The Flooring Show 2024: A record-breaking celebration of innovation and networking!

Celebrating its largest edition to date, The Flooring Show welcomed hundreds of brands and thousands of visitors to the Harrogate Convention Centre from 15-17 September, for a fantastic 3 days of purchasing, networking and innovation.

Thanks to the expansion into Hall Q the show was able to welcome more names than ever before and consequently saw the highest number of exhibitors and visitors in attendance in its 62-year history.

Brands

Over 400 brands featured at this year’s show, across 6 halls and 2 hotels. The show featured an impressive array of displays from top flooring manufacturers. Visionary professionals in the industry presented an extensive variety of products spanning the breadth of the industry. Attendees had the chance to view and touch numerous flooring samples, exploring a wide spectrum of colours, textures, materials, and designs. Suppliers seized the opportunity to present their latest collections, debut new products, and engage directly with distributors. Many exhibitors went the extra mile with interactive booths, offering games, prize draws, and live demonstrations to captivate visitors.

Features

The Flooring Show is not just about purchasing. The show offers opportunity for improving industry knowledge and discovering new products. Across all three days of the show, the Flooring Industry Training Association (FITA), supported by the Contract Flooring Association (CFA) and the National Institute of Carpet and Floorlayers (NICF), hosted the Demo Zone. The expert instructors provided insightful demonstrations for visitors on a range of new techniques and products including subfloor moisture solutions, smoothing compounds, adhesives, domestic vinyl, engineered wood floor, floating floor systems, carpet underlay, and LVT installations amongst others.

The Campaign for Wool and the Wool Carpet Focus Group collaborated again in the Wool Trends Centre, creating a space where visitors could see a carefully curated display of the latest wool carpet trends from a selection of leading wool flooring suppliers, including organic textures, natural wool colours, bright shades for plains and patterning and ‘carpet art’ for hallways and stair areas. The Campaign for Wool and British Wool also used the show to promote the return of Shaun the Sheep as ‘ambaaa-ssador’ as part of a collaborative promotional campaign ‘Shaun Loves Wool’ to help educate and promote wool flooring as sustainable and good for the planet.

New for 2024, the Design Spotlight created a dedicated space in Hall Q for those visitors looking for unique, design-driven, innovative residential and commercial flooring solutions. Participating brands included Bjelin UK, Brooks Bros (UK) Ltd, V4, Veeuze, and Welfloor.

Competition

The NICF Fitter of the Year competition took place across Sunday 15th and Monday 16th in the King’s Suite, with a focus on carpet installation. Five finalists, Darren Ash, Richard Long, Joni Reeves, Gareth Williams, and Steve Whitburn, went head-to-head, with Richard Long coming away as the 2024 champion. This year’s much-loved ‘judges challenge’ was awarded to Steve Whitburn after his impressive waistcoat made of waste carpet wowed the judges. Congratulations to all competitors!

Sustainability

Back for a second year, the Sustainability Trail showcased the exhibitors actively working toward a more environmentally friendly future through their implementation of sustainable practices. On Sunday 15th, at the exhibitor drinks reception, the champion of the Sustainability Award 2024 was announced. Well-deserved winners, Texfelt Ltd, believe it “Shouldn’t cost the earth to save the earth”. The extensive policies they have in place to reduce their environmental impact, clear goals for 2025 and beyond, and recent launch of their Springbond Eco-Step 8mm range made Texfelt Ltd deserving winners. A big thank you to our judges: The Carpet Council, Floorsauce, Unlock Net Zero and John Lewis.

Group Exhibition Director, Alex Butler, reflected on this year’s show, remarking “Thank you to all the visitors and exhibitors who supported The Flooring Show 2024. It was fantastic to see the entire flooring industry come together, and the sense of community and collaboration was clearly evident from start to finish. This year was extra special with the launch of Hall Q, and we couldn’t be happier with the feedback we’ve received. We can’t wait to welcome everyone back next year for an even bigger and better event… watch this space!”

More content from this year’s show will be revealed over the coming months. Be sure to keep an eye on The Flooring Show’s website and social media platforms to stay up to date with the latest happenings.

If you’re interested in visiting or exhibiting at our 2025 event taking place from 21-23 September at the Harrogate Convention Centre, head to theflooringshow.com to register your interest.

