Gressco children's furniture offers playful learning

The bright colors and fun designs caught my eye from across the room. So I had to stop and see what was new in children's commercial furniture. Although Gressco markets to the commercial sector, so many products would be a big hit in residential playrooms. Their interactive play systems will keep kids busy for hours stimulating their minds and increasing eye-hand coordination. Gressco is know for their high quality, colorful and kid-friendly library and classroom furniture, seating and tables, lofts and play walls, and storage systems. Check out their website, http://www.gressco.com/ for more information.

Heller's ergoErgo chair offers health benefits and fun

For fun and fitness, try the ergoErgo chair designed by Alan Heller, Heller, Inc.,
http://www.ergoergo.com/. This accordian looking UV-stable recyclable technopolymer plastic chair is made with a gas injection molding process to give it stability. As a UV-resistant product, it can be used indoors or outdoors.

ErgoErgo is health inspired and can be used to strengthen core muscles, making it a useful chair for persons with back issues. An additional benefit is balance training and it keeps the blood flowing improving circulation.

ErgoErgo reminds me of the 1977 version of The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh when Tigger says of himself, "They're bouncy, trouncy, flouncy, pouncy, fun, fun, fun, fun, fun." How exciting it would be to bounce, trounce, flounce, and pounce throughout the day while sitting on this fun chair? I have an accordian type office chair in my home that I love. I don't sit in the chair all day but I have a lot of fun on it.

Alan Heller says, "It is a good design at an affordable price." ErgoErgo is available in four sizes, including a children's version. The three adult sizes come in warm red, black, white, and grey. Children's chairs come in the same four colors with additional red and yellow colors. More colors are planned for production. Adult chairs retail for $100 and children's chairs retail for $75. They should be available for purchase on their website in mid-July.

Visit http://www.helleronline.com/ to see other products from Heller, Inc. Heller has worked with leaders in design and architecture, such as Mario Bellini, Frank Gehry, Lella and Massimo Vignelli, Vico Magistretti, Studio 65, William Sawaya, and Studio De Pas: Donato D'Urbino and Paolo Lomazzi to produce furniture.

View, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzH5Mg5KYJk for video of people having fun on ergoErgo.

Sparks of excitement flew at Neocon during the premier of Sparkeology

A new furniture company, Sparkeology, introduced themselves to the world at Neocon. They caught a lot of attention with their fun, colorful, interactive showroom. The chalkboard wall was filled with well-wishes from Neocon attendees. Their Press Release states the Michigan based company is a collaborative venture between The Worden Company, a library furniture maker, Via Design, an architecture nad design firm, Viable, Via's sister company, and Square One Design, a graphic design firm. Together they introduced an initial nine products with more products planned for the future. The strong, lightweight, playful, and fun furniture is made to be used in the public spaces of libraries, higher education facilities, restaurants, or any lounges or lobbies where people get together to converse or work.

I flipped out when I saw how many things you can do with Flip. On top of being a table, stool, or book holder, Flip can be used right side up, up side down, or however you want it to stand. I like the horizontal lines and sparkeology star design. They give it a lot of character.


Al sits pretty in an upholstery, metal or wood finish. Al is available in both table and bar heights. His concave seat invites one to sit down and relax for a bit.




Ty, Ty-Pad, and Ben are coordinating units when "tied" together create a half-wall, pod, or a simple bench. Ty is a bookcase type of unit that can be lined up to divide a space or configured in stations. Ty's power hub makes it an attractive work station. Ty-Pad provides the seat back for Ben.



The sturdy steel legs and soft upholstery make Manny the ottoman a wonderful resting place to stretch out or sit on.




Pete and Stu are two hard-working tables. Pete, with a center base, is available in a circular, square, or rectangular shape and two different heights. Pete can be used with a resin top and can be ordered in a variety of base colors. Stu is a sturdy rectangular table supported by side legs. It is advertised to have an easy-sliding sled base. I don't remember seeing this at Neocon, the showroom was packed, but I think that the table top slides back and forth like a keyboard drawer that you can move to a desired position that is comfortable to work in.



Last but not least, there's Phil. A display cabinet that showcases monitors, collections, books, programs, graphic messages/images, or anything else you would like to display.

