I started working at Design-Engine a few days before Valentines Day. I had never attended a trade show before and not knowing what to expect, I definitely wore the wrong shoes. This years International Home and Housewares Show is the size, if not larger than, the autoshow. While it can be a bit overwhelming, with over 2000 exhibiting companies, the show displayed many innovative, eye catching designs. The show consists of everything from electrical appliances and interior decorations accessories to home textiles and cleaning equipments and that’s just the tip of the iceburg. Or gadgets for opening jars to a new can opener.
The show definitely has an international feel with exhibitors and buyers from 35 different countries. Although I only saw a fraction of what was there, it was cool to see small and big companies alike under one roof. I could go from giants like Calphalon to smaller, more detail oriented companies like Kitchenista in a matter of a few steps.
There was even a celebrity citing at the show, if you consider the ShamWow Guy a celebrity. As he nervously paced around the show in street clothes, my accomplice and I attempted to snap a few photos. In our efforts we were confused by a booth, as “idea stealers”. Our camera was snatched by Mr. Paranoid and we were reported to security. Let me just say that we had been taking photos all day with no problem and no intention of “idea stealing”. We simply wanted a photo of the ShamWow guy and we were probably trying to be more discreet than we needed to be. Turned out, security was fine with us taking pictures as long as we asked.
All in all the show was a positive experience, it really opened my eyes to how essential design and engineering is to all the little things we take for granted. The Housewares Show really helped me understand Design-Engine’s position on why our training is so critical to future designs.
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