
Upon my return from Milan in April I wrote that Salone del Mobile.Milano was a spectacular event made even more so by the events of Milan Design Week. While still young by comparison with Milan Design Week, and lacking a central draw as powerful Salone, NYCxDESIGN is growing up fast and looks to be on its way to being an important event on the global stage. It is reminiscent of the path followed by New York Fashion Week as that event elbowed its way to the front of the global fashion industry.
If youâre not familiar with NYCxDESIGN, it is a collaboration between New York City Economic Development Corporation, City agencies, the Mayorâs Office, City Council, and a steering committee composed of some of the Cityâs most renowned design institutions, retailers, manufacturers, entrepreneurs, curators, educators, editors and â of course â designers.

Literally hundreds of events are staged across all five boroughs of NYC, from the Jacob Javits Center (ICFF) to galleries, design schools, retail stores and public parks. NYCxDESIGN has an excellent and extensive website giving details of the myriad events. In fact, itâs so extensive I spent my entire flight from Dallas to New York checking out where I most wanted to spend my time. Most events are free and open to the public. If you want to get the full depth and breadth of the events check out the website hereâ it will likely entice you to plan a trip to New York next year in May.

I admit that before my plane ride with the website I was less informed about NYCxDESIGN than I should have been. When I booked the trip I was only thinking about ICFF and DEX, the IIDANY fundraiser Iâve attended the last three years. But as I learned more I jotted down times and places of events that sounded interesting, and I managed to see those mentioned below. Any one of the events is worthy of a story but for now, here are my cursory descriptions and thoughts.

ICFF (International Contemporary Furniture Fair) has matured in its 30-year existence. This year more than 900 exhibitors strutted their stuff for around 38,000 visitors. At its beginning it was what I called an âart furnitureâ show, in that many of the exhibitors were small shops and makers doing one-off artifacts. Bernhardt Design played a significant role in getting ICFF started and in keeping it going, but it was also one of the few major manufacturers to participate. And despite the best efforts of show management, the best-known American manufacturers are still nowhere to be seen. Perhaps itâs the proximity in time to NeoCon, which clearly has priority. Or perhaps itâs just that the majors have showrooms in the city where they host various events throughout the week. For example, I attended a meet and greet discussion with Piero Lissoni at the Knoll showroom on Monday evening after his keynote at ICFF. At any rate, even without the direct participation of the big companies, ICFF is a fun show with its own unique flavor.

The International aspect of the show is anchored by large co-op exhibits organized by the Italian Trade Commission and Ceramics of Italy. These two organizations take very large spaces and then offer smaller segments to Italian companies that wouldnât have the wherewithal the exhibit on their own. The Italian companies I spoke to were very pleased with the show and felt that the two trade organizations and ICFF offered them the opportunity to at least dip their toes into the huge American market. Each of them reported interesting opportunities discovered at the show.
This was the third year for the Interior Design magazine and ICFF sponsored NYCxDESIGN Awards.Winners selected by a jury from among themore than 200 entries were celebrated at a very well attended ceremony and presented with a cool Oscar-like award trophy designed by LladrĂł.


My favorite event of the whole week is DEX, the IIDA NY fundraising event. Weâve attended and covered DEXsince its inaugural and loved every one. And by all indications, so have most attendees. DEX raises money for IIDA NY by selling tables to various constituents: manufacturers, dealers, rep groups, and developers. There are pragmatic limits to how big DEX can get. It is related to the number of tables a given venue can accommodate â this year the number was 21. I gauge the reaction of the other attendees by the number of tables pre-sold for the following year. And every year tables for the succeeding year have been gobbled up by the table sponsors of the current year. Co-Chairs of the IIDA committee responsible for DEX are Annie Lee of Environetics and Carol Symchik of Primason Symchik. They do yeomanâs duty in organizing, staffing and recruiting speakers for the event and deserve high praise, as do all the IIDA volunteers who make the evening relaxing and entertaining for the 200 or so guests.

People would love DEX if it were simply the chance to mingle with those who attend â the networking is really great. But the best part of the event is the wide range of creative types who, with their presentations, open our minds to possibilities and careers we might never have thought of. There is a guest speaker for each table and they change tables at 20-minute intervals, so that each table gets three speakers.
As an example, my table met Cindy Hulej, a luthier and artist who practices her art of making custom guitars at the famous Carmine Street Guitars. She works under the tutelage of Rick Kelly who has made solid body electric guitars from reclaimed wood from 19th century New York buildings for Bob Dylan, Lou Reed and Patty Smith among many others.

