Maison et object will require an early start. Paris Nord it is approx 40 minutes
(depending on traffic) by van from Paris center. Victor will pick us up at the Christine and drive us directly to Paris Nord. Your badges will already be with you so all you will need to do is walk in the door and begin your visit. If you choose to take a bag or an overcoat that you do not want to drag around, they have numerous large coat checks for approx €2 per item.
Maison et object is a VERY large show covering more than 7 huge exposition halls. If familiar with NYIGF, ( New York Gift Fair at the Javits) Think the Javits building X 7...I highly recommend that you visit Maison et Object and begin a virtual run through the offerings in order to gain some plan of attack depending on what you are interested in looking for. The show is organized roughly by vertical categories.For example: If you are interested in furniture or larger case goods etc. that will be in a different building than say textiles or tabletop etc. It will help organize and streamline your visit if you know ahead of time at least the types of merchandise or vendors you are interest in exploring. It is impossible to cover even a few halls in one day. If actively buying or writing orders, the amount of ground you can cover will be less. I can help guide you as I have been to the show many times. But they do change the organization of product categories and locations from show to show so the configuration we encounter in September will most likely not match a show configuration of the past.Food is located through out the exhibition halls so a quick butter and jambon baquette will be the treat of the day. Mariage Frères will have a tea room set up in one of the venues so if a more relaxed tea time rest is in order we can certainly sit down for a cup of Marco Polo!As far as interacting with vendors: You will find a number of European nationalities represented. You, for the most part, will see French, Belgians and Dutch. Also, Italians, Spaniards, Portuguese and occasionally a Turk. If you are interested in a particular vendor or product, its a simple process of introducing yourself and expressing interest. If they are not fluent in, or comfortable with, English they will summon a colleague or friend to speak with you. It is usually a straight forward B to B situation/negotiation if you are interested in creating a transaction. Each vendor will have specific requirements and bandwidth regarding exportation logistics and other practical concerns etc. The day usually goes very quickly. Either your feet or your stamina for visual overload will kick in.. It begins to feel like wrapping up at 6:30-7:00pm. At this point we will rendez vous with Victor for the ride back to the Christine...Refresh and dinner.
