Fresh from their appearance at the Showcase 08 in Coventry, Homestyle by Vantana's brand ambassadors Colin and Justin have given their verdict on the event.

The TV duo who took part in two special seminars on design and colour said they believe the event has ‘great potential’ for the future.

Colin said: "Getting everyone under the one roof is a great way for companies in the industry to communicate with the key target audiences.

"We loved the opportunity to meet up with existing Homestyle by Vantana retailers and stockists and to forge new links with prospective clients.

"In our view there's huge potential to make the next event even bigger and better and develop the whole visitor experience.
"Seminars are a great way of sharing knowledge and expertise and we found that guests during our little lectures were keen to pick up new sales techniques and ways of communicating the blinds message to customers. We're hugely passionate about our design work and so we urged them to sell with passion!"

The TV interior designers who also took part in last year's SOFT show in Birmingham's NEC reckoned the interest in their signature collection during the Coventry event was ‘very buoyant’ and said many of the stand visitors went - in their words - ‘wild and crazy’ over the range labelled "The Natural World".

Justin added: "The natural world collection was very much in demand and visitors wanted to know more about the range.
“They wanted to touch it up close and discover more about the colour and range options.

"You really do have to see and touch this collection! It's got faux suedes, corks, leathers, snakeskin, alligator skin, hessian weaves...tactile designs that will make you the envy of your friends.

"We call it ‘high fashion’ fabrics for windows – and the options available open up all manner of opportunities to take window dressing and design to an exciting new level. Blinds are hugely effective in giving a room a fantastic boost and so it's especially exciting to be working with such a vast collection as the one we've devised with Homestyle by Vantana.

"We also love the fact that some of the fabrics available can also be ordered by the metre length so the customer can have accessories such as cushions and throws made up to complement their choices of blinds"

Homestyle by Vantana sales director Stephen Murray said: "The response from the industry to the collections continues to be hugely positive. We know our sales team are getting a big lift in sales terms because of the extensive range they can show customers.

"It's no longer good enough just to present one or two fabric choices - the customer is more discerning and wants the choice we now can offer."

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