10.10.17

NeoConnect 2017 | San Diego

The design community is still buzzing after another successful San Diego NeoConnect show held Tuesday, September 26th for the third year at the Port Pavilion at Broadway Pier. Participation from our exhibitors and attendees reached an all-time record, pushing beyond the 600-person mark, at 620 attendees! The evening was quoted by many as “magical” with a high-energy environment stretching from one end of the venue to the other. As the day turned to evening, a rose-colored sunset captured the crowd’s attention with drinks flowing and phenomenal products offerings by each and every vendor.  The party lasted well into the evening, ending with fireworks that lit up the sky for an epic grand finale.

Check out the photos and video from the event.

Almost 100 manufacturers and dealers were represented in this year’s show featuring incredible products released at the 2017 NeoCon in Chicago. Five designers from the San Diego design community were selected to be judges for this year’s Best of NeoConnect competition, where all of the exhibitors had an opportunity to submit one product to be considered, and the judges selected their 10 favorites to be voted on by the rest of the design community. The submissions for Best of NeoConnect can be seen on Pinterest.

Our five, highly esteemed judges were:

• Robin Carrier, Robin Wilson Interior Design
• Adel Smith-Chapman, Delawie
• Angela Ryan, Ware Malcomb
• Nancy Andrade Polito, Hollander Design Group
• Bethany Carlson, LPA Inc.

The top 10 products in this year’s Best of NeoConnect competition were:

• C3 Lines | Lightcorp Amble
• Mohawk | Lichen
• ICE + WorkShop | Cottonwood Table
• West Elm + Think OI | Modern Benching
• SLOAN | AER-DEC
• BuzziSpace + SVNDR | BuzziPleat
• OFS Brands | Heya
• Moz Designs | Laser-cut Collection
• EPIC | Contract Leaf Collection
• Shaw Contract | Emergence

The attendees at the event voted on their top choices by texting on their phones, results showing live on a projected screen above the show, and the winners were as follows:

GOLD: ICE + WorkShop’s Cottonwood Table, with 51% of the votes!
SILVER: West Elm’s Modern, Height-Adjustable Benching (by THiNK OI)

Special thanks to the 2017 IIDA San Diego NeoConnect Committee:
Alysse Cooper, NeoConnect 2017 Co-Chair, ICE
Hillarie Martorell, NeoConnect 2017 Co-Chair, OFS Brands
Angela Ryan, IIDA City Center Co-Director, Ware Malcomb
Ymisserah Eddington, IIDA City Center Co-Director, Steelcase
Shana Van Namen, SVN Design Resource
Bethany Carlson, LPA
Courtney Kirian, Think OI
Diana Tracy, Commercial Décor Gallery
Elise Holmes, MDC Wallcovering
Erica Roman, Cultura
Kari Schultz, Mannington
Kimberly McCready, DesignTex
Manuela Bravo-Smith, Carrier Johnson
Nicole Dotson, bkm Officeworks
Rebecca Hetter, Coalesse
Tony Robson, Crossville
Tricia Mauller, EPIC Contract Group
Ana Seabra-Gomes, Delawie
Lauren Knapp, ICE
Jessica Becker, Cultura
Sonja Helton, The Scheffey Group
Lauren Bencivengo, Delawie

Additional thank you to our day of volunteers:
Ashley Achleithner, Gensler
Cody Flora, Gensler
Elizabeth Rhone, Gensler
Tanya Villalpando, ARE
Jen Khor, Student
Garret Marsh, Student
Kathleen Quirez, Student
Hope Knuckles, Student
Kelly McWhorter, Student
Ginet Casido, Student
Katrina Shea, Student
Kate Davenport, Student
Shaunessy O’Brien, Student
Breeann Ray, Student

Thank you all for making this another memorable NeoConnect in San Diego, and we will see you again next year on September 25th, 2018.