Homemakers Fair

A Show of Note

Being passionate about visiting and exploring commercial trade shows and exhibitions worldwide, as well as participating in many during my lifetime, I headed off to the Homemakers Fair 2012 show with my wife in one hand and my camera in the other.

Driving down the highway seeing the traffic heading towards the show I knew from past experience that the show was going to be "chock-a-block" affair.

Believe it or not, finding a parking was a dream and as we headed towards the entrance of the magnificent Dome,  all I saw was people leaving with very eye- catching carrier bags holding all the brochures and pamphlets. These bags which were sponsored by the Hisense Brand showed a picture of a man’s face with the biggest pair of beaming eyes I have ever seen!

Being involved in marketing and advertising for over 40 years I loved the concept and the idea by Hisense, but unfortunately the product description was not mentioned on the carry bag and Hisense therefore missed the opportunity of gaining maximum return by not advising the consumer how their product could be of benefit to them.

When I entered the Dome I noticed and realised that this was the biggest Homemakers Show I had ever been too as the hall was crammed with hundreds of exhibitors.  The first thing that" hit me in the face" was the exhibitor with the" Going Green " concepts from LED tube lighting to long lasting energy saving  globes to solar heating for geysers, to solar roof panels for reducing carbon emission and saving home owners on electricity bills.  In my opinion this will be one of the biggest retro fit home improvement products of the future, for various reasons too lengthy to discuss in this article. Prepaid meters and management services to save on electricity bills were also on show.

Something very interesting that caught my eye were 3D wall art panelling product ranges for interiors in some amazing designs, an exterior Stainless Steel Sign Range manufactured for buildings and homes and some beautiful Stainless Steel letter boxes.   A new DIY exterior Awning range for protection from rain, hail and sun was on display, as well as a new virtually transparent unbreakable burglar bar system made of poly carbonate.   Non- slip treatment for tiles that lasts for years according to the distributor and a new telescopic ladder that opens up to the required sizes.

A new retrofit Custom magnetic wall papering which can create a multi -functional wall for inspiring learning and creativity in children's rooms, as well as for corporate offices for planning discussions.

A wireless range of switch technology for lighting,  eliminating the need for wiring and can be used with any light bulbs , and another very stylish combination range of sockets, fixing frames, cover plates, etc .by a company called Major Tech.

Cobra had a very stylish stand with a beautiful selection of give-away Brochures  and a display of all their modern taps and fittings.  Also on display was a ceramic water filter system that screwed on to existing taps to purify your drinking water.  ABE the renowned waterproofing supply company had a full range of all types of products to solve different types of leakage and waterproofing problems.

A  “woman's dream" of a mirrored accessory organiser unit  in three sizes for jewellery collections, in different wood veneer finishes and custom made rugs for corporate and homes were also on show.

Glass Art in standard and custom made designs, in a sandblast look for privacy in bathrooms as well as the stained glass look which is installed like Klingshield window film.  Security steel doors with unusual patterns, Skylight tubular systems to create light in dark rooms in offices and homes.  Frameless stacking glass panels to enclose balconies and patios known as the frameless glass industry.  Some beautiful modern kitchens caught my eye, especially the back coloured glass walls in all the colours of the rainbow.  A full range of versatile Glass bricks in the 80 different styles and colours, beautiful balustrades and stair cases in aluminium, stainless steel  and glass with stainless steel fixing attachments.  EGR from Australia showed off their glacier coloured wall panelling.  Steel frame building systems were on display as well as wooden flooring in many styles, colours and finishes.  Wall papering seems to be coming back with a number of stands showing off hundreds of designs to choose from.

Cinema architects had a complete theatre built to show off their home theatre  multi room systems with cinema seating and acoustic panelling which brought me back in time to the old Colosseum Theatre in Johannesburg in the seventies with it’s sky lit ceilings and it's amazing ambiance.

With my wife getting a little impatient after standing around for hours whilst I communicated with all the interesting players, I decided to keep her happy by buying her a goose down cushion.

On the way out I came across a stand with a product called Pool Pilot.  This product was being displayed by the inventor who came up with a solution on how to get pool cleaners to clean the entire pool without leaving certain areas uncleaned.  Once again, out came my hard earned money, as I was very impressed with how this engineer demonstrated and sold the effectiveness of his product.

After a long discussion he invited me to join the Institute of Inventors and Innovators after I told him that I was also the inventor and patent holder of a see-through signage product worldwide,  as well as the originator of smash and grab for car windows.   He realised that we had a lot in common and I could also offer the institute some interesting benefits.

The bottom line is that I had an amazing day.  I enjoyed every minute of it and even my wife enjoyed the show.  The amount of walking we did there saved her a trip to the Gym and she was also looking forward to the peaceful sleep she would experience with her new goose down cushion!

Well done to the organisers of the Homemakers Expo.   You have come a long way since I started with the first Homemakers Fair co-operative advertising leaflet with Mr Hank Lowe, the owner of Homemakers in the mid seventies.

“Every outing is an experience” !!!