What Happened at NeoCon 2018
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Changing economies and cultures. An unprecedented growth and churn of technology. Over the last fifty years, one thing has remained the same – our lives and work have been in a state of constant flux. This became the clear focus of the 50th iteration of NeoCon.
More specifically in recent years, the fair has seen the rise of health and wellbeing’s impact on design, agile working methodologies and ever more demand for design customisation. As we know and have previously reported, commercial interior design is seeing a blurring of boundaries like never before, which naturally could be seen in the wide range of furniture on show this year.
Another standout from the event this year was its unceasing growth in scale and exhibitors – including 75 brands that are new to the fair, and the overall size increased proving that demand in the space is bigger than ever. One insightful fact that proves this appetite is that when NeoCon started back in 1969, the U.S. office furniture industry was roughly $830 million. In 2017, it was estimated at $13.4 billion (U.S. Dept of Commerce, Bureau of the Census and BIFMA).
Love For Our People
Among all the fanfare, there were a couple of brands that made an impact.
Boss Design’s ATOM took out a Best of NeoCon Gold Award in the Furniture Collections for Collaboration category.
ATOM, designed by Simon Pengelly, is a family of modular products, which includes seating, tables and desks. Completely adaptable while still being elegant in its execution, ATOM is a space-saving solution for the modern workplace. It’s a well-deserved win for an intuitive and flexible product. We will be proud to offer Atom in Australia later this year.
Blå Station also took out a couple of special mentions at this year’s NeoCon. The Swedish brand was exhibiting as part of the Scandinavian Spaces suite, which was awarded the Best Small Showroom. The entire showcase highlighted the impressive design credentials of the Scandi region, which Blå Station being a respected brand among them.
The company’s Bob range was also awarded a Metropolis Likes NeoCon Award. The modular sofa range, which has already accrued quite a few awards since its launch, was pegged as a favourite by the U.S. publisher.
All-in-all it’s been a huge NeoCon and P4 would love to congratulate both Boss Design and Blå Station for their wins.
