7.6.09 | Every NeoCon seems to capture a moment in time like a polaroid of our profession. How many of us seem to link each NeoCon with something that seems to define that particular year for us? For some, it’s a product launch or drop-dead-gorgeous showroom. For others, it may be an event or person. For many I suspect it all seems to be one big blur.
7.6.09 | Jurors review more than 400 products entered into the Best of NeoCon competition over the course of three days before NeoCon opens. Enhancing workplace and quality of life are the requisites for the Best of NeoCon winners. The following is a list of The Best of NeoCon Innovation, Editor's Choice, and Silver Award winners for this year.
Competitions and Awards >>, Events >>, Product >>
7.6.09 | One of the positive aspects of a gently attended Neocon was the time folks in the showrooms had to spend with visitors. This slower, more thorough pace was a real treat and should be considered when weighing the options to attend trade shows during a soft economy. There was plenty of time to discuss product lines in detail and to gain much more information than usual.
7.6.09 | As we wove our way through the Mart perusing the carpets we noted several
trends.
Many manufacturers are:
>Hesitant to make any statement where color is concerned; neutral to
the point of nondescript appeared to be the order of the day
>Using bright, intense colors when they do offer color
>Taking the opportunity to gain feedback on potential products and
asking visitors to vote for their favorites or provide input
>Offering products with greater amounts of recycled content, offering
wool and substantially advancing their sustainable practices
>Reducing the face weight and manipulating the construction in an
effort to diminish cost and conserve resources
7.6.09 | Nobody was smiling. None of the customers. At the nursery. I seldom visit a nursery. I love flowers. I adore flowers. The colors. The smells. Little water globules on fuzzy leaves. How they enliven any green they grace. I love flowers. I’m not unique. Everybody loves flowers. And many people visit nurseries. To bring flowers home for planting in pots and window boxes and old weathered barrels beside the sidewalk. Many people do that. My Shelly does that. But, I don’t. I love flowers. But, I don’t do anything with that love. So I seldom visit a nursery. But, today I did.
Ira Joe >>
6.29.09 | Overall:
Perhaps a better reflection of seeing the glass half-full – as many
speculated on low attendance and open corridors – I was taken at
the energy and vitality of this year's show amidst the backdrop of
layoffs and slow movement in the industry. There was smart product to be
seen and many shared a sense of optimism directed toward next year's
market performance.
6.29.09 | Around July, 2007, Elizabeth Nickels, EVP, left her position as Herman Miller CFO to become president of Herman Miller Healthcare, replacing the retiring Charlie Varanian. On February 8, 2008, Herman Miller completed its acquisition of Brandrud Furniture, a healthcare furniture manufacturer based in Seattle, WA, with 2007 revenues of around $20 million; the terms of the purchase were not disclosed.
6.29.09| After a weekend filled with pre-NeoCon events and parties, it’s not easy
getting folks to commit to an hour-long lecture over lunch on Monday. But
a good-sized crowd did commit when the speaker is none other that Chicago
starchitect Jeanne Gang.
6.29.09 | When Barbara Dunn, FIIDA, Principal of Gensler’s Los Angeles office, was announced president-elect of IIDA’s Southern California Chapter, we all knew it would be an exciting year. She has always been known to bring people and good ideas together, while at the same time promoting the power of great design. The proof in her vision came at the organization's annual meeting during NeoCon at the Museum of Contemporary Art when IIDA announced the Southern California Chapter as the winner in the category of Large Chapter of the Year.
People >>, Prof. Associations >>
6.29.09 | Spring was not acting its age. The Sunday afternoon was gray-cold with a bone-brushing dampness. I sat in a high-ceilinged room of a lovely New England colonial house listening to a poet read from her new collection. The poems were lovely and tried to warm the air. I took particular delight in one line that tossed out the word “anemones.” I lost the rest of the poem as I thought, “What a great word. ‘Anemones.’
Ira Joe >>
6.21.09 | Our NeoCon WTF 09 was terrific. How was yours? Sure, we got rained on a couple of times, literally and figuratively, but that didn't dampen our spirits. (As our old First Sergeant used to tell us as we were doing push ups and jumping jacks after 3 hours in the rain, “You're not made of sugar; you won't melt.”) Crowds? You bet: We had to wait to get into Knoll, and then shoulder our way through, and that was true for Allsteel/Gunlocke, Global and many others, to say nothing of the impenetrable crowd waiting for a taxi about 5:00 pm during the refreshing Midwest downpour. (We didn't wait, but where are those Allsteel pedishaws when you need them?)
6.21.09 | Best of NeoCon is by far the most rigorous and most significant annual assessment of what is happening in general U.S. contract furniture product developments. Other competitions of general scope (i.e., excluding, for example, the Nightengale Awards in healthcare) in this area probably can be, and should be, ignored as mere marketing exercises.
Competitions and Awards >>, Product >>
6.21.09 | Allsteel and Ahrend are moving forward with their five-year alliance, but reshaping it in response to their experiences in the global markets in which they have been working together. The two companies will continue to partner closely on global opportunities – including those in the United States – supporting and servicing their respective global customers. They will no longer maintain their exclusive distribution relationship.
