Here at officeinsight magazine, we don’t give out formal awards from Chicago Design Week. Instead, our staff compiled things that delighted us at NeoCon and Fulton Market Design Days. By definition, a delight is simply something that pleases someone greatly. And that’s the simple criteria we went by when compiling this list of the people, products, events and moments we experienced at NeoCon and Design Days. What delighted us at Chicago Design Week?
In the pages that follow, we’ll do our best to answer that question with the humility this moment deserves. Because if there’s one thing NeoCon and Design Days made perfectly clear, it’s just how much heart, thought, sweat and talent went into the work on display at THE MART and in Fulton Market. Frankly, we’re in awe of your creativity. We’re also a bit cranky about a few things, so while you are going to get a healthy dose of delights, we are also going to drop in a few duds.
That said, a word of fairness: we can’t cover it all. Not in one issue. So if your product or project isn’t featured here, don’t get discouraged. Get in touch. Drop me a line at rob@officeinsight.com and make your case. We’re always listening, and odds are good we’re not done writing about what we saw in Chicago. Because while the shows last only a few days, the energy, insight and innovation they spark will shape our stories for months to come. Chicago Design Week may be over — but our coverage is just getting started.
While we hoped there might be some progress in the coordination of the two competing design events in Chicago — NeoCon and Design Days — it did not happen. And based on chatter at both THE MART and Fulton Market, attendees are getting tired of the lack of coordination. Transportation and wayfinding at Design Days remains a mess. Attendees reported being frustrated by the two separate events. They are just far enough apart physically to be a pain in the neck to get from meetings in one location to meetings in the other and attendees are losing patience. Dealers and reps are trying to split time between both, but some we talk to said they are considering not attending at all if the two sides can’t smooth things out. We agree and feel that frustration ourselves, having spent hundreds of dollars on Ubers to make meetings in THE MART and Fulton Market.
Wayfinding in Fulton Market continues to be a problem as temporary plastic signs zip-tied to light poles in the area easily blew around in the wind, making them impossible to follow. Attendees faced long lines for shuttles and long waits to get where they needed to go.
Luckily, it was worth the wait. Kudos to all the companies that put so much time, effort and money into their showroom designs in both locations. We can’t remember a year when we were so delighted by the showrooms in THE MART and Fulton Market.
Let’s start with a few showrooms in Fulton Market that opened this year with great fanfare. Major moves this year included showrooms for Steelcase, OFS and MillerKnoll. Two of the three wowed us. OFS made the most of its move to Fulton Market with a showroom perfectly suited to showing off its wide breadth of products and brands. We were delighted by the way the showroom is organized, giving ample space to not only OFS products, but for its ROOM and Carolina brands. Hank Menke was smiling ear to ear when we chatted with him Monday morning in the packed showroom. MillerKnoll combined its showrooms for the first time this year, moving Knoll into its showroom. We liked the new MillerKnoll space, especially the retail location on the first floor, which was absolutely beautiful. We can’t say the same about Steelcase. It being Steelcase’s first year in Fulton Market, we thought they would pull out all the stops on the design of the space and launch of new products at this year’s show, but there wasn’t much to see for those who had to wait in line for elevators to get up to the new showroom. Architecturally, the space looked virtually the same as it was when Knoll occupied the showroom and there weren’t many new products launched this year, though we did enjoy the Jean Nouvel Seating Collection from architect Jean Nouvel and the Coalesse Design Group that includes chairs, sofas and ottomans with elemental forms reminiscent of pebbles. Interestingly, Designtex, the textile and wallcovering company owned by Steelcase, which moved to 811 W. Fulton in Chicago, directly below Steelcase, has a wonderful new showroom that uses the natural light and architecture of its new space to better show its products.
