To recognise National Apprenticeship Week, Whitemeadow are launching their very first Apprentice of the Year Competition. The National Apprenticeship Week is a celebration of apprenticeships across England and is a time to recognise and applaud apprenticeship success stories across the country.

As a Company, Whitemeadow want to take this opportunity to promote the success of their own apprentices. The Apprentice of the Year Competition is open to all apprentices working for Whitemeadow Furniture whilst working towards a Modern Upholsterer Level 2 qualification.

The competition will recognise the outstanding achievements by an apprentice who has been working at Whitemeadow, whilst working towards a qualification, and entrants will be judged on their work in the calendar year of 2019.

Judges will be looking for evidence of the commitment the apprentice has shown to their role, to their own development and why they have stood out as one to watch in future.

January 2020 was quite possibly the biggest start to any year so far at Whitemeadow. With our re-vamped stand layout resulting in our largest footprint to date at the show, every corner was packed with innovation, style and the latest industry trends.

Here's a summary of what we showcased in case you didn't get a chance to stop by:

Whilst we were busy on our own stand, we also took time to look around the event to see what’s going on within the wider industry and noticed similar patterns emerging in everything from cabinets to lighting sectors.

Here is a round-up of the leading trends we spotted:

Eco Friendly products and components

The interest and engagement around climate change and efforts to combat its effects were evident around the show. No matter what category, it was indisputable that many manufacturers are looking at more eco-friendly processes and components to use in the manufacture of their products. And Whitemeadow are no exception.

We launched our first eco-friendly sofa at the show, which uses components including interiors, frame and fabric sourced from sustainable or recycled materials.  We are also working with several fabric suppliers to source sustainable fabrics to use across all our ranges moving forward.

The global movement

We noticed a diverse celebration of globally inspired products across the show, promising to take homes on a journey of global eclecticism this year. The look welcomes the fusion of rich tones and patterns with rugged textures to symbolise the authentic, handcrafted style of this nomadic trend. We saw everything from hand-thrown pottery to hand-dyed textiles with tassels and pom-poms featuring heavily. We’ve also used this trend to influence several of our new scatter fabrics for 2020.

Tranquil tones

With Dulux announcing its colour of the year as Tranquil Dawn for 2020, it was no surprise to see soft, sandy tones making a big impact on the interiors sector this year. Moving away slightly from the grey tones that have dominated the interiors industry lately, the tranquil tones created a relaxed and nurturing space with fabrics, throw and scatters, appealing to buyers across sectors and creating an easy look for consumers to execute at home. The Whitemeadow stand featured sofas and beds in muted coloured fabrics such a mineral and mink to channel this popular trend.

Looking forward

After a busy few days, our team are filled with inspiration to channel into our industry-leading range, bringing you the best in British upholstery.

We're already counting down the days until next year!

Whitemeadow invites the industry to join them in celebrating 25 years in business with the unveiling of its much-anticipated new stand layout, which has been in the planning for months.

Whitemeadow is renowned for its unrivalled upholstery, and its new collections are no exception. In addition to its upholstery range, they will also be exhibiting several new bed frames that are inspired by today’s lifestyles.

Marketing Manager, Zehra Gezer, commented “We’ve put a lot of work into our stand this year and we can’t wait to unveil it to the industry. Refreshing colour palettes and inspiring upholstery will bring the new look stand to life for 2020. And as usual we will be unveiling a plethora of new designs that we hope will become a part of consumers’ homes for years to come.”

Whitemeadow is the largest independently owned British upholstery manufacturer. It has become one of the most trusted and well-respected companies in its industry and is a key supplier to the UK’s largest and best-known blue chip and independent furniture retailers.

We look forward to welcoming new and existing customers to its new look stand to find out more about its products, services and exciting developments for 2020.

• Stand location: Hall 1 E40/F40