ICFF 5/20/12
Jacob Javits Center New York
By Susan Inderbinen

This years International Contemporary Furniture Fair brought together
manufacturers, designers, specifiers , buyers, sales reps and design
students from all over the world. The fair is a showcase for a wide variety
of products for home, office, hospitality and contract use. Lighting is just
one element in a space that needs to work together with the overall scope of
the interior design.

The aisles were filled with a wide variety of products from a full range of
manufacturers. ICFF is known as the breeding ground for many small, up and
coming product designers. Many of the products on display are prototypes not
yet available for sale. Lighting, furniture, carpets, textiles, sinks, bath
tubs and faucets, tile, and a wide variety of home accessories were on
display to tease the senses and stimulate the imagination. In addition to
many home grown manufacturers and larger US brands, products were on display
from several countries including; France, Portugal, England, and China.

ICFF also sponsors design competitions among young designers still in school
in a wide range of housewares, toys, lighting, furniture and novelties. Many
of today’s successful product designers, artists and other creative talents
have been discovered and prospered as a result of their participation at
this fair.

Regardless of the specific product category, several common design themes
were prevalent at the fair. Retro modern design with a heavy influence of
the 50′s, 60′s, and 70′s were everywhere. There was a lot of mixing of old
and new elements that created a vintage,yet fresh look. There were a lot of
industrial elements, details in hardware, mixed with elegant crystal, or
modern lines in wood, ceramic, stone and resin. Sustainable materials, Eco
friendly and energy efficiency were common themes among many of the
participants.

No matter the product, the pallet for this season is fresh color; orange,
blue, avocado, pale yellow, aqua and berry were prevalent in every aspect of
design. Several good examples on display were colorful LED lighting from
Pablo designs, porcelain tubs and sinks from Kolher in this season colors,
home accent from Jonathan Adler, fabrics, carpet, tile and wall coverings
were all shown in this seasons pallet.

Of course a trip to New York’s ICFF would not be complete without attending
the Gallery Walk event in fashionable Soho. There,the larger well known
lighting and home accent flagship showrooms host a progressive cocktail
party from one end of Green Street to the other. There, well respected brand
names such as Flos, Artemide, Luceplan, Fontana Arte, Kartell, Ingo Maurer,
and Foscarini celebrate their new products in a lively atmosphere to mix and
mingle.

This years show was very inspiring. The upbeat atmosphere was very exciting,
a great opportunity to talk to creative minds from a vast array of people
and perspectives. At LightKulture, we look forward to taking what we learned
in New York to help us make better choices in the vendors we carry, and the
products we offer, as we strive to live a life well lit.