Not to be outdone, there were some fantastic showrooms in THE MART this year as well. Andreu World took over the lion’s share of the former Steelcase showroom on the third floor and they proved they belong in such a prominent spot. We were delighted by the way Andreu World organized the space into vignettes with clusters of its furniture on museum-like stands. The space was beautifully designed and it is no wonder the showroom had more than 10,000 visitors. The company also was celebrating its 70th anniversary and nine Best of NeoCon awards. Andreu World introduced nearly two dozen products, including designer collaborations with Benjamin Hubert and Patricia Urquiola. Simply put, Andreu World stepped up to the plate and knocked it out of the park.
There was a fear that as some of the major manufacturers moved out of THE MART, the iconic building would lose some of its cache. Though there are parts of the building that felt a bit empty, especially parts of the 11th floor (bound to be worse next year when KI and Global move out of the building), THE MART felt busy and vital (so did Fulton Market, which is why cooperation is so desperately needed). THE MART also proved it could show its versatility, even after all these years as exemplified by the new Turf showroom and design center that officially opened this year. Turf proved that THE MART could be something different and something more. Its showroom is experiential, moody and beautiful, a fitting recipient of one of the Best Showroom awards from IIDA. We loved seeing a CNC machine in THE MART making products and visiting Turf’s offices that occupy the back half of Turf’s space.
“The opening of the Turf Design Experience Center represents a major milestone for our team and stays true to Turf’s Chicago roots as a local manufacturer,” said Rob Perri, vice president, brand companies, Armstrong World Industries, parent company of Turf. “It is not only a testament to our dedication to innovation, quality, sustainability, and exceptional design but also an invitation to designers, specifiers, architects, and more to experience the limitless abilities of Turf. The expanded showroom and new offices are more than just physical space — they’re an experience of the future of Turf.”
Many brands took advantage of the shuffling spaces at THE MART, including Davis Furniture, which expanded its showroom on the third floor while launching 11 new products (and snagging three Gold and one Silver Best of NeoCon awards). Best of NeoCon judges loved the Davis JeLa Conference and Guest chairs, a sculptural seating collection designed by German design duo jehs+laub, but we were drawn more to Avena chair collection designed by Jonathan Prestwich, especially the 3D veneer shell version. But take your pick. You can’t go wrong.
SAFCO benefitted from THE MART reshuffling as well with its new showroom on the 10th floor. Occupying the former Indiana Furniture space, the new showroom created the perfect palette for SAFCO to create a colorful, fun, playful space that was better curated and organized than its former location. Kudos to the SAFCO team for making the most of its new space.
Overall, THE MART’s focus on attracting smaller, high-design international companies seems to be paying off. Since 2024, THE MART has completed more than 175,000 square feet of leasing transactions. Brands like West Elm Work, Viccarbe, Smith System and Arktura are among the companies that opened new showrooms in THE MART this year. We enjoyed visiting the Baresque space as well, the Australian company that includes Zintra, FUNC. and Botton+Gardiner. “Marking our 10th year at NeoCon, we’re thrilled to elevate our presence from a temporary booth to a permanent showroom — a testament to the Baresque Group’s enduring commitment to innovation and excellence in the commercial design industry,” said Angus Blaiklock, executive director of Baresque. “This space allows us to deepen our connection with architects, designers, and specifiers in a way that inspires.”
NeoCon and THE MART are becoming more experiential, as exemplified by the Turf showroom and the event is about much more than simply looking at commercial interiors products. There were excellent keynote addresses (see related story in today’s officeinsight magazine), speakers, roundtables, architectural tours and a host of showrooms that focused on themes, not only products.
Congratulations to John Strassner for the ReWritten pop-up on the 11th floor, which featured products and stories of circularity. It was also the site of Nook’s book signing with Kay Sargent that attracted lines of designers to have Sargent’s book, “Designing Neuroinclusive Workplaces: Advancing Sensory Processing and Cognitive Well-Being in the Built Environment.” We also enjoyed the collection of brands at INDEAL’s 10th floor Connection Hub and its 11th floor education-focused Education Pavilion by INDEAL. We appreciate that THE MART is activating spaces for more than just showrooms.
