6.23.08 | This year, with high fuel prices on everyone's mind, we asked companies where their products were made. We were surprised, and delighted, to discover that between 70% and 80% of all commercial textiles are manufactured in the USA. It turns out that there are many creative, facile mills scattered all over the country and they are doing a healthy business despite the fact that two major domestic mills went under last year.

6.23.08 | This year we decided to present carpet in a way similar to our textile review, with a survey piece giving our readers a broad overview. If we've left someone out, it is not intentional; just let us know and we will address the matter.

6.16.08 | Celebrating its 19th year, the Best of NeoCon honors new commercial interiors products. A total of 352 products were entered in 39 product and furnishing categories in the competition, sponsored by Contract magazine, Merchandise Mart Properties, Inc., The International Interior Design Association (IIDA), The International Facility Management Association (IFMA), and McMorrow Report.com.

6.2.08 | Kimball Office just might steal the show this year with its launch of Hum. Minds at Work.™ O.K., you have to like cute to clap with glee for the name, but the concept, execution (as far as we can tell from images), and underlying research move Kimball Office up with the leaders of the class in the North American contract furniture area. With its striking showroom at 325 North Wells, designed by TVS Interiors, and its relaxing views overlooking the Chicago River, the short trip across the street from the Mart is an essential stop.

6.2.08 | Carnegie (www.carnegiefabrics.com) introduced an exciting new Xorel product at the Hospitality & Design Show, and we just couldn’t wait until NeoCon to get the details. What we discovered was, thanks to a newly developed process of embroidering, Xorel Embroider was born. It’s available in 8 patterns that include plaids: Axis Embroider and florals Laurel Embroider.

6.2.08 | Coalesse (Mart Suite 1032), (an obvious play on the word coalesce, to fuse or unite into a whole) is the new name for Brand 3, and, in a sense, is a new guise for the now defunct Steelcase Design Partnership, some of the products and parts of which transferred to Coalesse and other Steelcase divisions or reporting lines.

6.2.08 | The newly refreshed DIRTT showroom (across the street from the Mart with Kimball at 325 N. Wells) is an ode to environmental sustainability’s tenets –Reduce and Reuse. It is proof conscientiousness doesn'’t mean less design or function.

6.2.08 | Geiger is going to have a big NeoCon 08, the first under the overall direction of Steve Gane, president. Apparently Mr. Gane remembers the success of his tenure at HBF when that company, now a competitor, seemed to grow products at increasing volume each NeoCon.

6.2.08 | What are HBF and HBF Textiles doing for NeoCon 08? The world wants to know. HBF is one of several smaller companies that play such and important part in the interiors industry that no NeoCon would be complete without them. Indeed, it is not a stretch to say they carried the show last year, and very ably so.

6.2.08 | I like Inscape, It’'s a plucky company with some very good ideas and a smart management team. I just visited with Peter Brunelle, President and CEO, and Sharad Mathur, Director of Marketing and Product Management. Mr. Brunelle, the former Herman Miller fellow, has been in position for three years and is now pretty happy with his back office and manufacturing set up, and now will be focusing on the front part: products, sales and distribution. Mr. Mathur, obviously, has a major part in that, and I was fortunate to spend some time with him alone while Mr. Brunelle was wrapping up other business.

6.2.08 | Well known in the industry for more than 70 years, Luxo U.S. has been under the direction of Sam Gumins for the past three years. Of late, the company has been more successful in distributing its lab magnifying products, but Mr. Gumins has convince the parent company in Norway that the North American task lighting market deserves some designs of its own.

6.2.08 | NeoCon 08 is just around the corner and its everyone out for themselves. But, still, you’ll find some nurturing, especially at Nurture by Steelcase, where Steelcase’s new total experience approach is in full swing. Only two years old, Nurture has had a great impact already, with its contributions to the largest company in the industry being specifically mention in the financial reports. That surely must add a small cushion of comfort to management as it reads the financial news these days.

6.2.08 | Qdesign, Oakbrook, IL, and a division of Whitney, Inc., has developed products for some of the leading furniture manufacturers. Still, it has been able to hold true to its core design-driven principles and the belief that design can solve problems and provide solutions for companies.

5.26.08 | Configura. The word rolls off the tongue as easily as the images nimbly flow from the fingers with its impressive presentation and specification software, CET Designer. As indicated in a previous issue (officeinsight 5.5.08), Configura (NeoCon Booth 7-7046) appears to be in a head-to-head race with the similarly facile with Ice Business Solutions’ ICE java tool to win the hearts, minds and imaginations of dealers, designers and clients.

5.26.08 | Steelcase is definitely heating up, with its support of A&D (see officeinsight 3.24.08, Dan Chong and Design Community Collaboration and 8.13.07 Steelcase’s Applied Research Consulting), its dealerships (officeinsight this issue, Configura), its focus on the environment (officeinsight 5.12.08, SeaChange at Steelcase), and in its product offerings. Last week we indicated that it will be a Steelcase year at NeoCon World Trade Fair 08. It’s new mega-showroom on the 3^rd floor of the at the Merchandise Mart should be something to behold. 

5.26.08 | At last year’s NeoCon WTF, Gunlocke came forward with its Converge line of conference products. We were impressed with its smooth aesthetic and high functionality and the completeness of the line at launch time. And, in accordance with Stan Askren’s (Chairman, Pres. & CEO) policy, products presented at NeoCon are production ready. Converge looked good to us and to the Best of NeoCon judges, who gave it a Best of NeoCon Gold for conference tables, and Silver for conference rooms.

5.19.08 | With a name like Acuity, Allsteel’'s new ergonomic task chair is a natural for us at officeinsight. So, we schlepped down to the Skylight at 257 Hudson Street in lower Manhattan last Tuesday for the formal NYC launch of this very classy and comfortable sitting tool.

5.19.08 | Carl Magnusson has recently designed a new wood guest chair for Teknion, the Synapse, to be launched at Neocon 08. Synapses design meets several objectives, embodying the expected attributes of aesthetics, ergonomics, and price while addressing sustainability concerns and the ever-increasing cost of transportation and assembly.