Chicago—Two commercial shows—NeoCon, the largest commercial design showcase in North America; and Design Days, the new kid on the block that has drawn significant notice and participation from the design community—kicked off together on Monday as what some have dubbed “Chicago Design Week.” While collaboration between the two shows hasn’t yet come to fruition to emulate the success of some shows like Italy’s Salone, the potential is there.
Both shows garnered significant foot traffic and the energy was palpable. However, the split between Design Days and NeoCon within the flooring industry was obvious. This year, Mohawk and Milliken joined Tarkett and J+J within the Fulton Market District for Design Days. Mohawk Group’s permanent showroom will open for next year’s show but its pop up welcomed visitors for the three days of the 2024 event. Milliken also hosted a pop up in Fulton Market where it showcased new products while also offering attendees activations like “puppy therapy” and massages.
“Last year we really didn’t have a lot of metrics for how many people actually came out to Fulton Market,” Rob Tivadar, Design Days director, told FCNews. “We had a view from brands that we personally worked with and what they were pulling in, but we had no idea what attendance was like. So this year, having a registration and seeing who’s coming out was massively helpful because now we know what the numbers are and we know what we can cater to every year as we grow. This year we’ve got over 7,500 registered, which is higher than any of the showrooms got last year in their individual areas. Also, it’s a voluntary registration.”
NeoCon still hosted mainstays like Shaw Contract, Patcraft, Mannington Commercial, and Aquafil while AHF and Karndean Commercial showcased their latest and greatest on the trade show floor.
“I do think it will be a good year,” said Carrie Edwards Isaac, VP, hospitality, Shaw Contract. “We gauge it on our RSVPs for our parties. So we had a party tonight at the Museum of Contemporary Art, really drawing on the Art + Science collection. Yesterday, we had more RSVPs to the party than we did this same time last year. So I feel like the attendance should be strong.”
(Look for more on Design Week in upcoming issues of FCNews.)