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IHHS 2019 Part II        

IHHS 2019 Part II

March 13, 2019

Welcome back! The annual International Home + Housewares Show took over Chicago again this month and Beyond was given the opportunity to speak and present for a second year in a row. McCormick Place hosts attendees and exhibitors from around the world for 5 days and we got to explore and interact with new products, technologies, and trends in the housewares industry. Please read below for Part II of our recap.

Superior Craftsmanship

NutrilMill’s countertop Harvest Grain Mill is housed by a stylish and eco-friendly bamboo cabinet. The mill is USA made and powered by a 450 watt motor that easily grinds down a variety of textures from hard grains to fine flour. The one click bowl release feature makes it easy to clean and store and can be added to your kitchen for $260.

Modern Take on Traditional Cooking

In Chinese culture steaming is a common practice when it comes to cooking. JIA embraces this tradition with their Steamer Set. The multi-award winning product is made of bamboo, terracotta, and fireproof ceramic. The materials are liquid absorbing and fireproof as well as aesthetically pleasing, seamlessly joining any kitchen. The set is designed to cook everything from dumplings to desserts.

High Caliber Brewing 

Bodum’s coffee and tea products had similar designs as JIA and NutriMill with simple design and environmentally friendly cork accents. The Assam tea press (left) locks in tea flavor with its silicone rim and brewing system and can brew tea leaves or tea bags. Bodum also offers more traditional tea pots like the copper plated, Chambord.

Lively, Lighthearted + Playful: PANTONE 16-1546

Pantone’s 19th color of the year was splashed throughout the Housewares Show on different appliances and utensils (as seen below). Living Coral, a nod to the (disappearing) reefs is a vibrant and “nourishing” color that brightens up kitchens and cookware.  “Life-affirming coral hue with a golden undertones” – the color is meant to connect us back to nature while still influencing product development and trends.

Luxury Fizz

The cordless sparking water maker from Sodastream now comes in a luxury Glow edition bottles with white champagne gold and black rose gold varieties. The system is easy to use with twist-in carbonating cylinder and 1 button fizz feature. It offers accessories like the Gold edition bottles, insulating sleeves, and fruit flavor drops. The system can be purchased for $99 and is a “better way to bubble.”

Meal Prep 12 Ways

VorWerk’s Thermomix offers smart cooking in a wide variety with their multi cooker. The user interface is intuitive and easy to navigate with Guided Cooking features and works concurrently with their recipe platform creating a seamless digital to physical experience. The appliance chops, grinds, cooks, steams, kneads, and more making it an all-in-one meal prep machine. Thermomix also offers a Toy version designed specifically for kids in the kitchen.

Unbreakable Glassware 

In Part 1 of our recap we featured Koziol’s organic, nesting cutlery. We also saw their unbreakable glassware at the Show.
Virtually indestructible, the Superglas is resilient, extremely durable, and made of 100% recyclable material. Superglas comes in champagne, wine, and long drink sets. Without BPA or harmful plastics, the Superglas sets can be enjoyed responsibly while still maintaining style.

Designing for a Changing Health + Wellness Industry

This year we were invited back to close out the show at the Smart Talks stage and presented in the Innovation Theater. Our own Industrial Designer + Design Strategist, McKayla Barber, spoke to IHHS attendees on how millennials are changing the idea of health and wellness and how product design is changing and evolving to fit those needs. With health no longer being considered only physical, but spiritual, mental, and emotional, there is a shift in trends and products that are meeting those needs.

McKayla spoke to a larger audience at the Innovation Theater where she discussed in detail the different wellness trends and how we design with a holistic approach to address these needs. The top 4 wellness trends her research identified were: Self-care, Biophilla, Home Fitness, and Mindful Sleep. For more on McKayla’s research and presentation, please visit our blog post here.

Grow Smart

From Pantone’s color of the year, to bamboo accents and biophilia trends, this year’s Show had a huge spotlight on connections to nature and eco-friendly options. Another company we met joining this trend was Ava. The Ava Byte Smart Garden is the all in one home grow system. It features intelligent and adaptive lighting, smart watering and monitoring, pre-seeded smart pods, cameras that create time-lapse videos, and of course a sleek and pristine design with 3 color options.

That’s A Wrap

Another successful Home + Housewares Show come and gone! This year we say goodbye to IHHS, and come 2020 we will welcome The Inspired Home Show. IHA will reinvent itself next year and we look forward to what is to come. Thank you for reading.

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