More than 6000 buyers from more than 20 countries spanning North & South America, Europe, Middle-East, Asia, Australia and the African continent have made this show an annual sorcing meccas for the rich variety of Indian Handicrafts. This is what some of them had to say about the last fair : “… I’ve started sourcing from India recently and am making frequent visits now. This fair is indeed a one stop shop, unlike my other business trips where I can visit one supplier at a time. I am looking for hi-end accessories for men & women like fashion jewellery, leather purses and footwear; I also liked some home décor items. The quality is excellent and designs are impressive. The designs are a good blend of Indian and global styles. In terms of trends, gems & silver in jewellery and colourful smooth embossed designs in purses are in. Beaded sandals are also great here, but I suggest, you must mention Footwear as a product category in the fair directory. Also, the facilities in the venue are good.” Randi Niemer Paisley, USA “…..medium & hi-end wholesaler. I’ve have been sourcing almost 50% of my total purchases of home textiles from India since past three years. This fair has good facilities and serves as a platform to conduct business and find new products, though transportation needs to be worked on. I like the designs here, but often purchase customised ones. Spanish people like cotton especially in light pastel colours as well as patch work.” Dipy Lulla Indochina Consulting S.L.   “…..visiting IHGF since 10 years. I own 5 retail stores catering to the low and middle end, out of which one is in Dubai. I source almost 50% of my purchases from India including home accessories, textiles and furniture. Indian prices and quality are just apt. In fact some niche goods can also be found here. In vogue in my markets are raw materials like sheesham and linen and leather finish in home furnishings.” Jo Allott Indigo Expressive Living Hong Kong “…..wholesalers catering to the medium and high end. We are visiting IHGF since 4 years. We are here looking for door mats & rugs made in jute & coir and furniture made of mango wood. We like the ready designs here but also work on customised ones. I think plain & painted finishes in soft grey colours are in vogue these days.” Peter & Dianne Mitchell Doormat Designs Australia “…..medium end wholesaler coming here for the third time. My interest is in varied items like silver jewellery, cotton scarves and other women accessories, I purchase almost 20% from India. The designs in India are quite good and their approach to global styles is appreciable. A dash of Indian style always looks classy.” Paulo Oighenstein Crystal Rio Brazil “…..maiden visit. As we are initialising a wholesale business for our middle end consumers, we are looking for textile products in cotton. IHGF is quite a nice fair but it must offer some more variety. Swedish trends are inclined towards lighter shades, like hues of grey and beige. Indian products have a lot of aesthetic feel. In terms of designs, a blend of the Indian and European culture is good.”  Elsia & Agneta Trendiamp Sweden “…..currently a US$ 13.7 mln. company with 37 home furnishing stores in Venezuela, expecting to reach a turnover of upto US$ 18 mln. this year. We are purchasing over 60% from India and the rest from Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam and China. We come to IHGF in quest of new products and this year we plan to pick out a range in artefacts & home décor items in bone & horns. As the import duty on these products is as high as 64%, we are risking it big. Synthetic string curtains and shaggy carpets are also impressive. We also liked the Jodhpuri furniture and wood accessories made in mango and acatia in natural textures and dark colours. White colour in furniture is certainly not in taste today. Among textile products, cotton is certainly most apt. Our stores focus on the medium and lower end of the market, so we pick almost 50,000 pieces of each product in varied colours, bright as well as naturals. The quality of the products here is quite good.” Ysi Cohen Franco Kopyko, Venezuela “…..regular visitors. We are looking for home décor items. Product display in home items is quite attractive. We were looking for cotton fabric items and also found many of them. We cater to the mass end of the market. The organisers of the fair have done a tremendous job of bringing up such a world class event.” Rafael & Jose Colomer Martiner Giner Y Colomer S.L., Spain “…..wholesaler. I am specifically looking for furniture and gift items. The products here on display have an impressive new range. In our country where have people appreciated traditional painted Indian