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Another year of success for the Johannesburg Homemakers Expo

3 Mar 2020

As we write this, our official expo break-down is in full swing. To think that a short week ago, exhibitors from all over Gauteng, along with a super Homemakers Expo crew, began building the stands that made this year's expo a stellar success.

Another year of success for the Johannesburg Homemakers Expo

In a world that is better connected than ever before, the InHabit-themed Johannesburg Homemakers Expo proved to be the place to be this past leap-day weekend. The expo connected visitors with the products and services that help them own the spaces they occupy while mingling with experts and connoisseurs to get the best out of their expo experience.

This year’s expo was about improving the way people live in their homes and how they connect with everything around them. This included the topic of the year, environmental sustainability, supporting local businesses and being better informed about product origins.

Homemakers COO Hestelle Robinson says that this year, the team took a fresh approach to the expo. “We did things differently this year and it paid off. Our 2020 expo was one of the most successful to date.”

Show highlights

This year’s Johannesburg Expo brought many highlights, making choosing our favourites difficult.

The InHabit Workshop and The Garden Table were packed every day with inquisitive visitors looking to learn something new. While the Designer Spaces Challenge brought inspiration to visitors looking to add a truly African flair to their home.

InHabit Workshop

Another successful InHabit Workshop for the 2020 Homemakers Expo. Artisans and experts such as Jana Nel, Joe Strydom and the team from Vermont Sales and World of Decorative Concrete gave visitors demos on the best DIY projects for home-owners. Demonstrations included talks on concrete products, techniques for clay and ceramics, woodworking, revamping old furniture and even adult doodling.

The Garden Table

With live demos by garden gurus such as Tasha Tollman, Terry Moller, Sandy Roberts, Paul Vlok, JJ van Rensburg, Brenda Niehaus, Jan Lubbinge and Matthew Keulemans as well as food fundis Izelle Hoffman and Johan Du Preez, The Garden Table theatre was packed every day with visitors eager to learn more!

Made possible by DIY Garden Designer, Malanseuns, Bark Unlimited Organics, Fern Lily Design & Landscaping and Lighouse, the feature entertained and educated visitors on a variety of topics.

Designer spaces

The Designer Spaces Challenge was a great way for visitors to see how to create the ultimate living space. The theme was inspired by Africa and the designers delivered truly beautiful designs. Visitors had the chance to vote for their favourite designer with the bonus of winning a cash prize.

An expo favourite by far! This year, the winner of The Designer Spaces Challenge was Lindiwe Ludonga from Blooming Oaks Inc.

Young Designers Challenge

The industrial design students from the University of Johannesburg collaborated with Vermont Sales and Homemakers to bring the most cutting-edge ideas to life. The overall winner was Katlego Madumo who designed The V56 Smart Hedge Trimmer. The hedge trimmer was inspired by his passion for nature and green living.

The first runner-up was Loubser Meyer who designed The Triton MT101, which is a smart combination saw that monitors the wear on internal components and informs the user of any bad machine practices. The saw also prevents circular saw kickback to ensure the safety of the user. Natalie Selibas was also a runner-up. She designed a smart dustbin created to encourage recycling and bring an aesthetic appeal to the home. Most importantly, the bin was designed to make life smart and simple by automatically creating a shopping list based on the goods you throw away. Now if that’s not genius, we do not know what is!

The winners won a cash prize from Homemakers Expo and a special prize from Vermont Sales.

The Play(AR) Zone

A favourite place for gamers, the best Playstation console, augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) games were found in The Play(AR) Zone. What started as an area dedicated to the magic of AR turned into an endlessly fun zone for kids and adults alike.

Visitors could also decorate and bring their own interactive AR animal to life in real-time – which they could take through a fun virtual gaming course right inside The Dome, take a ride on the VR bike or pods or play their favourite Playstation games.

Truly artisan

The creators and the creatives were in full force at this year’s expo. Seeing their dedication to their brand image along with their truly artistic approaches was a delight to see. These exhibitors are on-trend and know exactly what home decorators are looking for when it comes to the aesthetics of their homes.

D’Vine Life

Visitors had the chance to whet their appetites at this year’s D’Vine Life Expo feature. If it was deli delicacies, deep-fried goodness or a cultural flavour bomb they were after, this is where they could find it. This foodie haven had visitors spoilt for choice which served them through breakfast, lunch and supper.

Another highlight was the stand winners at the annual awards function, where Homemakers celebrated the exhibitor stars of the year.

The Winner’s Circle

Every year The Homemakers Expo’s judges panel take on the difficult task of choosing their favourite stands.

This year, our winners were:

Overall Winner - Sequ-Door

Overall Winner: Sequ-Door
Best Truly Artisan: Xisaka Interiors
Best Small Stand: Sqwidnet
Gold Winners: Ashley Furniture Homestore, Patio Warehouse, Totem Kitchens & Cupboards, Turnkey Concepts, Ikon Aluminium, Fenster Aluminium, House of Supreme, Curves and Bevels and WIC Flooring.
Silver Winners: Plaza Board Centre, Furnlock and Slide & SA Sinks, Trellidor, Decking and
Flooring, U-Light, MP Solar, Grecoline, Grafton Everest, Furnworx and Best Deck.
Bronze Winners: Vinostein, Africote, Hillaldam Sliding Door Systems, Advantage Air, Inovar Floor, B and W Unlimited Kitchens, Best Gutters, Weather Master, Design Benjamin, First Water Coolers & Purifiers, Oco Life by Organico, Mend-A-Pool, Blockhouse, Cinema Architects and AV Gurus.

Here is what a few of the winners had to say:

Sequ-Door: “We have been with Homemakers for so many years and winning is a big honour for us. We created a stand that showcases all our products. We also went with a warm-homey feel in our stand design. This attracts visitors and makes them feel at home.”
Xisaka Interiors: “ This was our first expo and we were so delighted to have won this prestigious award. Our stand space was limited which forced us to get very creative with all our furniture and so little space. It worked!”
Sqwidnet: “People want to make their home technology more accessible, which ultimately makes it more convenient for them. Our take on product delivery and stand design were aligned with that focus.”
Ashley Furniture Store: “ We put our hearts into our stand design. We are passionate about our planning and our visitors. This combo makes for a win-win environment.”
MP Solar: “Sustainability is a huge trend in 2020 and we designed our stand to represent that. Solar energy is the future.”
Fenster: “We are trendsetters in the market and we showcased all our premium products. This attracted customers and showed them how technology has changed.”
WIC Flooring: “We’re a family business and that gives us a huge advantage. Our stand design is welcoming and we tried to incorporate the InHabit theme.”
Totem Kitchens & Cupboards: “Keeping up with trends and not going over the top is what we kept in mind when designing our custom stand.”