Throughout THE MART, sponsor spaces weren’t just branded moments: They were destinations, each one layered with intent, surprise and a sense of play. Tuuci welcomed visitors with an ethereal floral installation, Shade in Bloom, transforming the Kinzie/Wells entrance into something out of a dream. Haworth leaned into drama with a fashion runway-inspired vignette bathed in cool blue light at the South Lobby. Calma turned the often-overlooked North Central Corridor into a sonic escape, offering intimate acoustic performances that slowed the pace. Meanwhile, Turf quite literally brought the energy, turning the well-traveled Freight 22 elevator into a pulsing DJ booth in collaboration with Elevator Music. Even the East Pass-Through became a moment of pause, thanks to KFI Studios’ clever pod activation.
Speaking of Haworth, the brand had to feel a bit lonely with the other majors now in Fulton Market. We would argue the brand made the most of its status as the largest furniture maker in THE MART. Its main showroom was mobbed with design lovers who took in the company’s beautifully designed products. Just down from its main showroom, the Haworth Design Lab spotlighted sustainability, product innovation and forward-thinking design, featuring work from designers pushing boundaries in materiality and form.
One of our favorite new products was TOOthePOINT from Arcadia. Licensed from Dutch furniture designers TOOtheZOO, the product proves that you don’t need much space to create a cool, comfortable workspace. The product is a bit difficult to describe since it is like nothing we’ve seen before, but it has an attached seat that swivels into the covered, surrounded desk. Part pod, part desk, TOOthePOINT would be perfect in an airport lounge or gate or could be clustered to create an informal meeting place.
Framery celebrated 15 years of office pod innovation at NeoCon by launching a new interior option for one of its most popular office pods: the Framery One Lounge. Designed to redefine comfort in solo workspaces, its custom sofa creates an oasis of privacy and coziness right in the office.
Keilhauer made a splash at NeoCon with its Unifi family of seating. Featuring a lounge chair and side chair, Unifi has built-in casters, an integrated handle and a modular design that transitions from individual seating to large group meetings to additional seating tucked off to the side. Unifi features midcentury-inspired design, an upholstered seat and industrial metal frame. Designed by EOOS, Unifi models can be grouped together to create the appearance of a continuous bench. We like it with the optional tablet, which adds a functional work surface. A long-time tenant and NeoCon exhibitor, Keilhauer announced just before NeoCon that it was relocating to an expansive 12,928 square foot new space on the third floor (Suite 399) that will bring together its two existing showrooms, Keilhauer and Division Twelve, into distinct yet adjoining spaces.
We already mentioned KFI Studios’ pod activation on the first floor, but haven’t told you about the pod itself yet. We were delighted by KFI’s Canopy, a workstation and privacy screen that adjusts with the user of the integrated sit-stand desk. A Gensler-designed product, we love that Canopy has integrated lighting and power. It gives workers a defined space, similar to a cubicle, but adds the screening and privacy workers have always wanted.
Momentum, well, kept up their momentum from last year’s NeoCon with another stunner of a showroom. Last year, Momentum featured one of the brightest and most invigorating showrooms we’ve ever experienced with Yinka Ilori’s bold and bright collection. This year, Momentum created a fractal-inspired path to renewal and connection. Featuring nature-inspired areas like Wetland, Tundra, River, Costal, Forest and Meadow, Momentum’s Renaturation Collection was a place of calm and restoration. It was truly an immersive experience that came with a scratch-and-sniff card and audio to go along with the various natural themes. Keep it up Momentum. Your showroom has become a Chicago Design Week must-visit.
The vibrant, organic showroom experience at Source International earned well-deserved recognition with an IIDA award for Best Small Showroom. The space reflected Source’s evolution from a traditional furniture provider to a design-forward brand that champions both function and flexibility. We were especially delighted by the petal-inspired grouping of Charm seating, designed by Gemma Bernal, that exuded an inviting sense of warmth and comfort.
