Retail Observer

RETAILOBSERVER.COM AUGUST 2017 36 N ew for 2017, the ICFF Gallery was a huge draw for attendees, featuring a curated selection of paintings, sculptures, distinctive art, and collectibles on the show floor from 16 brands. ICFF Gallery exhibitors presented designs ideal for luxury residential, boutique, and hospitality environments. ICFF once again recognized the best of design with its 2017 Editors' Awards program. This year's ICFF judging committee members were Annie Block of Interior Design, Melissa Feldman of Stroll Productions, Dan Howarth of Dezeen, Sheila Kim of Architizer and Paul Makovsky of Metropolis. The judging committee spent day one of ICFF walking the show floor to hand-select each winning product by type, style, application, or theme. Twelve brands were recognized and received one of the coveted awards. See the full list of 2017 Editors' Award winners on the ICFF digital pressroom. The Milk Stand also returned to ICFF, welcoming a group of designers and brands curated by Design Milk founder and editor, Jaime Derringer, and a well designed mix of décor items, jewelry and artwork, all cash-and-carry, at price points to fit an array of budgets. The Milk Stand successfully drew focus to North American-based design with all of its featured designers rooted across the U.S. and Canada. Beyond seeing incredible North American design talent at ICFF, attendees also discovered the latest offerings from leading global design brands. ICFF welcomed 10 international contingents to the show, including Interiors of Spain, Sindomoveis of Brazil, Luxe France, The Italian Trade Agency, Romania, Austria, Norway, GEM French Export Group, Design Philippines, and the British European Design Group. The ICFF Schools program brought an incredible display of student design talent to the show floor this year. Each participating school submitted a student design project; some schools set out to challenge the current status quo of present day design, while others looked to demonstrate the ability of design to increase well-being. ICFF welcomed 14 schools to the show, including the University of Cincinnati and Pratt Institute, both of which were recipients of 2017 Editors' Awards in the categories of overall school winner and wellness, respectively. ICFF NYC 2017 continued its tradition of recognizing emerging designers with the 12th annual ICFF Studio — a collaboration with Bernhardt Design that provides a platform for undiscovered design professionals to present new prototypes to the global design community. Studio designers participated in a juried design competition with selected winners receiving a coveted spot within the ICFF Studio pavilion. "I'm always inspired by the creativity and originality on display at ICFF Studio each year. And it's even more inspiring to see participants go on to build exciting careers after Studio," said Jerry Helling, president, Bernhardt Design. "Thank you to the team at Bernhardt Design, our editors' awards judges, talks participants, and all of the incredible exhibitors and partners that have helped to establish ICFF as the must-attend global design event in North America for close to 30 years," added O'Keefe. The 30th annual ICFF NYC will be held May 20-23, 2018 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City. Please visit www.icff.com for more information on ICFF NYC and www.icffmiami.com for details on ICFF Miami. " T H I S Y E A R ' S I C F F W A S B I G G E R A N D B E T T E R T H A N E V E R . T H E S H O W B E I N G A L L O N E F L O O R G A V E A C O H E S I V E L O O K A N D F E E L T O T H E B E A U T I F U L B O O T H D I S P L A Y S O U R B R A N D S C R E A T E D , A N D T O T H E E N E R G Y B R O U G H T T O T H E S H O W F L O O R B Y O U R L O Y A L A T T E N D E E S . " — K E V I N O ' K E E F E , I C F F S H O W D I R E C T O R RO ICFF'S NORTH AMERICAN GLOBAL DESIGN FAIR

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