ICFF – International Contemporary Furniture Fair

The ICFF is the most important hub in the States for distributor-​meet-​manufacturer chit-​chat venue in the contemporary furniture industry.
Unlike the Milan and Cologne fairs, the ICFF lacks the flare of a premier art showcase fair, where manufacturers present to the world their latest collections and designs; the ICFF leans towards the strictly business networking aspect of things, and therefore, is known to be as the lackluster ugly frog of furniture fairs, who everyone ends up kissing anyways.
Running through the last week of May (And sometimes too close to Memorial Day weekend) the ICFF is open to the trade, press and to retail; connoisseur’s and appreciators of contemporary furniture can relish in classic contemporary designs like the Richard Schultz 1966 collection originally made for Knoll, to über contemporary designs from the likes of Kartell, Vitra, Gandia Blasco. Other prominent companies like Baccarat, Foscarini are also on hand, providing the best that the world has to offer in lighting and chandeliers. Expect to have run-​ins with everyone who’s anyone on the architectural world as well, as it’s likely that you’ll bump into Santiago Calatrava or Richard Meier.
It is a bit disappointing that a more prominent furniture fair is not held with a little more fanfare in a place like Chicago; specially since the U. S has it’s own repertoire of big names and iconoclasts in the contemporary furniture design world; with names like Charles Eames and Frank Lloyd Wright, the ugly frog could very well be transformed into a Bauhaus prince; but no, in the U. S business is first, and thus three and a half fair stars I give the ICFF to lounge on: organization, reliability, opportunity, and half class.