We really like the direction of Three H. The Canadian office furniture maker is embracing its craftsmanship, quality and Northern roots and it shows. In a sea of sameness, Three H is setting itself apart with unique designs, like Hudson, a scalable private office product designed by Lee Fletcher. Depending on the configurations and finishes, Hudson can work in the smallest to the largest private office. We appreciate its thoughtful design and attention to detail.
Watson is another brand in the industry that is impressing us with its commitment to design. When we walked into its third-floor showroom, we thought it was the kind of space and furniture we’d like to work in. Watson’s products are unique and smartly designed. We loved its new Allé work tools, which include a mobile monitor wall, mobile pin and write boards and mobile planters. The work tools blend in and work perfectly with its furniture collections.
Anyone else noticing Ghent? The Ohio company has always made great visual communication products like glass boards, but its commitment to design seems to be growing each year. The company’s products are evolving from simple glass boards to architectural and design focal points. Take, for example, its Groove Sliding Glassboard. We like how Groove increases the writable surface of the product, but we also like how different colors, patterns and art can be added to the glass to give it a two-toned or customized feel.
We like wild and crazy products as much as any visitor to Chicago Design Week. But we’re also looking for practicality, durability, functionality along with our design, thank you very much. That’s what we love about Indiana Furniture. The company makes beautiful products that are well designed, but they are also products that you can actually see in an office. Not over the top, products like its new Otty Ottomans and Tables and the Kirby Occasional Tables are the kind of furniture that actually gets specified. Why? Because of the beautiful design matched with quality and usability.
Chicago Design Week has always been about office furniture, but a number of strong healthcare furniture makers continue to impress us. Take Stance Healthcare. This Canadian company proves that healthcare furniture does not need to feel clinical. Its latest behavioral healthcare furniture collection, Lotus, is made from recycled material. The collection includes beds, desks, tables and shelves and although behavioral health furniture needs to be designed with safety in mind, this collection could easily fit in a dorm room. Nice job on Lotus, Stance.
Borgo is known for its fixed seating and multi-purpose seating products, but we were impressed with its new Nonno lounge seat. Nonno is a high-back lounge armchair perfect for formal settings such as hotels and waiting rooms. We were delighted by the many options of bases and the seat shell, which can be upholstered in different colors. It is a playful product, especially when specified in a rocking chair base.
Lab furniture has to be sturdy and must meet specific requirements for quality and durability, but nobody said it has to be ugly and nobody said lab furniture needs to be put in a silo away from the rest of the office. Austin, Texas-based Formaspace has more than 40 years experience building lab furniture and we were impressed by its FLX Services Bench and RGZ Modular Casework. Even better, we like new ideas. At NeoCon, Formaspace discussed its NextGen Lab concept, the company’s approach to modern lab integration. As laboratories become more central to organizational strategy and innovation, they are no longer confined to isolated areas. Instead, they are being thoughtfully incorporated into open, collaborative office environments. NextGen Lab showcases how on-carpet office zones and off-carpet lab spaces can coexist — supporting workflow efficiency, talent attraction, and a unified workplace experience.
KI was on the 11th floor of THE MART for the last time before moving to Fulton Market next year. The company did not mail it in for its last show. KI is a leading educational furniture designer and manufacturer. Even though KI introduced its Cogni classroom chair at last year’s EDspaces, it was back, this time for a much larger audience at NeoCon. We love the details built into Cogni and designed to increase student engagement. Take the “heel wheel” for example. The wheel is located at the back of the chair base and allows Cogni to be moved easily in the classroom. But it also acts as a deterrent to students who might want to lean back on the base. When a student tries to tilt back, the wheel simply moves, preventing them from tilting the chair backwards. The shape of the chair allows students to sit to the side and even backwards comfortably. A tactile sensory surface under the base helps keep students from fidgeting.
