Las Vegas-based World Market Center set records this summer with more than 3.8 million square feet of showroom and exhibit space, and more than 50,000 registered attendees.

The Las Vegas Summer Market set new records and exceeded expectations. The World Market Center, a home and hospitality contract furnishings showroom and convention complex in Las Vegas, produces the market every January and July.    

According to the center, this summer’s event – which ran from July 30 to August 3 – was its largest yet, with more than 3.8 million square feet of permanent showrooms and temporary visit space. It also exceeded its historical average of 50,000 registered attendees.

 “This Summer Market outpaced the expectations among exhibitors, not to mention delivered so many new facets for buyers and designers looking for the latest in products, trends and education,” said Dave Palmer, general manager of World Market Center. “We had [a] very strong market with terrific traffic and very positive feedback for the overall experience our market delivers for attendees.”    

The market also saw more than 10,000 retailers and designers in attendance for the first time, and a strong amount of international buyers attending their first event. Compared to the July 2006 event, World Market Center reported that attendance of international buyers and exhibitors grew by 27 percent and represented 90 countries.

Being ‘Blown Away’
The center reports that exhibitors received many new orders. “The best news is the major players are here, and that is great,” stated Ed Grund, CEO of A.R.T. Furniture, a case goods importer. “I am seeing more new customers at this show than in previous ones.”    

Broyhill Furniture President Jeff Cook also saw an increase. “Any previous numbers we had were blown away at this market,” he stated. “People are coming here not just to visit; they’re here to do business.”    

The market also hosted the first Living Green Pavilion and Greenhouse Gallery, which focused on sustainable furniture. “The inaugural Living Green Pavilion – complete with complementary educational events and even a Green Party – became the most comprehensive presentation of new, sustainable products available to independent home furnishing retailers looking to progress in that category,” World Market Center stated.    

“I think World Market Center has become one of the biggest stages for showing products, and sustainability is very important to me,” commented John Stein, owner of Organo Natural Furnishings. “To see World Market Center taking that so seriously, it shows there’s potential for change in the furniture manufacturing world.”

Significant Trends
The center hosted trends analyst Michelle Lamb at its TrendWatch seminar. Lamb is the senior editor of The Trend Curve and a contributor to Accessory Merchandising.  Lamb’s presentation involved the use of a color wheel. “When I talk about trends, I always start with color, because it’s so significant to everything else that is going on,” she said.    

For instance, Lamb said blues are never out of fashion. “Through 2010, we expect many more blues in an upcycle than we have had in years, all of them exciting and immensely salable,” she stated.    

She added that green-cast yellow would make an impression. “It isn’t horribly edgy, just enough to make a difference,” Lamb commented. “We will also see neon-flavored yellows in 2009. This is going to be a parallel trend with ready-to-wear. It also looks great with gray and silver.”

In terms of fabrics, Lamb reported that buyers would see an increase in fine and elaborate textures, intricate weaves and lustrous overtones. “Complicated approaches are what’s going on right now,” she said. “It’s also a reminder of the relentless increase of consumer sophistication that makes companies compelled to make something special in almost every fabric and every piece.”

‘A Major Milestone’
Construction is underway on World Market Center’s Building C, a $550 million showroom that will have 16 floors and 130,000 square feet on each floor. In conjunction, it plans to open a $60 million parking garage, which will stand seven stories and accommodate 3,600 vehicles.

The center adds that nearly every space in the building has been reserved through signed leases and commitments, with furniture exhibitors that include Lexington, Huntington, Canadel and Avenue Six. “The addition of Building C signifies a major milestone for World Market Center’s growing campus, and will feature a significant roster of leading brands,” stated Babs Blair, vice president of leasing.  

“With World Market Center quickly becoming the preferred market for U.S. and international buyers, the demand among manufacturers continues to escalate,” she said. “We are pleased to have commitments and interest for the entire building.”

Breaking Records
For the second year in a row, NeoCon World’s Trade Fair in Chicago broke attendance records. Held in June at the Merchandise Mart, the three-day fair is the North America’s largest interior design and facilities management conference. This year, exhibit space sold out.   

In total, more than 52,630 people came from around the world to attend. More than 1,200 exhibitors were on the showroom floor to introduce new products and materials. More than 420 products –  an all-time high – were submitted to the Best of NeoCon competition.    

Also a forum for learning, this year, more than 123 CEU seminars and associated forums, three keynote speakers, three luncheons and two panels were offered to attendees. Industry experts and leaders provided insights on myriad topics, and seminar pre-registration was up 46 percent from last year.

Material Issues
Materials of the future were spotlighted in a NeoCon seminar presented by designers Drue E. Lawlor, FASID, and Linda Elliot Smith. Just as plastic, nylon, organic and lycra are common terms today when describing home furnishings and decor, Lawlor and Smith said that nanotechnology, biomimicry, sustainability and smart textiles will be the wave of the future by 2020.    

Biomimicry is the study of nature's models and imitating or applying them to solve human problems. With nature as the mentor, biomimics looks at what works and what survives in nature. For example, spider's silk is just as strong as Kevlar and is made entirely of renewable resources.

Smart materials have one or more properties that can be dramatically altered, such as viscosity, volume or conductivity. Some materials can change size or shape with minimal heat. Others can change from liquid to solid when near a magnet.  

A variety of smart materials already can be found in coffee pots, cars and eyeglasses – and the number of applications for smart materials is growing. Piezoelectric, magneto-rheostatic and electro-rheostatic materials, as well as shape-memory alloys, are being studied.   

Electronic textiles, or e-textiles, are materials that have electronics and interconnections woven into them, and these materials are already being used in the clothing industry with "smart clothing," combining nanotechnology with high-tech fabrics. Lawlor and Smith said Motorola Inc. is working on clothing that can communicate washing instructions to the washing machines. It is possible that in the future, pants will expand at the waist with the push of a button and GPS will be woven into children's clothes. 

Not just for clothing and carpets, materials transform the way we live, Lawlor and Smith said, pointing to an inflatable beam being used by the U.S. Army to set up temporary aircraft maintenance shelters. The beam is made of braided Vectran fiber and polyurethane coating. It was designed by David Cronk and manufactured by Vertigo.   

Tiles of the future are around the corner, too, such as a wood/resin composite that mimics the looks of slate and stone slabs. By mixing 95 percent wood fibers with 5 percent resin under high pressure, the tile is half the weight of ceramic and easy to cut. It is hard, but also impact resistant. Lawlor and Smith noted that the only limitations on materials of the future are knowledge and imagination.