HISTORY OF NEOCON WORLD'S TRADE FAIR
"NeoCon® World's Trade Fair. It marks style changes. It marks workplace evolution.
And for many, it marks time."
-Christopher G. Kennedy,
President of Merchandise Mart Properties, Inc.
The history of NeoCon World's Trade Fair is an important aspect of today's design community. This nation wide event has evolved into a well known and respected trade show throughout the world. Designers are constantly being kept on their toes to provide the most innovative and creative product ideas in order to accommodate both the public's design needs, as well as their desire for fresh, inspiring products. Displayed below is a timeline of highlighted events within the past 35 years that has helped to shape NeoCon into the valued and prestigious event that it is today.
Scroll your mouse over the date and pictures to stop the timeline for your viewing.
| To move forward, scroll mouse to the left < | To move back, scroll mouse to the right > |
When NeoCon, (The National Exposition of Contract Furnishings), debuted in 1969, 750 exhibitors filled the 222,000 square feet of space in The Merchandise Mart. In 2002, over 1,000 exhibiting manufacturers of commercial and residential furnishings flocked to The Merchandise Mart to claim a showroom within the 1 million square feet of available space. In recent years the show has expanded to Baltimore, LA and Canada due to it's tremendus success and each year, over 40,000 people come to Chicago to attend NeoCon. The grand scale of this event is what makes it both memorable and successful.
NeoCon is now considered the largest trade show of its kind in North America. Complete with 1,200 showrooms and exhibits, NeoCon offers a unique combination of residential and commercial furnishings in one convenient location. Professional designers and architects can journey from product seminars and special events to furniture exhibits with ease. A demand for the NeoCon World's Trade Fair will continue as various emerging commercial industries grow and transform.
"And the myriads of players in the World's Trade Fair-architects, students, manufacturers, dealers and end-users-all add to the elaborate fabric of the show, and to the definition of the world that is forever ingrained in the lexicon of the industry: NeoCon."
-Robin
A. Carrol,
IIDA Perspective: Journal of the International Interior Design Association
