From the Community Blog

Now in its 29th year, the iconic Best of NeoCon Awards continue to honor the best new commercial interiors products launched at NeoCon. This June, hundreds of NeoCon exhibitors will unveil thousands of innovative new products. A team of more than 40 industry professionals review the entries in person, and first thing Monday morning at NeoCon, the Best of NeoCon winners are presented. Best of luck to all the Best of NeoCon entrants, we can’t wait to see your new products at NeoCon 2018.

We wanted to share some of our favorite new hot spots in Chicago. Whether you're looking for a place to eat, drink, shop or just take a break from the craziness of NeoCon, here are some great suggestions. Shop SPACE 519 is a concept store in Chicago’s Gold Coast neighborhood, just off of the Magnificent Mile. Owners Lance Lawson and Jim Wetzel curate an assortment of unique and hard to find items across a broad range of categories. They focus on a finely edited assortment of women’s apparel and accessories, men’s accessories, green apothecary, inspired home goods, as well as unique ...

Many of you have “grown up” in the industry attending NeoCon over the years. And the legacy continues. This year, young and budding designers and other new talents will attend NeoCon for an unparalleled opportunity to gain exposure to the professional business of design. We are excited to welcome more than 50,000 new and experienced industry members to our 50th edition June 11-13.

There are endless opportunities to connect with the commercial design community at NeoCon. Manufacturers, dealers, architects, designers, end-users, design organizations and media travel from around the world to see what’s new and next and to engage with each other. NeoCon 50 will be a particularly vibrant hub for the community with a non-stop schedule of networking, events and celebrations. Visit the Features page for a look at what’s in store.

Parties and events throughout NeoCon’s first 49 years have contributed greatly to the vitality of the show, breathing energy into each day and providing unparalleled opportunities to connect with industry members. For this year’s 50th edition of NeoCon, we plan to celebrate the past, present and, most importantly, future of our vibrant industry. Join the NeoCon community to celebrate “50 Years of Tomorrow’s Design” and to usher in the future at The Future Is PARTY, presented by Mohawk Group. This will be an event worthy of a half century—you won’t want to miss it! Tickets are $50 with proceeds benefiting DIFFA/Chicago. Come ...

Carol Ross Barney, Founder and Design Principal, Ross Barney Architects, will be speaking at NeoCon on creating livable environments that enrich the metropolitan experience. We chatted with Carol about her past NeoCon experiences, and her favorite things to do in Chicago. Do you remember your first NeoCon experience? I do. I was a very young architect working for Holabird and Root. I remember the anticipation in the office for the lectures and the parties. Do you have memories or anecdotes to share about NeoCons past? The Architects Licensing Exam used to be offered just once a year in June and was ...

This interview was conducted by Metropolis as part of its NeoCon 50 retrospective series as told to Avinash Rajagopal. Since 2011, Todd Bracher has had a host of releases at NeoCon—across product categories like furniture, flooring, and lighting—and has also designed a number of showrooms at the Mart. On the occasion of NeoCon’s 50th edition, Bracher spoke to Metropolis about how American design is different from the European scene and how NeoCon has been a vital to its development. I had been living overseas for a long while so I hadn’t been to NeoCon until 2007. Interestingly enough, I discovered that NeoCon ...

This interview was conducted by Metropolis as part of its NeoCon 50 retrospective series as told to Avinash Rajagopal. The founder of the lighting company Pardo has launched a series of award-winning LED solutions at NeoCon. On the occasion of the fair’s 50th edition, Pardo spoke to Metropolis about the transformation of the workplace lighting, and the role of NeoCon in the LED revolution. In 2007, we launched the Brazo lamp with Haworth, which won Neocon Gold as well as Best of Competition—the very first time a lamp had won Best of show. It was indeed a very fortunate beginning for us ...

Art Gensler founded his award winning firm in 1965 and is widely credited with elevating the practice of interior design to professional standing. Art will sit down with Cheryl Durst, IIDA executive vice president and CEO, at NeoCon to share some of the unanticipated opportunities that have helped shape his career. We had the opportunity to chat with him about his career, his thoughts on the industry, and some of his favorites things about Chicago. Do you remember your first NeoCon experience? I remember the vastness of the show. All the terrific showrooms and displays of new products. What inspires you ...

This interview was conducted by Metropolis as part of its NeoCon 50 retrospective series as told to Avinash Rajagopal. Dorothy Cosonas has been a longtime participant at NeoCon, and for the last twelve years in her current role as creative director of KnollTextiles. On the occasion of NeoCon’s 50th edition, Cosonas spoke to Metropolis about her memories of the fair, how NeoCon has become a platform for storytelling around textile design, and how she uses the occasion to engage with the next generation of designers. When our March 2006 collection was previewed at the Knoll showroom, I remember the incredible amount of ...