The exciting aspect of Sparkeology furniture is the unlimited number of configurations that can be made with the lightweight and easily movable pieces. See the website,
http://sparkeology.com/ for more information and look for more fun interchangeable products in the future.

Neocon forum discusses the future of design

On Monday, June 14th, IIDA, The International Interior Design Association, held a forum: Rethinking, Redefining, and Reinventing Our Work to discuss how designers can stay ahead of the game. Nine designers from all sectors of the design industry joined together to share advice on how to stay on top of the market. Main themes include

• communication including the use of social media (facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter)
• visionary attitude, create a concept and develop the means to carryout that concept
• creator of change
• know regulations and standards, rules and guidelines
• global thinking
• differentiate yourself

It was interesting to hear designers from government, education, corporate, healthcare and other designers throughout the U.S. share their strategies as they face change in their workplaces. Their inspiring and encouraging attitudes helped kick-start a successful Neocon.

Luxo introduces new energy-efficient and ergonomic lighting solutions

Luxo, a leader in the luminaire business, is committed to providing the best design, functionality, durability, and energy efficiency of lighting to the professional market. With many years of researching Light Emitting Diodes (LED), Luxo is a trusted source of these latest light sources.

Ovelo, designed by Stephan Copeland, is a fabulous new task light perfect for the modern office. The donut shape is whimsical and attention-getting but, better than that, Ovelo is a user-friendly, energy efficient task light. With four dimmable LED lights, it's life span is 45,000 hours! One of it's special features is a timer that turns the light off after eight hours. I love that feature!

Designer Vesa Honkonen is responsible for two new interior lighting options. Levit is a sleek sophisticated looking free standing energy efficient luminaire available with a single or double head (see example to right). Both flourescent or LED dimmable lighting is available on the Levit.


Honkonen's second new design is the Reed single pendant with a T-5 lamp, silver reflectors and high quality optics. Dimming lights, sensors, and LED emergency lights are available. The Luxo website, http://www.luxo.com/, calls this "slim and elegant." I would not dispute that, however, I am confused by other pictures describing this light that, look to me like another light(see example below).

Luxo also introduced a bed head luminaire for the medical community. Luxo designed the LE-35 with functionality, user-friendliness, and energy efficiency in mind. The LE-35 is one of many Luxo products available with a spring balanced arm.

In addition, Luxo updated many of their luminaires with LED lighting. I saw some of their high quality products on display at Neocon. I was impressed. I particularly love the shape and overall look of the Ovelo task lamp.

Sensitile Systems sharpen visual senses with playful light panels and surfaces

Lighting is one on my favorite design applications. Sensitile Systems has a wonderful selection of panels and concrete slabs/tiles with a variety of creative lighting. Interactive light panels in the Scintilla product (shown in the picture to the right) respond to movement and creates shadows in the light conducting pathways. This is an especially fun product for children and it has been used in children's hospitals. It reminds me of the tubes I've seen in the childens' museums where you push your hand or face on one side and the image appears on the other side.
Sensitile System products are visually dynamic using lighting in creative ways. New for 2010 is the Reflections light reflecting panels made of acrylic resin with an opaque mirrored backing. The shimmering light reflection is a particularly stunning application for signage. Reflections panels can also be used for feature walls, screens, or any vertical/horizontal surface. Reflections comes in six patterns and 500 color options. Visit http://www.sensitile.com for more information on creative wall lighting.

Use Canvas Press as a stunning visual in your design

Canvas Press, my first stop at Neocon on Monday morning, caught my eye from across the room with their brightly colored eye popping wall displays. New this year is wall covering allowing for large applications of wall art. This is a wonderful option for two-story walls where smaller artwork is lost. Custom design the wallpaper with your own photos or pick your favorite from their many stock photos. Eye-catching metallic enriched beads in their "Bling!" collection help create a sophisticated look for special projects or allow for a unique touch for themed projects like, "Under the Sea." Wallpaper can be applied with traditional wallpaper paste or with their new terralon adhesive that is easy to remove and non-damaging. I just love the large artwork and bright colors. The quality is impressive and it is such a fun design tool to take your own photos and display them like professional artwork. Check out their web-site, http://www.canvaspress.com/ for more information.

