It was a long time coming (no show since March 2019!) but The Inspired Home Show 2022 in Chicago (March 5-7) really did live up to its name – and nowhere more evident than at the New Exhibitor and Trending Today event before the show opened on its first morning, reports Sarah Selzer.
Traditionally, the New Exhibitor and Trending Today preview on the first morning of the show is the time when those early risers can get ahead of the game – it starts at 8am, before the show officially opens at 10am, and is a great way of making contact with brands that you might want to have a closer look at during the show.
There is a great mix of home-grown US and international brands at the New Exhibitor Preview (this time around 90 in the New Exhibitor section, out of a total of nearly 400 first-timers at the show). Plenty of eager UK buyers and distributors can usually be seen making their way past the tables. Show organiser the IHA is always supremely equitable with these pre-show events, as all the exhibitors have the same size table and space!
Among the new exhibitors were London-based W10, with a range of innovative drinkware including the Oxford Power Cup – a stainless steel vacuum-sealed cup with wireless charging and a detachable power bank. W10’s range of design-led bottles and collapsible travel cups also include the three-tiered stainless steel Portobello.
Brands on show included recent entrants into the UK, like the Spanish sustainable brand Roll’eat (available in the UK through PHA KitchEssentials). A family-run business, Roll’Eat has developed a range of reusable wraps and bags with trendy designs meaning ‘you can eat in style’. Sisters Meritxell and Anna Hernandez enjoyed their first show. “People are focusing so much more on sustainable now,” said Meritxell. “Our products, like Boc n Roll, really have the ‘wow’ factor too!”
One of the particularly eye-catching product selections was from Vaccaro – another family-run business owned by design couple Sheila and Joe Vaccaro, who have spent most of their careers designing products for other brands. Vaccaro has the strapline ‘Elevate the everyday’, with the idea that the products are “real people stuff”, according to Sheila. The range includes a dishrack with a pull-over ‘handle’ that you can slot the stems of wine glasses on to, stand-up edged chopping boards and an expandable paper towel holder so it fits all sizes of roll.
The theme for this year’s Trending Today was Healthy@Home, which included hydration but also brands with a sustainable angle like ChicoBag (To-Go cutlery, reusable shopping bags and bottle holders – distributed in the UK by Whitby & Co). Once Again had reusable sponges, dish cloths and even a beach towel made from a super-absorbent cloth produced from recycled bottles and all in vibrant designs.
Meanwhile, Swiss brand Nuts Innovations featured vegan wraps as well as bees wax and eco-friendly food storage including denim-look bags and bowl covers and cork-bottomed 100% cotton snack and bread bags.
* For more information about The Inspired Home Show, visit TheInspiredHomeShow.com
* The Inspired Home Show 2023 will take place March 4-7 at McCormick Place in Chicago. Buyer registration is open at TheInspiredHomeShow.com/Register. Exhibitor applications will be accepted from May.
Above: Buyers enjoyed a great start to The Inspired Home Show, finding plenty of innovation in the New Exhibitor Preview.
