April 2025
ertonline.co.uk REVIEW
12 Innovation and inspiration x 125!Innovation and inspiration x 125! This platform for newness and innovation in Chicago
This platform for newness and innovation in Chicago celebrated its 125th edition this year, alongside 25 years of the gia excellence awards. Sarah Selzer took a closer look.
Innovation and the gia awards for excellence in retailing, product design and student design. There are displays across the two halls of the show: on new product, new exhibitors and global design, and also ‘debut’ for emerging brands. The show, which celebrated its 125th edition, runs for three days and from 2026 will feature a new mid-week schedule, Tuesday to Thursday 10-12 March. It is housed in two halls. North is home to all electricals in Wired & Well with an adjoining Clean & Contain section for storage
T
here is always so much more to this show than aisles to walk and stands to visit. There are ‘attractions’ across the two halls and in the main lobby area, like Pantone Colorwatch, Hall of Global
celebrated its 125th edition this year, alongside 25 years of the gia excellence awards. Sarah Selzer took a closer look.
and cleaning. Across the concourse, South is mostly tabletop and cookware in Dine & Decor. The gia awards displays in the lobby area of North are a great way to kick off a visit to the show. This features all the finalists and winners across the 14 categories, with two categories for electricals – Kitchen and Household & Home – joining tabletop, kitchenware, cleaning and cook & bakeware. Winner in Kitchen Electrics was xBloom Studio ‘the ultimate machine for specialty coffee’ from
tbdx.inc, with grinder, brewer and scale integrated in the one design. Finalists were Jura, IRIS multi-cooker, DoughBed dough proofer from Sourhouse and the DREO countertop water filter from Shenzhen Hesund Innovation Technology. Household & Home Electrics had a strong mix, with the winner, the Cricut Maker® 4 Smart Cutting Machine, highlighting the importance of the home craft sector on both sides of the pond! Finalists were F&H Group with the Hoptimist wireless speaker, GarageVac from InterVac Design, Urbie with the Verta ‘nature inspired’ air purifier (which features a self-watering planter so the plant can actively contribute to the air cleaning process) and Zafferano Super O rechargeable table lamp. Wired & Well had a mix of major names – and
super-size stands – including Cuisinart, who had taken over two areas either side of an aisle, one as a grilling ‘village’ with BBQs and sales staff
wearing suitably-chilled green polo shirts (staff on the SDA and other Cuisinart product sectors across the aisle seemed to be all wearing suits!) CE North America was exhibiting some of its own brands and partners like Electrolux and Farberware. This stand had a series of mini displays on its perimeter like Farberware fridge and chest freezer highlighting ‘appliances that fit your life – from kitchen comfort to garage ready’ and the glorious ‘Color Collection’ from the Collezioni brand including fridge freezers, microwaves and SDA all with a retro feel and in pastel green, pink and blue.
British SDA brands like Dualit, Haden and New Dawn Innovations with Laura Ashley and Cath Kidston licences reported a good show in Wired & Well, while other noteworthy selections included Aroma with mini rice cookers in pastel colours and Equity Brands with names like Betty Crocker and Black & Decker in its SDA line-up. Back over in South Hall, there was a fair amount of electricals on show, usually as part of a ‘décor’ stand like German exhibitor KooKoo with its Japanese-designed MoriMori lighting and lantern speakers. Heritage brand Bodum had a selection of electrical pour-over coffee makers, with a strong design vibe, while The Cookware Co had pastel-coloured slow cookers among a huge selection of cookware. Finally, Epoca with Paris Hilton kitchen electrics in pink and with plenty of bling! There were also some gems to be found among the smaller exhibitors and in the case of the Debut section for emerging brands, there was a real discovery – Kara Water with products that turn air into drinking water including a self- refilling coffee machine. Roll on 2026!
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44
