A tabletop trend

Show format keeps growing

In the March/April 2012 issue of Coverings, IDC’s column was dedicated to our tabletop tradeshow program. Tabletop tradeshows are small, local shows where manufacturers and suppliers display their products on tables instead of in booths. These small, budget-friendly shows have proven to be a great way to bring the local design, architectural and building industry together for an evening of learning and networking.

Since we last reported on IDC’s tabletop program, which is managed by IDC’s marketing manager, Deb Abreu, it has expanded to include additional events across the country. Last year a total of four tabletops were held across Canada, including a show in Prince Edward Island hosted by the Association of Registered Interior Designers of New Brunswick (ARIDNB). The tabletop show in Saskatchewan was held in partnership with the Interior Design Association of Saskatchewan (IDAS). Two more events were staged by the Interior Designers Institute of British Columbia (IDIBC); the first was in the Okanagan region and the second on Vancouver Island.

More on the way

A total of eight tabletops have been scheduled for 2013. Though it is still early in the year, we have already had a successful show in Halifax, N.S.,  held in partnership with the Interior  Designers of Nova Scotia (IDNS), and in Montreal, in partnership with l’Association professionnelle des designers d’intérieur du Québec (APDIQ).

Traditionally, seminars are offered congruently with the tabletop show. However, IDNS opted for a less formal approach by hosting an after party where attendees could network with more than 50 interior designers and architects. IDNS also took the opportunity to unveil their new awards, including their first Best Sales Representative of the Year award.

Seventy percent of the profit from a tabletop show goes to the local provincial association to use towards their programming. Provincial associations use these funds for several different initiatives. For example, Vancouver Island put the money towards local advertising to promote the profession of interior design. Since Nova Scotia is currently the only province with a practice act in place, IDNS has set aside their money to hire a lawyer when needed to enforce provisions of the act.

Broad industry participation

If you are a manufacturer or supplier that provides a product or service for the built environment, sponsoring a tabletop show is a low-cost way to add to your business’s current marketing efforts by connecting directly with local interior designers. Sponsorship packages are available at various levels for each show, from bronze to platinum, offering increased exposure and reach at every level. For more information about IDC Industry membership, please contact Victoria Fellowes, director of business development, at [email protected] or 416-649-4427.

This past February, APDIQ held their tabletop in Montreal with platinum sponsor Tandus Flooring. The event drew more than 200 attendees to the show, which was followed by two seminars where members could collect continuing education credits. After a successful show, account executive Sylvie Gagnon of Tandus Flooring had this to say about the company’s experience as the platinum sponsor: “Last night’s event was a complete success for us. We greatly appreciated the atmosphere, the connections made, the attendees and organizers, as well as the overall dynamic feel to the tabletop show.”

IDC is broadening its tabletop program even further with additional events in the B.C. mainland, the Ottawa region, and northern Ontario.  For more information about IDC tabletops and event listings, please visit the IDC Calendar of Events at www.idcanada.org or contact Deb Abreu at [email protected].

Interior Designers of Canada is the association representing the interior design profession in Canada. It advocates on behalf of the profession nationally and internationally, to government, industry and the public.