NeoCon 2018
Mom had so much fun attending NeoCon with me last year, she joined again this year, yay! We had another great year!
NeoCon is a huge furnishings and design trade show in the Merchandise Mart in Chicago every year. There are hundreds of vendors, tons of giveaways and parties, it’s free to attend (if you register in advance) and open to the public, and goes on from Monday to Wednesday each year. People attend from all over the globe. I am lucky it’s within walking distance from my office!
I had the same sentiment as last year – it’s fun to attend with someone who’s so positive, and has a fresh perspective on things (read: hasn’t been going for years and isn’t totally over it).
Gawd, am I WORN out though. WORN OUT, folks. I made so much vendor small talk today. Which makes me feel incredibly phony because I don’t know much about interior finishes, and our clients usually aren’t interested in the flashy stuff they show at NeoCon. But I’m there to learn, and the vendors are nice, so whatevs!
But yeah. Definitely needing quiet time. That’s a common theme on this here blog. Monday is the busiest day for NeoCon, and I handled it really well until mid afternoon (go, me!) then we decided to go to one of the quieter showrooms outside of the Merchandise Mart, then call it a day. I was (am) beat.
But like I said, we had a blast! Some highlights:
- Running in to a random person on an elevator ride that said to Mom “Are you Christina’s (my snister’s) mom?” Ha, that lady is friends with Christina and recognized Mom from Christina’s pictures of her! How random!
- Having a caricature drawn of us.
- Chatting with some lovely ladies while waiting in line to have our caricature drawn.
- Painting the Behr bear.
- Running in to a friend from Essential Fitness at the end of the day.
- The tattoo bar.
- All the instagrammable spaces.
- Having such pleasant weather – we wore our jackets all day! Last year we were sweating like crazy!
- Oh yeah, and all the cool new furniture, textiles, and finishes!
We’ll be back next year, I’m sure!
Themocracy
I saw people at O’Hare with NeoCon badges when I got home on Monday and thought that was the expo you and your mom went to last year. (And apparently this year, too.) I can’t believe it’s free and open to anyone! I guess I associate trade shows with people actually involved in the trade itself and assume they’re the only ones allowed to go, but clearly that’s not always the case!
Aww, thanks for thinking of us! I think it’s cool it’s open to anyone! And I bet most people will let you in to almost any show if you pay. Ha!
This sounds like a LOT of fun, but I can understand that it’s a little more taxing on you since you have to make small talk and it’s more job-related for you. They have lots of cool booths, though! Glad you can bring your mom along – I’m sure that makes it a lot more fun than usual.
Yes! Exactly! Which my mom was totally patient during, btw! I feel like I need to give her credit for that.
The booths are SO neat and they really go all out. It’s fun to see!