Our industry’s globalization has made personal connections in far flung places vital to meeting the needs of the U.S. market for furniture, and sometimes those links evolve into friendships.
The same holds true for those of us covering industry developments at trade publications around the world, and the furniture journalism community lost a good friend with the death last month of Helmut Merkel from pancreatic cancer.
Max, as everyone called him, was longtime editor in chief of MöbelMarkt, the leading German furniture trade journal. He traveled early and often to Asia and other parts of the globe, where emerging sources for home furnishings were making inroads into European as well as North American markets.
I and my Furniture Today colleague Tom Russell came to know Max through the International Assn. of Furniture Publications. The organization was the brainchild of longtime FT publisher Joe Carroll, who formed the alliance with several other founding members (which included MöbelMarkt) back in the late 1990s. Joe conceived the group as a way to help journalists around the world covering home furnishings exchange information, make contacts and keep member publications informed of developments in each title’s respective country.
Max had particular experience in Asia. His collegial attitude was a big help to me during my first trips there, starting in 2000 when I was making the March rounds of two shows in the Philippines followed by the Singapore furniture fair.
After a whirlwind two days in Manila visiting the show there and touring nearby plants, all while suffering my first bout of trans-Pacific jet lag, seeing Max in the hotel lobby upon my arrival in Cebu was a relief.
I love travel, and the adventure of experiencing different cultures, but by the time I got to Cebu I was ready for a mental break and a familiar face. Max, of course, knew the ground well, and his insights and companionship were so welcome. I know that other IAFP colleagues relied on his experience with and knowledge of far-flung spots in furniture’s supply chain.
Max made the Cologne International Furniture Fair a highlight of my work travels. At the MöbelMarkt pavilion there, he introduced me to important contacts and made time to catch up personally. He organized dinners for visiting IAFP journalists, and sitting around a table for a couple of hours with fellow ink-stained wretches from Brazil, China, Germany, Japan, Mexico, Romania, Russia, Singapore, the U.K. and more was ever a horizon-expanding experience.
When I was working on learning some German, Max was a patient coach in teaching “shortcuts” and getting me to the point I could at least handle taxis, restaurants, direction,tc. with success.
“Your German is so formal,” he once told me, but I replied that I’d never figure out all the ways to say “the” (there are a lot in German).
His reply: “Deutsche auch nicht” (“Neither do Germans.”) That gave me a laugh and was a personal example of how he put people at ease with the unfamiliar. So long, Max. You are missed.
"Max" - Google News
May 04, 2021 at 12:59AM
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Blog: Remembering Max Merkel - Furniture Today
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