The Inspired Home Show 2024
On March 17-19, for the 124th time since 1939, the International Housewares Association brought the home and housewares community together at Chicago’s McCormick Place Complex. The not-for-profit, full-service association sponsors an annual world’s premier exposition of products for the home, The Inspired Home Show.
Our editorial team of four spent three whirlwind days in Chicago, scouting for great products, new and old at The Inspired Home Show. Denise traveled from New Hampshire, Betsy from New York, Diane from Pennsylvania, and we were lucky enough to be hosted by Lori, a Chicago native. In addition to the official press trip we got to see some Windy City sights including The Field Museum’s Unseen Oceans exhibit, and Picasso:Drawing from Life at the Art Institute of Chicago.
The Inspired Home Show 24 opened on St. Patrick’s Day – we cannot recommend traveling around Chicago on that weekend! But what fun for a team of passionate home cooks; an adventure dedicated to looking at gorgeous kitchenware. A press trip that was a feast for the eyes without the pressure of shopping. Walking through the massive expanse of McCormick Place viewing products from 1,648 exhibitors felt a bit like looking at products on Amazon in 3D, with enthusiastic brand reps explaining their wares. Nothing better than touching and holding and learning about the best of the best.
There was plenty of color and flavor.
Products that align with the latest home color trends were highlighted at the Pantone ColorWatch Display. Pantone’s 2024 Color of the Year is Peach Fuzz.
The Cooking Theater featured three days of culinary demonstrations led by celebrity and award-winning chefs. Renowned American chef. JJ Johnson, author of A Chef’s Knife, Blade of Glory was a presenter.
The IHA Global Innovation Award (GIA) for Product Design honored exhibitors’ latest creations and cutting-edge innovations with award recognition.
Here is a small sampling, in alphabetical order, of a few brands and products that caught our attention.
BIA Cordon Bleu
French elegance. A collection of beautiful white country-style china and restaurant-quality serving ware that goes with everything. The beautiful shapes make your food look great- we could picture coq au vin in their wide scooped bowl.
Brabantia
We found the Make and Take collection impressive. B-corp certified Brabantia products are 33% recycled and 98% recyclable. We also loved the style of the high end trash cans, stainless steel breadbox, and minimalist collapsible sink drainers.
Cuisinel
Cuisinel’s beautifully designed cast-iron skillets, casseroles, and covered pots have pouring spouts, ridged edges, and other pleasing and useful details. And they have an added bonus: silicone covers for the handles. If you’ve ever unthinkingly grabbed a too-hot handle, you’ll appreciate this safety measure that is pretty as well as practical.
Cuisivin
This brand has unique and innovative wine accessories and tabletop products. We saw fine European crystalware, but we were attracted immediately to the artisan-made mouth-blown Snak Carafe. No more fingers in the communal party snack bowl.
Emile Henry
Made in France since 1850, with a worldwide reputation for quality. Some new arrivals included the beautiful and functional rice pot for use on the stovetop and in the oven, and the hand-crafted ceramic pizza stone for cooking homemade pizza.
Fante’s
Seeing the brand name of an iconic family-owned kitchen shop from the Italian Market in Philadelphia, on a full line of products, was an exciting discovery for those of us who have shopped at the trusted original brick and mortar shop for decades.
Finamil
In a class by itself, winner of the GIA (Global Innovation Award). The handsome mill comes in a variety of colors, has an adjustable grind, and is available in rechareable or battery-operated models. Its innovation is in its refillable spice pods, which can be changed in an instant by pressing down on the desired pod, and released just as easily. Simply put: brilliant!
Fly With Wine
For oenophiles, these are cases for traveling with your valuable wines on planes, ships, or anywhere you want your precious bottles protected. We liked both the large cases and a small one that holds only two bottles. Cases for carrying your expensive and delicate wine glasses are also a must-have.
Gleener
The stylish GIA award-winning Wet Dry Bag that caught our attention for transporting swimwear, would be the perfect extra protection for beverages, or for protecting glass jars in your grocery shopping.
Hestan
Lovely Nanobond stainless cookware is nonstick, non-toxic, non-reactive and beautiful to look at. A blend of titanium and chromium-based alloys makes it 400% stronger than stainless steel to prevent scratching and it is safe to clean with steel wool.
Lékué
Barcelona based Lékué is known for its design and innovative approach to kitchen and cooking. They make gadgets and utensils of high quality and durability with smart design. We were smitten with the Sourdough Starter kit among other products.
Peugeot Saveurs
Nothing beats the quality and styling of Peugeot’s mills. Their reputation is well-deserved and we returned often, unable to choose our favorites from the vast array. The Maestro gift set is unique, the Red Paris mills are sexy, and electric grinder set is amazing.
Tovolo
Tovolo (Spectrum) introduced some new interesting products with demos. The clever Mini Ice Maker and 3d Pop Molds in a variety of adorable characters were charming. We are fond of the Stainless Steel Bowl set, that we use exclusively in our kitchens.
Zoku
At one of the most engaging booths, we fell in love with The Kids Pocket Utensil Set. A portable kid’s cutlery set, it includes a spoon, fork, and knife that cleverly balance form and function in three designs: Shark, Kitty and Unicorn.
