Knowledge sharing and networking were on everyone’s lips at FRONT.design. Along with buckets of rain that continued outside! But even though it poured cats and dogs in Sydney last week, there were plenty of exciting happenings keeping everyone engaged inside Tower Three at Barangaroo.

Spread across floors two and four in International Towers, the showcase included 60 brands, three theatres and two bars – all set up with the purpose of bringing all players in the supply chain together. And it delivered, as attendee Marg Hearn says: “[FRONT] was thoroughly enjoyable and a very creative way of bringing customers and product suppliers together with great value adds.”

Bookending the first day was a VIP cocktail party, which saw special guests and exhibitors gather at the Maxton Fox bar on level four to celebrate and cheer the official opening of the whole event. It was the perfect opportunity to connect with industry peers and soak in the surrounds.

What makes FRONT different to other tradeshows is the unique mix of attendees, bringing in high calibre decision-makers and corporate end-users alongside architects and interior designers. And this certainly didn’t go unnoticed. “We had some great conversations with some very important decision-makers on the stand at FRONT. The format provided a platform for us to go beyond showcasing our products,” says Sue Turpie of Europanel.

“FRONT really is the event of the year from a commercial perspective, it’s an opportunity for all suppliers to get together as well as thought leaders,” says Maxton Fox’s Belinda Hall.

A crowd favourite over the two-day event was the FRONT.design Forum, which pulled together an incredible list of topics and speakers to really get to the heart of the matters affecting the industry. “The programming was excellent and the few sessions that I managed to pop into were incredibly informative discussions, with many saying the range of topics was interesting,” shares FRONT.design 2019 Ambassador Fiona Young.

There was no escaping the wild weather, but for those that made the journey to visit FRONT it was well worth it as guests mingled in the Dyson Business Lounge, discovered new products across both floors and enjoyed a new kind of tradeshow that is all about learning and making deep connections.

Photography by O’Neill Photographics.