Buyer Guide
The Italian Event Calendar and What It Means for Your Order Date
Trade fairs and the outdoor season drive demand: the Salone del Mobile is held in Milan every April at Rho Fiera, Festa della Repubblica falls on 2 June, and the August holiday period closes much of the country. Bulk production typically takes 3–8 days for simple items, 7–15 days for standard custom work and 15–25 days for complex or large pieces, counted from final design approval, with freight and customs on top. Working back from Festa della Repubblica on 2 June, that means approving artwork by mid-March for a complex piece shipped by sea, or by mid-April for air freight.
By InflatCraft Product Team • Last updated
The April fair season sets the year
Trade fairs and the outdoor season drive demand: the Salone del Mobile is held in Milan every April at Rho Fiera, Festa della Repubblica falls on 2 June, and the August holiday period closes much of the country.
For anyone exhibiting, April is the fixed point the rest of the schedule bends around. Working back with production and freight, an April stand is approved in January, which is earlier than most buyers assume when they start planning in the new year.
The exhibitor manual, not the show date
A stand-build project is governed by the fair's exhibitor regulations, and the documentation deadline they set is normally well before move-in. Read them first: they usually name the fire documentation, which can change the material rather than just the paperwork.
A suspended piece needs the venue's rigging points and load per point confirmed before the size is fixed.
August is a gap, and it is predictable
The holiday period closes much of the country. Approvals, site visits and responses slow through it, so a September installation planned in July has to assume the gap rather than hope around it.
That also makes August a reasonable production window for autumn work, provided the approvals happened before it started.
Working the dates backwards
Bulk production typically takes 3–8 days for simple items, 7–15 days for standard custom work and 15–25 days for complex or large pieces, counted from final design approval. Freight comes on top: express or air usually 4–15 working days, and sea, rail or truck usually 20–45 days, after dispatch and subject to route and customs. Clearance is a separate step.
Working back from Festa della Repubblica on 2 June, that means approving artwork by mid-March for a complex piece shipped by sea, or by mid-April for air freight.
What to send so the date is real
The product type, the target size or the constraint that fixes it, the quantity, print-ready artwork with colour references, the destination, indoor or temporary outdoor use, and the on-site date. MOQ is 1 piece for most custom projects, so a first piece can be reviewed before a repeat order.
If the project is for a fair, send the exhibitor regulations with the brief. They answer questions the supplier would otherwise have to ask twice.
Verified Specifications
Figures this guide is written against.
Lead time
- Typical: Bulk production typically takes 3–8 days for simple items, 7–15 days for standard custom work and 15–25 days for complex or large pieces, counted from final design approval
- Can be shorter: Repeat orders on an approved design can run shorter
- Freight and import time come on top. Lead time is confirmed per project once artwork, size, quantity and destination are fixed; treat any figure quoted before that as indicative.
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Relevant Product Pages
Compare specifications before submitting an RFQ.
Buyer FAQ
Additional specification questions.
Where to order
Order direct from the manufacturer.
Published by InflatCraft, operated by Tianjin Mufeng Trading Co., Ltd., a custom inflatable manufacturer founded in 2005 and based in Tianjin, China. We export to the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Germany, France, Spain and Italy.
Request a quote
Send the brief and get a specification-based quotation.
MOQ and lead time
What sets the minimum order and where the time goes.
Sourcing from China
Brief, approval, Incoterms, freight and import, in order.
Verified specifications
Materials, air systems and lead time this site quotes against.
Export planning by country: United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Germany, France, Spain, Italy.
