IHA Staff, Author at International Housewares Association

There’s No Business Like Show Business! Part 2

By Vicki Matranga, Design Programs Coordinator This is part two of a two part series. Read part one: There's No Business Like Show Business! Part 1 Pots, Pans and Prosperity: Biggest Gadget Show on Earth From 1939 to 1991, the National Housewares Manufacturers Association (NHMA), based in Chicago, mounted two shows per year. For nearly 40 years, its national housewares…

There’s No Business Like Show Business! Part 1

By Vicki Matranga, Design Programs Coordinator It’s January, and our calendars are focused on March, when our 121st Show will unite the industry. The current International Home + Housewares Show has evolved into a busy four-day gathering in Chicago, from a complex family tree of Show names, dates and predecessor sponsoring organizations. For 79 years, IHA has been…

From Hotels to McCormick Place: A History of the International Home + Housewares Show – Part 3

Author: Vicki Matranga, Design Programs Coordinator and Housewares Historian, IHA For parts one and two of this three part series, see: From Hotels to McCormick Place: A History of the International Home + Housewares Show - Part 1 From Hotels to McCormick Place: A History of the International Home + Housewares Show - Part 2 New Era on the Lakefront More than 900…

From Hotels to McCormick Place: A History of the International Home + Housewares Show – Part 2

Author: Vicki Matranga, Design Programs Coordinator and Housewares Historian, IHA This post is one of a three part series. Read part one: From Hotels to McCormick Place: A History of the International Home + Housewares Show – Part 1 NHMA, the antecedent International Housewares Association, resulted from the 1946 merger of the New York Housewares Manufacturers Association…

From Hotels to McCormick Place: A History of the International Home + Housewares Show – Part 1

Author: Vicki Matranga, Design Programs Coordinator and Housewares Historian, IHA Markets and trade fairs have taken place throughout civilization, but the twentieth century's first House Furnishing Good Exhibition was held in New York's Madison Square Garden in 1906. The modern housewares exposition was born in 1927 when members of the National Home Furnishings Buyers Club…

Future Shift and Transformation: 2017-2037

Futurist David Houle Looks at the Big Picture: Prepare for Massive Changes Day two of the CHESS conference will begin with David Houle outlining his views on global trends that are transforming us. Houle, known as the “CEO’s futurist,” expands beyond the insights about brand shift he shared at the 2015 CHESS and challenges us to consider the dynamics and forces that impact…

Stats: Americans Seek the American Dream

Despite reporting that their current financial position is healthy, most Americans still aren’t satisfied. It is a dour mood that could have an impact on what you sell at retail. That’s according to new research from Mintel, which says that half of all Americans consider themselves “middle class,” even though most report they can pay their monthly bills with money left…

Trends: Daily Coffee Consumption Up

Americans once again are waking up to coffee. The percentage of Americans drinking coffee on a daily basis is up this year, thanks in part to better-tasting gourmet brews becoming more popular across all age groups in the U.S. That’s according to The National Coffee Association’s 2017 National Coffee Drinking Trends tracking report, which found that the percentage of…

Retail Profile: Plum’s Cooking Company

When Penny Klinedinst learned her friend Caroline Peterson, then owner of Plum’s Cooking Company, was retiring and planning to close the much-loved cookware shop, Klinedinst knew she had to find a way to keep Plum’s open. So she bought the store. “She was going to close the doors and that didn’t sit well with me,” says Klinedinst, who also owns a neighboring store in the…