THIS IS AN ARCHIVE POST FROM 2016
We suddenly got the opportunity to take part in Milan Design Week 2016 in Italy as exhibitors with PaperSpokes. This was a pretty big deal for us, because taking part in an event like this is very expensive. Being invited and getting to participate for free was an incredible opportunity, so we didn’t think twice before saying yes.

Of course this completely messed up all the work and tasks we had planned for that month, so we had to reschedule pretty much everything. But it was a disruption we were more than happy to deal with. 🙂
We took part in Fuorisalone, which is part of Milan Design Week and takes place all over the city. For one week, Milan basically turns into a giant celebration of design, with parties, exhibitions and an endless amount of interesting things to see.
During Design Week entire neighborhoods of Milan revolve around design. Shops, corners, passageways, lobbies and waiting areas are taken over by design companies, who showcase their products and organize all kinds of interesting events and programs throughout the six days of the festival. For exhibitors, it’s a great opportunity to introduce yourself, meet people and make new connections.
We went mainly to showcase our work, rather than to sell directly. We didn’t even bring that many products with us, just a few crates because the opportunity had come up so suddenly that we didn’t really have enough products in stock to sell anyway. Instead we prepared lots of flyers and other promotional materials that we could hand out to people who were interested.
The exhibition went really well, and the other exhibitors were incredibly inspiring too. All in all, we came home with some very good memories, lots of inspiration and some great new connections.