Furnishing a home can be a fun, but it can also be stressful and complicated. Choosing furniture, bedding, tableware, and accessories can be a challenge for a new homeowner. Inka, a home accessories and tableware company, has come up with a "lavish" solution: Ten interior and home accessory exhibitors gathered together in three connected spaces at the October Hills Club House, which can hold more than 500 visitors.
“Lavish," Inka’s first exhibition held in partnership with Dimensione, launched on 6 February in October Hills. The company was established two years ago in Zamalek by Ingy Fouad and Kadria Daoud, two young mothers who share a mutual interest in furniture and home accessories. Both young women started out arranging small events and days when they would exchange contacts and products.
“Lavish is going to continue as a seasonal event and one associated with occasions like Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day,” says Fouad. The aim of the event is to expand on ideas of home planning and offer a wide range in products, rather than include many exhibitors. Fouad says that she would rather make sure every product necessary for planning a home is covered, and keep the number of exhibitors a small as possible.
"I look for products that are simply good quality and invite clients who will notice and give value to the quality provided," she says.
Of the 7000 online invitations she sent, Fouad estimates that only 10-20 percent came to see the two-day exhibition–which, to her, is a satisfying outcome. “I did not expect this many visitors. It was packed, especially on Saturday,” says Sherifa Eissa of N Toulan for Architecture and Interior Design, one of the exhibitors at Lavish.
Inka itself offers a wide range of locally-made bedding, accessories and imported tableware, and the exhibition covered most aspects of home accessories and furniture: BOHO for candles, La-Z-Boy, Manazel for summer home furniture, and Dimensione, which was a partner in the exhibition. The exhibition also featured the Egyptian franchises of Neuhaus Chocolatier, a home catering service called FaDine and Mori Sushi. Fouad says that she would like to expand the product range further, to include, for example, lighting.
Sylvie Debaize, Dimensione’s brand manager, has big plans for the exhibition and her company’s collaboration with Inka. “We are refocusing our brand and looking for new clients from the A and B social demographic," explains Debaize, who has taken the company in a new direction with a strong modern style."Dimensione has been on the market for 30 years, but the management is creating new marketing strategies."
Since interior decorator Mohamed Hafez established Dimensione, the main target has been to make every product using 100 percent Egyptian craftsmanship and materials. But Fouad doesn’t give such a high priority to locally made goods–Inka bedding and towels may be locally made, but the cutlery includes brands like WMF and the casual tableware displayed at Lavish were by an Italian brand called Guzzini.
While it’s not surprising that many of the businesses exhibiting are located in Zamalek and Mohandiseen, some visitors were curious about the decision to hold the exhibition in 6th of October. "It was very hard to find the place," says Zeina–a newlywed who was invited to the event through Facebook. "If all the businesses are located in Cairo, why couldn’t they exhibit there?"
Fouad expects to continue to hold Inka-organized exhibitions in 6th of October and in other places in greater Cairo. "Our products are better suited to larger homes like the ones being built in 6th of October and Katameya–new houses are being built and we want to be there to furnish them and fill them with accessories."
Visit Inka’s permanent store on 5 Bahaa Eddin Karakosh, Zamalek.
