What is one great thing about spring? My answer: the revival of trade shows 🙂
You may remember my excitement over the International Home+Housewares Show from years past (You can find my previous coverage of this event here, here, here and here) One year, I couldn’t attend due to being heavily pregnant. Then, the lockdowns happened, the Show was cancelled etc. Fast forward to March 2024, and I was delighted to reconnect with this spectacular event, now held under its new name The Inspired Home Show 🙂
Every year, home and housewares professionals from over 120 countries “converge upon Chicago to discover new housewares products and industry trends, meet face-to-face with executives from top retail and manufacturer brands, and gain the insights, leads and exposure to jump-start a successful year. The Show is owned and operated by the International Housewares Association (IHA), which has a rich history within the housewares industry dating back more than 85 years.”
The products showcased at this year’s Show fell into four categories: Clean + Contain, Dine + Decor, Wired + Well, International Sourcing. From tableware and cutlery to bath, cleaning and home organization, from seasonal decor to home appliances and camping necessities, there was a lot to see, learn, and explore. This is the place to be if you want to build or to consolidate your brand, to attract potential customers or to find out all about the hottest and/more resilient industry trends. The education aspect is also reinforced through a variety of seminars held during the Show on topics such as consumer trend insights, new retail approaches, and international design concepts, to name a few.Â
I started off my experience of this year’s Show by checking out a few exhibitors with whom I had made appointments. First on my list was the ZeroWater, Culligan, and ProOne booth to learn about their innovations in the field of water filtration.
After a quick stop at the Nesco booth…
… I reached the HAPPY SiNKS booth for my next appointment with reps of this Finnish small business, whose mission “is to create functional designs that bring happiness into your home” using sustainable materials.
Indeed, sustainability was a key component of this year’s Show, with businesses large and small showcasing a variety of interpretations of the concept. After HAPPY SiNKS, I was very pleased to learn about Buzzee beeswax wraps.
Made out of a combination of beeswax, organic printed cotton fabric, organic virgin coconut oil, and Himalayan pine tree resin, these wraps are a gorgeous and natural alternative to plastic wraps and bags:
I was also happy to discover Danica, a sustainability-oriented company that makes products under the brand names Ecologie Danica and Danica Heirloom, among others. I was in awe of Danica Heirloom’s curated collection of linens, floor coverings, and tabletop items (“focused on the handmade and sourced with care”)…
… and of Ecologie Danica’s sustainable, long lasting and compostable Swedish sponge cloths and reusable beeswax wraps:
The Show also provided the perfect opportunity for me to experience the superlative quality of Hestan Culinary first-hand. Founded by cookware icon Stanley Cheng and made up of leading chefs and engineers, Hestan is an innovative company that has been awarded over 50 patents to date. Its NanoBond, CopperBond, ProBond, and Thomas Keller Insignia collections are crafted in factories near Bergamo, Italy, and all Hestan collections are backed by an impressive lifetime warranty.
Hestan’s NanoBond Collection is their most popular set, and the latest innovation to stainless steel cookware in over 100 years. Their patented technology “bonds thousands of titanium nano-layers to the stainless steel construction, creating a brilliantly resilient cooking surface 400% harder than typical stainless steel, making it resistant to scratching, staining, and salt pitting.” This collection is oven, broiler, and grill safe to 1050 degrees F.
In addition to Hestan Culinary, the growing portfolio of Hestan sub-brands includes Hestan Vineyards, Hestan Smart Cooking, Hestan Commercial, Hestan Outdoor, and Hestan Residential.
Reconnecting with Gourmia was another highlight of the Show. As one of America’s leading air fryer brands, Gourmia displayed innovative products in this field (such as the new Panorama 7-Quart Digital Air Fryer), as well as blenders, espresso machines, and more – including the gorgeous and super functional SoftSnap 1-quart automatic soft-serve ice cream maker below. I was excited to learn that this is the world’s first all-in-one at-home soft-serve ice cream maker with a built-in cooling system, that can make not only soft-serve ice cream but also sorbet, yogurt, vegan ice cream, or frozen drinks. These can be liberally covered with sprinkles or chocolate chips, if so desired, thanks to the incorporated topping dispenser.
My first collaboration with Gourmia goes back to 2016, after our meeting at the Home+Housewares Show. You are welcome to read my 2016 review of their spiralizer here. Stay tuned for a fresh review of one of Gourmia’s leading products, coming up soon 🙂
With this meeting completed, it was close to lunchtime and I was getting hungry 🙂 so I got myself a melted cheese sandwich, which I ate quickly because I wanted to also catch a glimpse of Chef Rick Bayless’s culinary demonstration. During the demo, Chef Bayless made a scrumptious dark chocolate tres leches cake, and spoke about the lengthy research process leading to this perfect chocolate-satisfying treat. You can read my interview with Chef Bayless from a few years ago here 🙂
If I were asked to single out the cutest Show finds, Asobu water bottles would definitely come in first place! As stated on the company’s website, asobu means fun and playful in Japanese, “and that is what we keep front and center in the design of our products. An Asobu bottle is designed with an emphasis on the aesthetics while always adding that element of fun in each of our unique bottles.”
Aren’t these bottles the cutest ever? 🙂
I also had an amazing time at the Peugeot Saveurs booth, whose kitchen innovations have recently caught the housewares experts’ attention for their sleek design and trendy color schemes. One example is the Boreal range of salt and pepper mills, which feature minimalist elegance with nature-inspired soft color tones, backed by a lifetime-guaranteed steel pepper mechanism. The Boreal mills are made in France, with wood sourced from French PEFC-certified forests.
Similarly trendy, visually pleasing, and high quality, is Peugeot’s Appolia hand-made ceramic ovenware, which features beautifully designed, durable dishes that are perfect for everyday cooking and baking. The range meets the most stringent environmental and food regulations and processes, is resistant, easy-to-clean, and dishwasher safe. Currently available in a variety of stylish colors (slate black, saffron yellow, blue, eggplant, grey, red, terracotta, white, and the newest color for 2024, Forest Green), this collection is designed with ergonomics in mind. Each dish has handles, rounded corners, and high edges, and is available in stackable sizes for a smooth cooking experience.
Superb design!
After a quick stop at the fun and whimsical OTOTO booth…
… I checked out the Nordic Ware booth and their winter Bundt pan collection.
As a homebaker and an avid Nordic Ware collector, what I saw at the Show was very inspiring. I cannot wait to see this collection in the stores. A baker’s dream!
Next on my list was a stop at the STEELPORT booth. Handcrafted in Portland, Oregon by a small team of artisans, STEELPORT knives feature iconic design, functional custom details, all US-sourced materials, and have a lifetime warranty with free sharpening for life. STEELPORT is the only American forged knife that’s broadly available (they are carried in over 100 retailers in the US, Canada and Japan), combining traditional drop forging techniques with some modern innovations to create the best kitchen knife possible.Â
STEELPORT’s 6 kitchen essential knife shapes are functional and gorgeous, and the company’s commitment to excellence is wonderful to explore. I thoroughly enjoyed learning about their knife making process, from rod to the finished product.
Fascinating story, amazing quality!
My last appointment of the day was at the FIREUP booth.
And with this, my experience of the 2024 Inspired Home Show came to an end. I thoroughly enjoyed attending after a break, and reconnecting to the innovations in the field through first-hand, in-person discussions and demonstrations. I love this Show for the opportunity to learn and to network, and I can’t wait for next year’s edition 🙂
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