KI wasn’t the only educational furniture maker that impressed us this year. MooreCo was part of the Education Pavilion by INDEAL and we were delighted by the Luly family of soft seating and coordinating tables. We don’t know about you, but when we were in college, common space furniture was no where near as cool as Luly. Luly has a mid-century style and minimalist feel. The lounge pieces can stand alone or be placed together to create a cool, comfortable collaboration area. The furniture is comfortable and looks great. We would have loved to study from this collection (and maybe our grades would have improved).
Biodegradable vinyl is here and Mayer Fabrics showed off the Hyphyn Collection this year at NeoCon. Engineered with a patented enzyme system and proprietary resin formulation, Hyphyn delivers commercial-grade durability while biodegrading over 90% within two years in landfill conditions — a first for performance vinyl. Hyphyn changes the equation for designers, specifiers and businesses prioritizing sustainability, providing a worry-free, regenerative solution to coated upholstery fabrics. Designed to perform like traditional vinyl, Hyphyn offers a critical differentiator: it biodegrades only in landfill conditions, reducing long-term waste without compromising strength, cleanability or ease of maintenance. Hyphyn is made by Nassimi and is also could be found at Arc-Com, Stinson, Momentum Textiles & Wallcovering, Pallas Textiles and Wolf-Gordon.
Is there anyone more delightful at Chicago Design Week than Wilson Chow, president of OM Seating? We’ve attended and covered countless shows and Wilson’s seemingly endless supply of energy and beaming smiles are contagious. He is also thoughtful about the industry and its future (and is a member of the BIFMA Board of Directors to help guide it). Oh yeah, and OM Seating makes some darn nice products. Hopefully you were able to experience Plot Twist. Plot Twist is difficult to describe, but think of a mobile ottoman with a tablet arm. It’s a great product for education or for a corporate brainstorming area.
Speaking of Wolf-Gordon, its new third-floor showroom designed by UrbanLab, used bold geometry, playful perspective and a commitment to sustainable design to create a remarkable space. Innovative new products from Wolf-Gordon include RAMPART Fiber, Hyphyn, and the award-winning Pompeii collection by studioestudio.
One of our favorite showroom revamps was at 9to5 Seating. The company’s former space felt more like a warehouse than a stylish showroom. The remodeled showroom is much more curated, featuring an ombre effect that slowly moved the visitor from one subtle color to the next. We were pleased to see HAG seating get its own space in the 9to5 showroom. It will be interesting to see if the Flokk acquisition will affect showroom space at THE MART for Flokk, Stylex and HAG.
We had high hopes for the seventh floor at THE MART this year. Show organizers promised a different seventh floor that was easier to navigate and companies from the same market clustered together. While the clustering did seem to help, we didn’t see a lot of changes on seven. Still, the floor is one of our favorites at NeoCon where we’ve discovered brands like Mantra Inspired Furniture. This year, we were happy to learn about the Good Plastic Co. on the seventh floor. Its Polygood line is composed of 100% recycled and recyclable plastic, including post-consumer and post-industrial waste such as refrigerators, CD cases, spools and electronics. Good Plastic Co’s Polygood transforms hard-to-recycle plastics into durable, non-porous surfaces that resist abrasion and moisture. The material is thermoformable, customizable in color and pattern, and adaptable across diverse applications. With a Global Warming Potential of 487 kg per ton, Polygood offers a climate-conscious alternative to virgin materials — delivering up to 13 lbs of CO₂ savings per square foot compared to the industry average, according to its EPD. Beyond THE MART, Polygood was also featured at Fulton Market Design Days in collaboration with Humanscale. Humanscale presented the Float Micro, a compact, height-adjustable side table topped in Polygood’s Oyster pattern — a speckled white-and-beige blend from the Growth collection.