Neocon winds down

Storm clouds flew away exposing sun and warmth on the last day of Neocon. The third and last day of Neocon traditionally is dubbed "student day." This year, as in the past, students filled the passageways sharing their contagious enthusiam and energy with all. With attendance numbers down from the first two days of the fair, designers, sales reps, and others have more time to talk to students helping them learn the business. The hoopla, high energy, and partying, along with networking, product news, seminars, continuing education classes, raffle drawings, and free food has now ended. Apple's IPad was the most popular raffle drawing. I think I entered a half dozen different IPad drawings including the Neocon.com Scavenger Hunt where I had to scan my registration badge at 21 designated showrooms. I hope I win for it will help me blog remotely! Other raffle prizes I'm excited about include a task lamp from Luxo, Cubs baseball tickets from Abet, and 200 sq. ft. of porcelain tile from Crossville. I'll let you know when I win something. Neocon may now be over, however, this blog is not. My work is just beginning so keep checking in because I have several pages of notes from Neocon regarding product and seminar news to share.

Michael Graves Entertains Neocon Audience

Michael Graves led a large Neocon audience on "A Grand Tour" of his life early Tuesday morning. The second day of Neocon began with witty remarks and great stories of his remarkable life. Some of his impressive credentials include studying at the University of Cincinatti, Harvard, and the American Academy of Rome and teaching at Princeton. He has been awarded twelve honorary doctorates and information on his two business practices can be found at www.michaelgraves.com. Graves talked about his love for drawing and showed us many examples of his incredible artistry skills. He talked passionately about inspirational artists and their work like Walter Gropius and his Bauhaus school, Andrea Palladio, Francesco Borromini, Gianlorenzo Bernini, and the Josef Hoffmann pot. While in Rome, he sold his drawings to fund travel but, fortunately, we were able to see pictures of these drawings. He also talked fondly of the home he bought in Princeton, NJ and he shared many pictures of the transformation of his home and his many precious collections. It was fun to view pictures of these collections and learn about where the inspiration of his many wonderful designs came from. He is well known for the consumer products sold at Target stores and for other useful objects like the Alessi stainless steel kettle with the iconic triangular shape, blue handle and red rooster. Of late, Graves has been working on improving design in health-related facilities after spending time in eight different hospitals over the last seven years. It was truly a pleasure to listen to Graves talk about his life. I never knew what a truly funny and entertaining man he was.

Neocon remains a lively and thriving convention

I don't know attendance numbers for today, but from what I saw, Neocon is as popular as ever. What a fun day it was for those who braved the cold, damp, and foggy Chicago weather. For those of you who are from out of town, yes, Chicago can get quite hot - but not today. Inside was chilly too. The air conditioner was turned on for high attendance. Tomorrow, I will wear long sleeves and a jacket. As I approached the Merchandise Mart this morning, the building's majestic and grand facade reminded me of what lies inside. Visitors cannot be disappointed by the plethora of products and architecture boosting style, design, imagination, and innovation. It is all so visually stimulating. My plan to take a break every two hours worked well this year as I saw many new resting areas and eating spots scattered throughout each floor. I appreciate this thoughtful accomodation! The more rest we get, the more we can take in and absorb. Tomorrow morning, bright and early, I hope to see keynote speaker, Michael Graves. I look forward to hearing about his background in architecture and design. I hope he tells us about his design work with Target.

Discover what's new and exciting at Neocon 2010

Hello interior design lovers. Tomorrow is the first day of Neocon 2010 and I'm so excited I can hardly believe it. I have my three outfits and new Merrill walking shoes ready to go for three full days of seeing new products, networking, seminars, and meeting with friends. I wonder if Sherwin Williams will have their brightly colored M&Ms again this year promoting their new paint colors. That is a favorite of mine. An IIDA sponsored seminar tomorrow, Rethinking, Redefining, and Reinventing Our Work, is said to have ten design leaders talk about and give examples of how to stay on top of the design industry. That's perfect for me. Part of the excitement of Neocon is seeing the new funky and innovative products. I will soon find out what the hottest new paint colors are to inspire me to redecorate my home!