Just off a busy street and across from LARS, a mega shopping center in suburban São Paolo is Expo Norté, where from Aug. 16-19, more than 900 national and international exhibitors displayed their wares at the 37th House and Gift Fair South America.

The design of the pine wood bar stool is naturally achieved by Parko's patented process in which the wood is milled in a circular motion. Removable circular whorls and foot rest make the stool on the right height-adjustable.

Glassware occupied pride of place at the Fair. Molinari displayed nine lines of vibrant decorative accessories and vases and has now launched a new signature line with just 15 pieces per edition. Ceramics is another arena in which Brazilian creativity, sense of color and design find expression; Anamaria showed glazed ceramic vases and lamps, vases and accent pieces made from a sand-finished ceramic combined with chrome accents. Delicacy of design and richness of color belied their fabrication from acrylic in TUPY's clear and opaque decor and serveware.

An inner layer of white accented with cutout designs gives these colorful molded polypropylene shades from COZA added pizzazz.

Tropical flora and fauna along with native faces, architectural designs, modern and contemporary art were recurring motifs in home accents and textile accessories. Traditional Latin American accessories like cake covers, bottle holders, breadbaskets, bag keepers and tea-cosies accompanied table stories, often with whimsical themes and surface treatments. Empório dos Bordados displayed an array of door and draft stoppers in woven hessian dressed up with patchwork, appliqué, embroidery and crochet.

Elza Kahnne's cast iron climbers were a hit at the fair as were its wall murals in painted cast aluminum featuring the works of surrealist artists like Joan Miró and the Dutch De Stijl art movement.

COZA, an entrepreneurial Brazilian company known for its tableware, showed clean, new designs in a line debuted three years ago and made with German technology from 4% wood fiber from recycled wood. COZA's other experiments with eco-friendly products have resulted in “potato plastic” which bio-degrades in 18 weeks.

White samurai vase and art glass vases from Studium Ki are resplendent in their color and contemporary style.

With more than 200 exclusive designs in transfer-printed natural motifs in high-end ceramic, Porto Brasil's Banana Garden was one of the hot sellers at the fair. The company also sells exclusive flatware to complement its tableware such as this bone handled style.