Getting Ready for Another China Sourcing Trip

I’ll be leaving on Thursday for another visit to Shanghai and Beijing, catching up with suppliers and selecting antiques and accessories to ship over to the UK on our next containers. With the move to our new showroom earlier this year taking up most of my time, I didn’t get the chance to go over in the spring – normally when I would plan a visit. So this will be my first trip to China since the end of last year.

Going at this time of year means that I will be able to visit ‘Furniture China 2013′ – a huge annual trade fair that I’ve not managed to get to before. The fair takes place at the enormous Shanghai New International Expo Centre, With around 3,000 exhibiting companies showing every kind of furniture imaginable – from sofas and office furniture to outdoor and contemporary. A large number of exhibitors will be showing both antique and newly made traditional Chinese furniture, so it will good to see some new products and make new contacts.

 After a couple of days making my way around the trade fair I will spend some time at the workshop in Shanghai, checking on our latest pieces and discussing ideas for future developments to our furniture range. I then fly to Beijing to meet up with other suppliers and choose pieces for our next shipment of Chinese antiques. I’m looking forward to seeing some old faces and meandering through warehouses and showrooms to put together our next selection.

I’ll also be visiting one or two of the larger markets to pick up accessories to go with the furniture – pottery and ceramics, stoneware and other decorative items. There is usually something new that takes my eye and it’s always interesting to wander the various stalls looking for something different. I also have quite a few requests from previous customers looking for specific items – whether furniture or other smaller pieces, so I’ll be keeping an eye out for those too. If you are after something specific then it’s not too late to get in touch. Let me know what you are looking for and I’ll be happy to try and hunt it down for you.

I’ll hopefully get some time to update the blog with details of my trip, including any interesting pieces I come across while I’m there, so check back over the next couple of weeks for updates.