In business jargon, the words âpassionâ and âpassionateâ are thrown around a lot. But the story Ms. Hulej told is a real-life example of passion. She just showed up at Mr. Kellyâs shop and sold him on taking her on as an apprentice even after he told her he didnât have apprentices and tried, in vain, to shoo her off. Her talk at DEX led me to check out Rick Kelly here, wherein Ms. Hulej makes a cameo.
I was staying in the Financial District near Fulton Center, the newly renovated, high-tech transportation hub that connects to 11 subway lines and the World Trade Center. I was pleasantly surprised to find that even the MTA got in on the NYCxDESIGN action with âMTA Arts & Design, Fulton Flow,â a stop-motion animation created by Ezra Wube for the 52-channel digital network throughout Fulton Center. The cool video could be seen for two minutes at the top of each hour. It highlights Fulton Centerâs unique location with connections to pretty much everywhere.

Here is a brief description of the other events I was able to cram into my too short four-day visit:
The FIT School of Art and Designpresented the 2019 Graduating Student exhibition throughout campus, including in The Museum at FIT and the Marvin Feldman Center. The exhibition displayed the finished works of more than 800 students receiving BFA degrees in areas such as Accessories Design, Fashion Design, Fine Arts, Graphic Design, Interior Design, Jewelry Design and Packaging Design.

Nature â Cooper Hewitt Design Triennial. This exhibitwill actually run through January 20, 2020 so you still have a chance to see it; there is a fee. Co-organized with Cubedesign museum in the Netherlands, the exhibition features more than 60 âgroundbreakingâ (pun intended) works by designers from many disciplines collaborating with scientists, engineers, farmers, environmentalists, and nature itself to design a harmonious and regenerative future. The goal of the exhibition is to inspire ideas and dialogue to address consequential environmental and humanitarian issues. The exhibition consists of seven strategies that designers are using to understand, remediate, simulate, salvage, nurture, augment, and facilitate the natural world.


WantedDesign Brooklynat Industry City was conceived as a way of highlighting what the campus is all about: a place where innovators and makers meet. This exhibition consisted of immersive installations on design research, workshops and cultural collaborations. Design education was a major focus with more than 30 international schools participating the largest grad show seen during NYCxDESIGN.
Located in Times Square, Design Pavilion, was a very publichub for NYCxDESIGN. In partnership with the Times Square Alliance, Design Pavilion aims to engage more than five million visitors in ideas about design. It consisted of five plazas in Times Square with daily programs featuring the work of the participating institutions, companies, architects, designers and artists. âWeâre passionate about the power of design and we want the world to know,â said Ilene Shaw, Founding Producer of Design Pavilion. âIn its 4th year, Design Pavilion is expanding the design industriesâ reach to mass audiences, including the public and business sectors.â Design Pavilion is an annual public design and cultural happening that is free and open to all.

The worlds of sustainability, technology, luxury and media all came to life at Design Pavilion through its diverse line-up of installations, exhibits and performances. Some of my favorites included:
>AZIMUTÂ BENETTI GROUP. The worldâs largest megayacht manufacturer stationed a 60-foot-long yacht in the heart of Times Square. The Yacht most definitely provided an example of design excellence.
>VIRGINIA TECH SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE, the only American team to earn a first-place victory at The U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon, exhibited FutureHAUS. As the name implies, it is a futuristic solar home developed through a university-wide research effort involving more than 100 Virginia Tech students and faculty. The 2,900 square foot demo-home was equipped with all manner of smart devices and powered entirely by the sun.
>SCHOOL OF VISUAL ARTS, built The Chairousel on a refurbished 1960s carousel. Designed by the students of the Schoolâs 3D Design and Interior Design departments, it was a working carousel with an array of whimsical âchairsâ where one might expect to find animals to ride. No one was riding on it but it brought a smile to an old chair-guy.

>SOLSTREET, a solar-powered bus stop type shelter with a roof of solar panels powering easy to access charge ports and a bench to sit on while charging. Designed by veteran NY industrial designer Lisa Smith, Solstreet is entirely self-contained with its solar panels on the roof and batteries under the bench. The unit is controlled by an App and offers an interactive bulletin board of E-Ink along with ad space.


Held for the first time at the historic Brooklyn Naval Yard, BROOKLYN DESIGNS was held the week before I arrived so unfortunately I missed it. But by all accounts it was a great success. It is a juried exhibition of the best furniture, lighting and home accessories made or designed in Brooklyn. In addition to the products on display, the show features design talks and hands-on seminars, as well as off-site exhibits and events.
I found NYCxDESIGN, ICFF and all the associated events I was able to see fun, interesting and definitely on my agenda for a longer stay next year. I hope to see you there.