Gauteng HOMEMAKERS Expo comes of age

The Gauteng HOMEMAKERS Expo, held from 27 February to 2 March at the Coca-Cola Dome, turned 21 this year! We, together with our exhibitors celebrated this birthday with another resounding and successful show!

Says Ray Abrahamse, Managing Director of HOMEMAKERS: "Despite the persistent rain over the weekend, we managed to increase our foot count slightly, making this one of the most successful HOMEMAKERS Expos to date. Given the tighter budgets home owners are still experiencing, it was rewarding to see the avid interest shown in receiving expert advice and purchasing from exhibitors."

Our exhibitors gave our visitors some bold, bright and individual ideas, products, genuine specials and competitions spanning everything to do with the HOME! Thank you to our esteemed exhibitors who once again raised the bar in terms of standard and quality seen at the show.

Congratulations to all award-winning exhibitors! Top accolades went to The Kitchen Studio who for the second year running won the Overall Award for Exhibitor Excellence, for their beautiful, functional and out of the box thinking for stand design.

Gold Awards went to: The Kitchen Studio, Sprada, Living Green Landscapes, Hunter Douglas/Luxaflex, Geberit Southern Africa, Dream View Glass, Rudi's Choice, Floorworx, Universal Kitchens & Doors and Trellidor.

The visitors were intrigued and inspired by the practical home projects demonstrated at the Builders DIY Theatre by experts such as Andrew Donkin, Aidan Bennetts and Tanya Visser. The Repurpose(d) show feature presented by the UJ students of the faculty Arts, Design and Architecture as well as the Young Designers Come to Light feature presented by the Interior Design students of the Design School of Southern Africa were very well received by the public.

Congratulations to Wayde Van Heerden, the overall winner of the Repurpose(d) feature. Wayde used an old washing machine to design three products in his Wagtail Pets range; two unique and quirky doggy beds as well as a bowl holder for man's best friend's dinner! Second in line was Kerry Malan followed by Ricardo Loureiro.

Congratulations to Alexa Tucker, the overall winner of the Young Designers Come to Light feature. Alexa designed a luminaire called Shattered Shine and used negative spaces in her design to create a unique and fabulous light. Angelique Joelson was voted second, and third in line was Grant Ndlovu.

The Coffee Lovers Theatre hosted by SCASA (the Speciality Coffee Association of Southern Africa) lured visitors to the area with the aroma of coffee to view the baristas showing off their techniques in the Cup Tasters, Latte Art and Brewer's Competitions. Congratulations to the overall Gauteng Regional Title Winner, Phumlani Sebeko from Famous Brands.

The visitors of the Gauteng HOMEMAKERS Expo donated generously to this year's Corporate Social Initiative, A Brick in the Wall, brought to you by Meals on Wheels in aid of assisting the Orange Farm Community. Thank you for each and every brick donated and also to the exhibitors who donated kitchens, flooring and many more home items to this worthy cause.

For more information visit www.homemakersonline.co.za or phone 086 111 HOME/4663.

View the 2014 Gauteng HOMEMAKERS Expo ad or take a look at Our favourite photos for the 2014 Gauteng event.
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