furniture are now shifting tastes to include a modern blend-in too. I source cent percent of my business from India. We mostly prefer mango and sheesam wood for our products. The fair arrangements are good but the distance from the airport and hotels is a lot.” Dimitri Plaisant Alpna Buba, Belgium “…..maiden visit, but sourcing from India since last year. I am in retail business and am looking for ceramics, glass items and wooden trays. I liked many products as the exhibitors really have a good variety. In my part of the world, people prefer dark colours over lighter ones. Hence, Indian handicrafts have an instant appeal.” Mahdi M Feisali Cake’ n Bake Kuwait “…..maiden visit. I am looking for rustic furniture in iron and wooden furniture in a modern look. I am taken aback by the quality and variety Indian exhibitors offer here. However, Rupee appreciation is quite a major issue for us. In US, people generally prefer acacia and recycled teak. They like painted furniture in abstarct designs. The arrangements here are at par with global standards but the distancereally bothers.” Doug Williams Country Originals USA “…..wholesaler. I find this fair big and good. I am in quest of sourcing artificial & costume jwellery. I source a major chunk of my business from China, owing only to the costs. But when it comes to quality, my Indian suppliers are way ahead. One can predict that with the intensifying competition Indians will surpass others soon.”  Roy Chan AFJR, Hong Kong “…..regular visitor. I’ve been visiting IHGF since 20 editions and have witnessed its steady growth. As a wholesaler, I deal in metal scraps as well as home décor items. I found a good range of products like silver platters, brass platters and champagne coolers. I liked this edition as well but the distance of the new venue has always been a matter of concern for me.” Marie Ange Bon Dot_Paris France “…..regular visitors and have always found the fair satisfactory. We are interested in door mats, bath mats and candle décor items. We feel that Indians offer better quality in comparison to China and people in our country also appreciate Indian products. Hence, we source a major part of our business comes from India. Though most of our suppliers respect delivery deadlines, there are a few who are absolutely reckless.” Mehrad & Mohammad A Tofighi Tofighi Trading, Iran “…..looking for hi-end women’s accessories. We have come to IHGF for the fourth time now and as always, found it bigger with every visit. We have met some new suppliers too. We appreciate the cotton & silk accessories and feel, Indian embroideries and block prints are wonderful. However, there could be more design innovations. We purchase almost 60-70% of our total supplies from India - which amounts to approximately US$ 25,000. We source the rest from Indonesia and Thailand.” Felipe & Camila Melo, Sabai, Brazil “…..sourcing from India since 14 years and regular visitors at IHGF. We are looking for furniture made in wood like sheesham and garments mostly in cotton. Indian styles blended with European patterns are good. We own 7 retail stores, targeting the medium end consumer. We came to look for new suppliers and have found the product quality getting really better every year. While we source half of our total purchases from India, the remaining comes from Nepal. At IHGF, we prefer navigating through the open exhibition halls rather than going to individual showrooms in the mart area.” Ivan & Jeny, Sanu – Babu, Czech Republic “…..first visit. I am looking for furniture with modern looks in particular as people in Italy now prefer trendier items. I really appreciate the product range displayed here and have already given sample orders for some of them. My business caters to the medium as well as higher end of the market and my clientele prefers furniture with natural textures and simple looks.” Paolo Raybaudi Ethno Solo Italy “..…regular visitor. This is my 6th visit and I’ve only seen the fair growing. My quest is for utility items in metal and glass. I’ve picked some of my choice from the variety displayed here. I need to mention here that my target consumers prefer brass and copper items as their first choice. I am satisfied with facilities being provided to us though the distance of the venue seems too much.” Dominic Hehl WH International     “…..regular visitor. I am looking for everything in handicrafts & gifts with textiles as my focal area. I could find some as per my market and also liked the quality offered. In England, people mostly prefer light shades. Though the organisers have taken care of lot of things, we feel there is a need for mobile recharging facility at the venue.” Antonia Graham Graham and Green UK