Chicago Design Week had its share of fun too. Parties were everywhere, especially on Monday and Tuesday nights. We enjoyed the hospitality of several companies, including at Turf, Scandinavian Spaces, Allseating, Indiana Furniture, Fellowes and Davis Furniture. Our favorite this year (and for the past few years) was the Via Seating party at Bub City. It is a truly joyous event, packed with industry friends that is just the right size and not crazy and over-the-top. It didn’t feature Diplo like the SitOnIt party, but party goers were able to see a live one-song performance from Via Chief Commercial Officer Nora Fenlon.
Like many attendees, we were not delighted by having to run between THE MART and Fulton Market, but Fulton Market is definitely coming into its own as a Chicago Design Week location. The neighborhood is filled with cool restaurants (though we are sad to see Kuma’s Corner Fulton Market location closed), hip hotels, amazing coffee shops and some cool stores. Of course, there were showrooms to explore as well.
Arper was spending its second year in Fulton Market and we enjoyed its showroom, which has both indoor and outdoor spaces — something you won’t find in THE MART. Arper exhibited its Catifa Carta and Catifa (RE) 46 products, as well as several of its new outdoor collections on the patio. Arper was founded in 1989 in Monastier di Treviso, Italy and since that time has grown into an international voice in design.
THE MART highly regulated the brands that it allowed to have showrooms, which means some brands were kept out of the building. The industry is finding that Fulton Market does not have the same guardrails in place. Anyone who wants space in Fulton Market can lease it. Brand curation is out the window, for better or worse. That means visitors to Steelcase, MillerKnoll or OFS might have come upon brands they weren’t expecting to see, including IKEA, who set up a showroom in the heart of Fulton Market. The IKEA showroom included an impressive collection of office furniture aimed mostly at start-ups and small companies. How long before the Swedish retailer begins moving upmarket in office furniture?
Continuing with the international flair in Fulton Market, Sunon, China’s largest office furniture maker with a serious presence in the U.S., bolstered its design cachet with its own new showroom in the neighborhood. Sunon is in the same building as Teknion and Fellowes (all three showrooms were worth a visit). Sunon held a ribbon cutting ceremony and celebration for its North American partners and customers. The showroom featured its latest products and gave attendees the chance to sample a variety of Chinese teas during a tea tasting event.
It is interesting to watch the development of Fulton Market. Brands like JSI, Kimball and Allsteel are establishing a real presence there, claiming the new location gives them a chance to better entertain customers in Chicago throughout the year. All three are good examples of companies that show much better in Fulton Market spaces than they did in THE MART. We were delighted by all three spaces.
It’s always fun, though a bit tiring, to end the week in Chicago with the BIFMA Annual Meeting and Breakfast, held each year on Wednesday morning, again this year in the WorkLife Center in THE MART. Though the trade group did not hold its annual meeting at the event like they used to, kudos to BIFMA for introducing new board members and celebrating those whose terms ended. BIFMA also returned to the tradition of handing off the microphone to THE MART’s Byron Morton to give an update on NeoCon and any changes to the show. The BIFMA Breakfast included a keynote speaker, but oddly 30 minutes after the event ended, which means most of the executives at the breakfast did not stay for the speech.
As we wrap up our Delights of Chicago, we want to leave readers with a hopeful message: Chicago Design Week is very much alive. NeoCon and Fulton Market Design Days were both busy with no signs of dwindling crowds or enthusiasm. Still, the industry is not yet united behind both of these events and factions (on both sides) threaten the long-term health of Chicago Design Week. Last year we said: At the moment, it feels a bit like celebrating the holidays when a family member or two isn’t present. Of course, you can visit them, but it’s not the same as everyone being together. We still feel that way about the NeoCon/Design Days split — something that must be addressed in the “off season.”
We will leave you with the same hopeful message from last year — that there is a bright future for design in Chicago, for companies that remain in THE MART and those who move to Fulton Market. We are truly lucky to have so many innovative and creative companies in this industry. And we can’t wait until next year to see what you have in store for us in 2026.