What happens in Milano does not stay in Milano

Of course, the first thing we could write about here is trends. What colours, shapes, patterns we saw in Milan. But a visit to the fair is much more than that for us. It is an overall experience that starts at 5 a.m. on the first day with getting up, getting on the train, then spending three days seeing and doing as much as the agenda allows and returning home on the last evening exhausted but happy and full of multi-layered impressions.

Milan's international events are always a parade, whether it's fashion at Milan Fashion Week or furniture, as at the Salone Del Mobile. In the midst of the bella gente Julia Scheibe, Head of Residental Business at our location on Stampfenbachplatz in Zurich, who raves: "The people here are a delight to the eye!".

In a former life she was in Milan for high fashion, now for the first time at the Salone Del Mobile, just a few days after taking up her job at Zingg-Lamprecht. At her side Marietta Gubler, federally certified interior designer and location manager in our showroom in Erlenbach, for years very familiar with this most important furniture fair in the world. The primary mission of the Zingg-Lamprecht management women: Networking.

The eyes of the experienced Marietta Gubler and the furniture fair rookie Julia Scheibe light up in unison when you ask them what it is about Milan that fascinates them. And no, it's not just the exhibitors' furniture and objects. "The life in Milan, the vibrant atmosphere on the streets," is Marietta Gubler's first answer. "The feeling of dolce vita," interjects Julia Scheibe. And: "The coffee! And the fine arts."

The women pull out their mobile phones and show the snapshots they took during the Salone Del Mobile Milano in April. There are only a few, a few colour and material compositions, a herd of soft toys on a shelf, plays of light and shadow. There was hardly any time to catch our breath, let alone take pictures, because despite all the fascination in the alleys of the northern Italian metropolis, meetings with Zingg-Lamprecht's most important business partners are at the top of the to-do list.

Also to introduce Julia Scheibe, all the brands and the people in charge of the luxury brands. The women have completed more than 20 appointments in three days, which is sporty. How do you keep it up? "With sneakers," they both beam, and you get the impression that two best friends are reporting on a casual getaway trip, even though Marietta Gubler and Julia Scheibe have only known each other for a few weeks.

For all the casualness and enthusiasm, however, professionalism is paramount. Such a visit to the fair is meticulously planned, the showrooms and presentations are spread all over the city of Milan, appointments are made well in advance. "It needs a structure," Marietta Gubler knows from experience, otherwise you would get bogged down, so it's a case of going round district by district. There is not enough time for sightseeing, which happens en passent at best.

And then there are the highlights, the impressions that you take with you despite a full agenda. "Some showrooms are fully furnished flats rented by the brands in Milan especially for the Salone," reports Marietta Gubler. Such installations are particularly valuable, she says, because you can see the products in interaction, get ideas that you can pass on to your own customers.

"Or such a mystical place created by a lamp manufacturer," Julia Scheibe enthuses. A villa in the middle of the city, reached through a garden (and where the herd of stuffed animals was lined up), where the background noise of the noisy metropolis of Milan faded out and birdsong could be heard and the guests found themselves in a tent that had been set up on the tennis court of the palazzo. A place where time stopped, for a brief moment. Time to look, to breathe, to enjoy. A place like we at Zingg-Lamprecht like to conjure up for our customers.

Solche Erlebnisse sind wichtig. Sie bestätigen uns, dass wir mit den richtigen Partnern zusammenarbeiten. Produzenten, die unser Portfolio an kuratierten Möbeln, Leuchten und Wohnaccessoires mit ihren Produkten bereichern und denen wir vertrauen. Was nehmen Marietta Gubler und Julia Scheibe mit von so einem intensiven dreitägigen Erlebnis? «Es ist immer eine Reizüberflutung, aber im positiven Sinne», sinniert Marietta Gubler.

Es gelte, diese Impressionen zu verarbeiten, die Inspirationen zu sortieren und für den Kunden sinnvoll umzusetzen. Und sich dann auch ein bisschen zurückzulehnen, Revue passieren lassen und sich zu erholen. «Der Salone Del Mobile ist wie ein Marathon», staunt Julia Scheibe, man müsse aufpassen, genug zu trinken und die Kräfte gleichmässig zu verteilen, dass man am Ende noch aufnahmefähig und genauso motiviert ist, wie am ersten Termin.

Ach ja: Haben sie denn nun Trends entdeckt, die sie verraten können? «Weisser Bouclé, Naturtöne und Travertin bleiben auf jeden Fall angesagt», teilt Marietta Gubler ihre Eindrücke. «Es gibt jedoch wunderschöne Add-ons wie Kissen, Textilien im Allgemeinen, Deko-Objekte, Plaids, Kleinmöbel und vieles mehr in starken Farben, die Akzente setzen und mit denen man eine Einrichtung in Naturtönen jederzeit wieder neu wirken lassen kann.» Drittes Thema, das Marietta Gubler und Julia Scheibe aufgefallen ist: Chrom erlebt ein Revival. Und gefühlt habe jeder mongolische Schafwolle für sich entdeckt.

You learn many stories from Milan when you ask Marietta Gubler and Julia Scheibe the simple question, "how was it in Milan?", and we could have gone on chatting like this for ages over an espresso or two. Try it yourself, ask, the site managers have no secrets, what happened in Milan didn't stay in Milan. Visiting the Salone Del Mobile is one more valuable piece of the puzzle to soak up stories for our customers and ensure that everyone who comes to us can write their own personal story tailored to their living needs.

Words by Dörte Welti
All images by Zingg-Lamprecht