Firstly, there are always two sides, and everyone is responsible for their own side. And: everyone is responsible for their own success. Anyone who wants to move little, undertake little or invest little, or is convinced that their investments would make more sense elsewhere, should not be surprised if success does not materialize. Secondly, a trade fair is a rather simple event. Supply and demand have to be right; it’s a marketplace. And here, as there, it’s not the venue itself, it’s the suppliers.
Take Stone+tec in Nuremberg! There were exhibitors there who were more than satisfied: The natural stone dealers with their diverse, sometimes completely new range of materials, the machine, tool and building material manufacturers with developments that can help every craft business to master its future and, last but not least, those suppliers who want to offer ideas and concept for the public space cemetery instead of imported off-the-shelf stones. These exhibitors were successful. For these exhibitors, this trade fair offers a unique forum every two years, a marketplace that can hardly be surpassed. This trade fair is made for these companies. That was one side of it. Companies that spoke of success, profitable discussions and a lot of confidence.
The other side was characterized by self-indulgent pessimism, the familiar lament “everything used to be better” and a lack of insight into the fact that you can only sell what makes sense for potential customers and is presented in a customer-oriented way. Anyone who only shows 30 x 30 cm stone crumbs instead of creative ideas and real solutions made of local stone for qualified craftsmen, who only exhibits photos of almost museum-ready natural stone facades instead of concepts for architecture made of stone and who believes that the customers of this trade fair are not his customers, this trade fair is the wrong marketplace for him, even if his participation is sweetened by the organizers with a prize as a bonus.
What applies to the houses also applies to the signs. For those who believe that the cemetery of tomorrow must look just as unspeakable as the cemetery of today thanks to meaningless, imported mass-produced goods, a trade fair for future-oriented craftsmen is not the right place. However, for those who do not understand this principle, it is of little use to simply change the marketplace. The principle remains the same there too.
In the upcoming STEIN in July.