40 countries. We spent 4 days at the fair, immersing ourselves in new trends and also visited suppliers’ factories in nearby Emilio-Romagna area. The major trends we saw are summarized below
EXTREME SIZE FORMATS
Large slabs from 120 x 120 cm to as big as 160 x 320, have been a key trend during the past few years. This was evident again this year as we saw an incredible array of large slabs. Furthermore, even though marble looking slabs reigned, large slabs in plain colours (e.g. new Resin collection by Marazzi) and in stone look also featured heavily.
Another trend in large slabs has been the bookmatch trend. Bookmatching is the practice of matching two (or more) stone or marble surfaces, so that two adjoining surfaces mirror each other, giving the impression of an opened book.
BOOKMATCHED MARBLE LOOKING CERAMIC SLAB
PASTEL HUED SANITARY WARE
A beautiful installation by Flaminia taking inspiration from nature was one of the highlights of the fair. Conceived by Giulio Cappellini, art director of the brand, the concept of the exhibition embraced the concepts of design and sustainability.
The scenic and immersive installation, showcased Flaminia’s most significant collections. Classics, such as Link and App models, were reincarnated in green hues and earth tones. The installation, set the tone for the general trend towards coloured sanitary ware. The hues that dominated were subtle pastels such as pink, orange and mint as well as green hues and in general various earthy shades.
PASTEL HUED SANITARY WARE
FLAMINIA INSTALLATION
PLAYFUL CERAMICS COMBINATIONS
The ample array of finishes, sizes and patterns of ceramics means that there is no limit to imagination. A lot of our favorite installations, were characterized by the playful combination of different ceramics on the floor or on the wall or even two ceramics on the floor. The combinations were limitless. Marble on the wall and terrazzo on the floor or stone on the wall and wood on the floor, we saw inspiring combinations throughout the fair.
PLAYFUL COMBINATIONS
3-D SHAPED TECHNOLOGY
3D Shaped Technology is Edimax Astor Ceramiche’s new proprietary technology. This innovative and unprecedent production process moves beyond two-dimension digital technologies and enables them to create three-dimensional surfaces. These surfaces are real and tangible and have the structures, veins, reliefs, grooves and organic differences typical to the materials that inspire them such as natural stones and marbles.
VELVET 3D SHAPED TECHNOLOGY
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