twogether we design

by Hendrika Kantor, Creative Specialist

It’s been a long time since I’ve been to Neocon so when invited to attend this year, I jumped at the opportunity.

Eagerly anticipating this event, I packed my bags and headed to Chicago, and I was not disappointed, as a matter of fact, it was better than expected. The platform that Neocon provides to a multitude of manufacturers is simply unmatched. We got to walk through beautiful vignettes, experience new materials, feel new textures and enjoy bright colors vibrating throughout the spaces. This year the focus was on the variety of textures, colored wood, organic shapes, soft curves, color and nature. All working in synergy to create spaces that will have a profound effect in the people sharing new spaces.

by Dev Reyes, Senior Creative Specialist

Whirldwind’s might do well to take note of the flurry of anticiaption and inspiration that 2 days of NeoCon managed to jostle up! It being my first time attending this commercial furniture mecca in Chicago, I was not ready for the sheer volume of bodies and backrests I encountered in the hours we spent perusing new products with clients and designers alike. Color is back in a big way, something many of us in the industry have been seeing as we transition away from more neutral and inobtrusive palettes into client’s desiring a stronger sense of place and narrative in their workspaces - it was bright, it was moody, it was playful! Most poignant for me outside of the broad range of ancillary easter eggs was the deep sense of community that permeated the walls of the showroom right out on to the riverwalk some hundred feet below: this is just as much as an event for clients as it is for the community of makers, thinkers, dreamers and risk-takers that is our A+D world. How special it is to feel a sense of belonging among what I would argue is THE best INDUSTRY in the world. Until next time windy city!