Post NeoCon News!

 

 

After much hard work and meticulous planning, Fine Design at NeoCon 2010 has ended and was a great success!  Three days were packed with educational seminars, showroom events and parties, as well as product debuts that covered a broad range of styles, techniques and features.  Design Center halls were bustling as attendees visited the Design Center’s permanent showrooms to explore the latest and greatest offerings and events! 

 All of the Fine Design seminars, held in the Mart’s fifteen-twenty presentation suite, were CEU accredited; many sold out with standing room only.  The CEU sessions were presented with the idea that as the design industry continues to become more and more competitive, designers and architects have the opportunity to continue their education and learn more about design as well as their clients, and become a leader in the industry. 

 Many renowned speakers came to discuss various aspects of the design world, such as how to stand out as a designer by using innovating and unique materials, new eco-friendly trends, how to value and charge for design services, and many more topics. 

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 “Going Green” was a very popular theme throughout the 16 CEU Seminars. Sustainability respects the environment, in addition to having aesthetic beauty and comfort, and supporting abundance.  We also learned it also doesn’t necessarily have to be more expensive! 

Fine Design Keynote Speaker, Margaret McCurry, gave a captivating presentation with before and after pictures of her work around the country, discussing her style and technique of symmetry and aesthetics while still providing an eco-friendly way of life. Her photos explored her work with modern houses that demonstrate her love of vernacular architecture and fondness for classicism. 

 Fine Design at NeoCon proved to be the place to meet and greet, learn event more about design, and become inspired by endless creativity and innovation! 

 

Start the Terrace Season with LinenMe

As the sun gets warmer every day warming our gardens and yards enough, slowy the tables and chairs come out of storehouses. As days get warmer many terraces become almost living rooms for many people. Eating a meal, reading a paper, drinking a cup of tea – all these ordinary activities are somehow more enjoyable when done in a fresh air.

Are you ready for this Terrace season? LinenMe invites you to revise your terrace and garden-life equipment.

 Do you have enough cushions to put under your back when reclining in a chair? Are cushion covers clean? Is their fabric pleasant to your skin? Do colors make your eyes happy? Check out some natural linen quality cushion covers from Emilia collection, available in your favorite colors!

 Did you know that any meal looks more delicious and the overall setting more luxurious and delightful when you serve your dishes on a table covered with a tablecloth? Especially when tablecloth matches the natural environment of the garden – is made from natural fabric and tastefully decorated. LinenMe offers plain, patterned and stitched tablecloths for any taste.

 Make your table cozier and prettier – use table linen placemats. They are made of thick fabric – no wind will blow them away, placemats will serve you for ages as they are durable and machine washable. Color range is wide enough to match other table linen or other accessories on your terrace or garden.

The start of the new season is the right time to renew your entire textile collection. Get all the needed items in the beginning and all you have to do is enjoy your precious time for the whole summer!

New to the Design Center: Chicago Artists Coalition

The newest addition to The Design Center at The Merchandise Mart is the unique concept that is the Chicago Artists Coalition.  Located on the 15th floor six artists use Suite 1562 as a workroom/outstanding gallery while creating one of a kind and custom pieces of art.

To kick off a great season of work, the Chicago Artists Coalition invites you to an open house this Thursday, April 29th and Friday, April 30, in their space, Suite 1562 from 6pm-9pm.

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Inara Cedrins is an artist, writer and translator. Having worked on a series of Chicago Facades linoleum block prints, she began a Dolce Vita series, centered in Italy Inara went to the Central Academy of Fine Art in Beijing to study traditional Chinese ink painting on silk, remaining five years to teach at universities including Tsinghua University and Peking University, as well as to the People’s Liberation Army and students at the Central Academy of Fine Art. In 2003 she went to Nepal to study the technique of thangka painting; after the king’s coup d’etat in 2005, she relocated to Riga, Latvia, making prints of the ornate facades and teaching Creative Writing at the University of Latvia.

