After many false starts, Mike + Ally finally attended its first trade fair in nearly two years at Maison Objet. M&O actually opened back in January 2022 when Covid was just beginning to plateau, but we pulled out at the very last minute after polling a number of both exhibitors and buyers who stated they would not attend.
Well, I can certainly say that the March edition was not the Maison Objet Fair we all have grown to love and admire. But not at any fault of the M&O management who promoted the heck out of it. The always innovative and avant garde Halls 5B and Hall 8 were noticeably missing. And most of the other halls were a pale comparison of past Fairs. Hall 6 in which Mike + Ally exhibited was the most popular and well attended of all halls.
But I will say there was a reasonable number of buyers, mostly from the EU and some from the Middle East but our Asian friends were unable to travel due to Covid quarantine restrictions. Fortunately for all in attendance- the mask and vaccination mandates had just been cancelled prior to the Fairs opening.
All in all, buyers needed less time to navigate an abbreviated Fair but it was great making contacts again face to face. The consensus is September will be outstanding!