Workspace Design Show 2024 another resounding success

The Workspace Design Show 2024, held at the Business Design Centre from February 27th to 28th, yet again gathered widespread acclaim.

Now a firmly established part of the global workplace event calendar, Workspace Design Show made a triumphant return to London at the end of February with a record number of visitors, breathtaking features and an events programme across the two days that really packed a punch.

Over 4,500 workplace professionals from over 40 countries around the world congregated at the Business Design Centre between 27-28 February, taking in the latest trends in office specification from furniture, lighting, flooring and more, totalling over 500 different products.

Given the exceptional lineup of speakers, it came as no surprise that the talks were immensely popular. The beautiful stage, designed by Gensler, was packed out from start to finish, buzzing with architects, designers and workplace professionals, eager to hear from industry leaders.

Day one in the Workspace Design Talks kicked off with an insightful talk on ‘Insights and perspectives on the convergent future of workplace’ with panellists Yasmin Al-Ani Spence, Director, WilkinsonEyre, Ewan Jones, Partner, Grimshaw and Nicola Gillen, Head of Total Workplace EMEA, Cushman & Wakefield. Other key workplace leaders sharing their insights on workplace strategy, design & culture across the two days were Helen Berresford, Head of ID:SR Sheppard Robson, Alan Bainbridge, Director of Workplace BBC, Sarah-Jane Osbourne, Head of Workplace UK and Europe, Avison Young, Linzi Cassels, Principal Design Director, Perkins&Will, Laurie Goodman, Strategy Director, IA Interior Architects, Neil Usher, VP Places, Sage, Naomi Sakamoto, Principal Studio Director, Gensler, Mary-Louise Gray, VP Workplace, Real Estate & Facilities, GSK.

Sustainability Works, curated by Mick Jordan, Editor of Works magazine, returned for 2024 and did not disappoint. Once again, the talks brought together a selection of key figures from firms such as Perkins&Will, Scott Brownrigg, BDG architecture and design, M Moser Associates, BDP and Resonate Interiors who are behind the workplace market’s leading sustainable initiatives and projects.

Pernille Bonser, CEO of Resonate Interiors said, "Workspace Design Show is not only the perfect place for discovering new products, but also brings designers and architects together. It’s about meeting and connecting with friends in the same community, these shared conversations are so important "

The Occupiers Forum, provided unique insights from occupiers such as BT Group, HSBC, Clifford Chance, Booking.com, Visa, Salesforce, HMRC, and Barclays into what employers are doing to create an engaging workplace experience. The FIS Conference explored productivity, quality, compliance and sustainability issues in the fit-out sector.

Mario Vieira, Scott Brownrigg, Head of Sustainability, commented, “The Workspace Design Show showcases all the upcoming innovative products and trends. In my role and practice, I aim to assist our teams by giving advice, this show allow us to gauge a much stronger understanding of the market, making that a lot easier.”

2024 had a vast array of spectacular features, inspired by the overarching show theme ‘Bloom – Exploring the Thriving Ecosystem of Work Life’. Captivating stages included the Design Talks Lounge by Gensler and the Insights Lounge by BDP, and other features included the immersive Entrance by tp bennett, a Living Workplace lighting installation by Jason Bruges Studio, the Mood Board Contest by MF Design Studio, and the calming Recharge Lounge by M Moser Associates. The show’s stunning exhibition floor hosted exhibitors from over 20 countries, and it was wonderful to see some of the stunning stand designs showcasing the products. The best stand design competition was won by Spain’s Kettal and the UK’s AllSfär, judged by a panel of leading specifiers.

As day one came to a close, the Workspace Design Show party commenced. The buzzing atmosphere allowed people to socialise and network over a glass of wine, transforming the venue into a vibrant hub of creativity and connection.

Esha & Charlie Bark-Jones, Workspace Design Show founders, said “We’re absolutely thrilled that so many of the UK’s workplace interiors community came together to experience the fantastic speakers sharing their insights, transformative products from our exhibitors and stunning features experiences from our partners. We are delighted to see specifiers from Asia, The Americas, The Middle East, Africa and Europe also attending to join the celebration of the future of work in London. The spirit of collaboration at the Show was evident for all to see, as people formed partnerships to transform the employee experience in these disruptive times for workplaces.”

The next UK edition will be on 26th – 27th February 2025. The Amsterdam edition of Workspace Design Show takes place on 5th – 6th November 2025.