 Lisa Goesling began taking weekend classes at the Art Institute of Chicago at twelve years old, creating sculptures, drawings and paintings. She is 100% invested in being a fine artist after a varied career as a Public Relations Director, Art Director, Graphic Designer and Illustrator. Lisa was juried into the Corporate Gallery Program with the Northwest Cultural Council in 2008 and has presented her work in galleries throughout the Northwest Suburbs, Wisconsin, Los Angeles and now, the Merchandise Mart

Jaime Lynn Henderson received her Master of Fine Arts degree from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago in Painting and Drawing in 2009 and her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Art from the University of Oklahoma in 2007. Her large-scale, vivid, playful, and fantastical works on paper have been exhibited in numerous galleries and institutions across the Midwest and have won her several awards such as the title of ”Best New Artist Working on Paper” in 2009. In addition to exhibiting with Concertina Gallery in the Goffo Section of NEXT Fair starting April 29 at Art Chicago, Henderson will be featured as a contestant on Bravo TV’s “Work of Art: The Next Great Artist” premiering June 9, 2010 at 11pm EST. For more information, please visit www.jaimelynnhenderson.com or http://www.bravotv.com/work-of-art.

Alexandra Lee (ATYL) was born in Hong Kong, is a graduate of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and is a multi-disciplinary artist. Her concept driven work incorporates themes of childhood, femininity, and the delicate interplay between human connection, their interaction with each other, their environment, and nature. 

Mark Moleski holds a BFA degree in Fine Art from Columbia College Chicago.  He looks beyond the obvious, searching for an alternate guise.  Works on paper; Read, Sit, and Stand are visually manipulated images which take on a new purpose.

Zachary Mory is an artist who focuses on the process of drawing.  By utilizing systems of working, simple tools (pencil on paper), and repetitive marks, he creates intricately woven, non-objective drawings that bring the viewer’s focus to the micro and macro simultaneously.

The six designers come from all over the world and take the uniqueness and creativity Chicago has to offer to make stunning, one-of-a-kind pieces of art.

The Day After the Preview Party…DreamHome is Now Open

After seven months of planning, unbridled anticipation and lots and lots and lots of work, DreamHome 2010 is now open!

We want to thank all of the Designers and all of our sponsors- especially Chicago Home + Garden Magazine, FCAC and the Chicago Regional Carpenters Council, as well and the countless people who helped work on the DreamHome to make it the breathtaking installation that it is!

Without further ado- Here are the 2010 DreamHome Rooms!

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merchandisemartdesigncenter.com/dreamhome

On April 15th the home was previewed to upwards of an amazing 800 guests- all of which graciously supported the UCCRF cause and helping to make the opening a huge success.  The buzz around the DreamHome was undeniable and the excitement is just beginning! With a variety of shelter publication events revolving around DreamHome this year there will always be something to look forward to- So don’t forget to stay tuned!

The DreamHome will be open Now through December 10, 2010

Monday-Friday 10-5 and Saturday 10-3

Spring Kick Off in the Sample Sale Suite

A recent addition to the Design Center at the Merchandise Mart the Sample Sale Suite was added in November 2009 and has been a great success!

Located in Suite 1563 the Sample Sale Suite plays host to a variety to showroom samples from around the Design Center. The pieces are available to designers and consumers and ready to purchase immediately.

Every six months the participating showrooms and products featured in the suite are mixed up a bit, allowing shoppers to find new treasures every time they stop in! The featured showrooms for Spring are  Ebel, Three Friends, Atelier Lapchi, Kenneth Ludwig Home Furnishings, Henredon, Hickory Chair / Pearson, Century Furniture, Ruggeri Gallery Home and Melvin Wolf.

Be sure to check out Sample Sale Suite, Suite 1563, open Monday-Friday 9am-5pm. For more information call 773-852-6184. Merchandisemartdesigncenter.com

Welcome!

    

Hi Readers,    

Thanks for joining us and we look forward to some great blogging ahead!     

As The Design Center at The Merchandise Mart we want to bring you the most exciting and up to date information topics that are important to you such as      

Industry News                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Product Product and Line debuts
Design Center Event information
Party pics
Designer programs                                                                                                         Special services                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      New New and Expanding Design Center Showrooms
News from the Mart     

 

  

Design Center Events

 

If you are an Interior Designer or Architect, Interior Decorator, Home Furnishings Showroom or just a luxury design enthusiast, and want to stay clued in to the happenings here at the Design Center, be sure to subscribe to our blog and we will do our best to keep you informed!!    

Please feel free to leave us comments or for more specific questions email us at martdesigncenter.com      

Also be sure to visit merchandisemartdesigncenter.com for a full calendar of events, showroom listing and program and event outlines-   Signing off- will post again soon!    

DreamHome 2009 Preview Party