NeoConŽ World's Trade Fair
An Annual Adventure in the Business of Design

Each year over 40,000 people attend the NeoCon World's Trade Fair at the Merchandise Mart in Chicago. It's the largest trade show featuring residential and commercial furnishings in North America. Besides elaborate showrooms of furniture exhibits, there are instructive product seminars and exciting special events.

Starting in 1967, the International Contract Exposition and Congress relocated their convention to the Merchandise Mart, because of a fire at McCormick Place. The first NeoCon (National Exposition of Contract Furnishings) debuted in 1969; their exposition featured 750 exhibitors in 220,000 square feet of space at the Mart. By 2002, the space increased to a million square feet and there were 1,000 exhibitors. This year's convention showcased 1,200 exhibitors (including the temporary and permanent showrooms). Attendance was 43,074 (up 3-4% from last year) in 1.6 million square feet of exhibit space.

Based upon my observations at the convention, I can predict a few trends. I noticed a definite inclination, in the design of workplace furniture, toward pieces that look and feel like pieces you'd have in your home. Even many of the new task chairs have a softer appearance and come in more casual colors. And by the way, eco-savvy furniture is definitely here to stay. Almost every new product showcase focused on the product's sustainability and the environmental-friendliness of its materials.

A highlight of the convention is always the competition for NeoCon's best. A panel of judges, including accomplished designers and facilities managers, tour the manufacturer's showrooms at the Mart and personally evaluate new products. They determine who gets the gold.

NeoCon Gold Winner 2005:
Liberty Side Chair

Perfect Lumbar Automatically - Availability: September.

As a companion to the award-winning Liberty Task Chair, Humanscale introduced the perfect side chair for a number of different applications. The Liberty Side Chair sports the same environmentally friendly Form-Sensing Mesh Technology as the task chair. With its tri-panel construction, its mesh has the body-fitting contours that single-panel stretch mesh chairs simply can't achieve. And it offers perfect lumbar support for everyone, without external devices or manual adjustments.

A handsome chair, the Liberty was designed to be durable, far above the usual standards for side chairs. Its mesh seat has a soft, supportive frameless front and a pivoting backrest - a plus for a side chair. Environmentally conscious, the Liberty Side Chair has 80% recycled content and is 95% recyclable.

Available in eight vibrant colors, the Liberty Side Chair will be shipped in September; watch my newsletter for details.

NeoCon Innovation Award 2005:
Cella Task Chair

Day-long Comfort - Availability: This product is so new - watch for an update in my Newsletter this fall!

It's a work chair like no other. The Cella Chair by Herman Miller is high-performance, long-term seating with a full complement of adjustments and innovative suspension. Cella's perfect for computer work, general office work and casual or formal meetings. Only Cella has Cellular Suspension, a patented system of cells and loops that flexes in concert with the body's movements for day-long comfort. Cella's suspension, along with its naturally balanced tilt and easy adjustability, gives ergonomic support for nearly all sizes and shapes worldwide.

Cella has a clean, modern look that blends easily with a variety of interiors and architecture. It comes in 6 cellular colors, from light to dark, neutral to nature based; its latitude upholstery option comes in 20 colors. And Cella is 99% recyclable.

Our pick:
Bertoia Asymmetric Lounger

Mid-century masterpiece - Availability: October.

One of the most eye-catching and unique products we saw at NeoCon was the Bertoia Asymmetric Lounger. A new addition to his iconic collection for Knoll, Harry Bertoia designed the asymmetric chair in the early 50's, but it was never produced beyond the prototypical form. Sculptural, airy and breathtaking in shape and form, the chaise is considered to be a masterpiece of mid-century experimental American furniture. Look for the Bertoia Asymmetric Lounger on our site in October.