Austrade media release

17 March 2005

The Australian booth at the NeoCon West 2005 design exhibition in Los Angeles has attracted praise from many of the 65,000 American interior designers, architects and retail buyers that attended. Under the one banner Australia: Design and Innovation, 24 Australian organisations showcased product samples and ideas to an appreciative audience at the exhibition.

Austrade’s Los Angeles-based Business Development Manager Jason Mullen, who specialises in Australian design, said attendees at the event were pleasantly surprised at the selection.

“If Australian products can capture the imagination of some of the 65,000 interior designers in the United States, then we are very hopeful we can build on Australia’s initial success in the US market,” Mr Mullen said.

“The Australian booth was very popular for attendees trying to find unique offerings for client projects. Australia’s unique natural resources, distinctive style, inspiration and recognition for sustainability ensure that Australian design is being used in projects internationally.”

In addition, Australian products and services in the design sector are now more competitive. After the implementation of the Australia-United States Free Trade Agreement (AUSFTA), which came into force on 1 January 2005, many interior and exterior products such as furniture, lighting, surfaces, artwork and sculpture are now tariff-free.

Mr Mullen explained that Australian design products will be that much more attractive to US designers when sourcing products for their clients. “The benefit of the AUSFTA for US buyers and users of Australian design products is that there have been cost reductions on importing quality Australian goods. We are also optimistic that the AUSFTA will create a greater recognition in the US design community that will lead to more Australian products being utilised in more US projects,” he said.

Australia: Design and Innovation featured a mix of organisations new to exporting as well as respected companies that have already worked on major projects such as the Little Tokyo Cultural Resources Study (Los Angeles); fitting out colleges of the University of Santa Barbara (California); refurbishing the Mandarin Oriental Hotel (Washington, DC) as well as interiors of other major hotel groups including Hilton and Hyatt Hotels; and furnishing McDonald’s, KFC and Subway franchises.

From modernism and post-modernism influences, Los Angeles interior designers and architects are used to seeing innovative and creative designs in the west coast leading design hot-spot.

Australian products and services featured at Australia: Design and Innovation:

• Art – Aboriginal art by Art Creation, contemporary resort art by Hogan Art and art of recycled objects by John Dahlsen;
• Bathroom – Dual flushing toilets from Caroma International, mist-free mirror technology from Monarch Mist-Free Mirrors and distinctive basins from Pietra Viva;
• Consultant services – Historic preservation consulting from Peter Andrew Barrett;
• Exterior landscaping, art and surfaces – Major project art works and development from Urban Art Projects and distinctive sandstone from Helidon Sandstone;
• Interior planting – Contemporary planters from Fabulous Foliage;
• Furniture – Quality materials, superb finishes and high degree of detail in design from InDeStudio, Ramler and Witt Design as well as unique sustainable furniture from Wharington International;
• Lighting – Modern interior lighting by Marc Pascal and wall and pendant lights by Ward Design;
• Glass sculpture and panelling – From Noel Hart, Colin Heaney, Emma Varga, Glass By Dagmar and Liquid Glass Studio;
• Textiles – Quality textiles from Kaltjiti Arts and Loop; and
• Woodwork - Large-scale timber vessels from Prem Sephton.

Images and Interviews available on request

Australian businesses wanting to make inquiries about AUSFTA export opportunities should contact Austrade: www.austrade.gov.au/ausfta or ph 13 28 78.

Media Contact

Celine Stumbles, Austrade
Tel: +61 2 9390 2000
Mob: 0421-105-047