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The Inspired Home Show, formerly known as the International Home + Housewares Show, is an annual housewares show staged at McCormick Place in Chicago and organized by the International Housewares Association. In 2008, the Show covered 785,000 net square feet (72,900 m2) of exhibit space. It is one of top 20 largest trade shows in the U.S. and in the top 10 in Chicago.[1]
 | This article contains promotional content. (March 2024) |
| The Inspired Home Show | |
|---|---|
| |
| Status | Active |
| Genre | housewares |
| Venue | McCormick Place |
| Location(s) | Chicago, Illinois |
| Country | United States |
| Inaugurated | 1938 |
| Attendance | 60,000+ |
| Organized by | International Housewares Association |
| Website | www |
"The first House Furnishing Goods Exhibition was held in New York’s Madison Square Garden in 1906. The modern housewares exposition was born in 1927 when members of the National Home Furnishings Buyers Club decided that an exhibit in centrally located Chicago would be the most efficient way to view the products of many manufacturers. The group convinced 115 manufacturers to display their wares at the Stevens (later renamed Conrad Hilton) Hotel on January 3–7, 1928, now known as the Hilton Chicago.[2] The newly established National House Furnishing Manufacturers Association (NHFMA) responded to their buyers’ request for an annual exhibition, and for the next 10 years, shows including kitchenware and major appliances were held at the Stevens.
The International Housewares Association (IHA) was formed from multiple mergers among different organizations.
The National House Furnishing Manufacturers Association (NHFMA) joined with the House Furnishing Manufacturers Association of America (HFMAA) to create a single non-profit organization called the Housewares Manufacturers Association (HMA). In 1941, the new HMA put on its first show at the Palmer House. In 1946, the HMA and the New York Manufacturers Association merged to become the NHMA (National Housewares Manufacturers Association), the antecedent of IHA. The new NHMA signed the Philadelphia Convention Hall for its first joint exposition from April 27 – May 2, 1947, marking the end of the "hotel era" and moving into a true exhibition arena.
The Housewares Show grew swiftly after World War II ended. Exhibitors continually strained to expand their booth space, and would-be exhibitors battered at the doors. To accommodate the growing number of companies, the Show moved to Chicago's Navy Pier in 1949.
By 1949 the show was an international marketplace hosting buyers from 11 countries. The Show narrowed its product categories, terminating the major appliance segment and changing its name from the "National Housewares and Major Appliance Exhibit" to the "National Housewares and Home Appliance Manufacturers Exhibit" in 1950. The 1950 event saw a greater number of new products, although many manufacturers still had not invested in new tooling. The Show's primary importance was its abundance of personal contacts.
In 1956 no more than 649 exhibitors could fit into Navy Pier. The limitations could only be solved when the Show moved into Chicago's new exposition center, McCormick Place on the Lake, in 1961."[1][3]
"More than 900 formerly 'squeezed' exhibitors happily stretched into the comfortable 310,000 square feet (29,000 m2) of new space. Yet the grand facility was still too small for demand. The excitement brought 33,000 attendees to McCormick Place for opening day in 1961.[4]
The Show bid farewell to Atlantic City and contracted for both semi-annual Shows in Chicago. The fortunes of the International Housewares Show were joined with McCormick Place for the next 36 years."[1]
Late Sunday night, January 15, 1967, 1,236 exhibitors finished setting up their booths for the 13th Show at McCormick Place, fully expecting to meet 15,000 buyers the next morning on opening day. Instead, the industry experienced its greatest catastrophe and the most strenuous test of its resolve.[4]
At 2 a.m., security guards detected a small fire; faulty electrical wiring had ignited storage materials in one exhibitor's booth on the upper-level main exhibit area. The flames spread rapidly through flammable exhibit walls and materials, and although firefighters responded within 10 minutes, the mammoth building's roof collapsed in less than one hour. By the time the fires was declared extinguished at 9:46 a.m., the country's largest exposition hall was a total loss. In dollar value, the fire was more costly than the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. Only one person perished in this tragedy.
NHMA management convened at its Merchandise Mart office to mount a new Show as quickly as possible. Sales materials fortunately remaining in hotel rooms and product samples scooped up from Merchandise Mart showrooms and department stores had to substitute for exhibits worth thousands of dollars.
Several other cities stepped in to compete for the trade show, but only Chicago had enough hotel rooms and the transportation systems to move 60,000 visitors in and out. Within a month, NHMA announced the Show would go on, at the International Amphitheatre on June 12–16."[1]
"A new McCormick Place rose, and in January 1971, the 54th International Housewares Show was back at the exposition center. 700,000 square feet (65,000 m2) replaced the former facility’s 480,000 square feet (45,000 m2). In 1979, the West Building (Donnelley Hall) was pressed into service for new exhibitors with an extra day to attract buyers. McCormick Place’s new North building added 300,000 square feet (28,000 m2) in 1986 to a Show that occupied three buildings.
In 1991, NHMA moved to new quarters in Rosemont near O'Hare Airport. The show changed its title several times, most notably from the “National Housewares Exposition” in the ‘80s to the “International Housewares Show” in 1992, when it became a single annual January Show in Chicago. In 1997, the International Housewares Show opened in the grand new South building of the McCormick Place complex. In 2004, IHA moved the trade show from its long-standing January date to a March timeframe and renamed it the International Home + Housewares Show in recognition of show's evolution to a homegoods marketplace."[1]
 | This section needs to be updated. (February 2018) |
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