Our home and studio are littered with suitcases, there are piles of clothes and quilts that need to be laundered, folders are bulging with business cards, orders to be filled and taxi receipts. There are more voicemails and emails to respond to than I care to admit—must be ICFF season.

The ICFF, which stands for the International Contemporary Furniture Fair, is the preeminent contemporary design show in the US and is held annually in May in New York City. It is juried and is the only trade show we do every year. The psychological, emotional and physical demands of it make it both exciting and exhausting at the same time. The people who attend this show have the ability to change our lives and have. It’s a media bonanza. (“Look, there goes Martha Stewart…”) Although there are lots of international manufacturers of contemporary furnishings, there are also other artisans like us who runs small businesses selling things they make themselves.

The work of the other exhibitors is like nectar to us. We arrive before the show opens each morning to walk the floor without the crowds, admiring all of the combined creative energy of the exhibitors. So many beautiful things that I’d love to live with but can’t afford or would look too bossy in our 1914 Arts and Crafts bungalow. There are also things that Bill and I place in a category of “just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.” There are lots of overly designed plastic chairs that I imagine my thighs sticking to on a humid day or sliding straight out of if I were wearing satin. But mostly there are beautifully designed and executed rugs, textiles, furniture, lighting fixtures and objets from around the world. Elegant, wacky and inspired things everywhere. Too many to photograph, so I thought I’d just post some images of interesting textures – visual espresso of a sort. If you are planning a trip to New York in 2007, the dates for next year’s show are May 19-22. I promise it will put a smile on your face.

quilt sold through etsy

What a great cooperative idea …
Baby girl’s quilt co-produced by 5 Etsy members from 5 different countries; BloodyBunny from Germany, AtelierJade from Japan, Momo from Hong Kong, Keymistress from Singapore and Pamkin_Girl from Australia. The theme and colour-scheme of the quilt were chosen and agreed upon by all members then the blocks were made and snail mailed to Australia to be assembled and quilted!

A variation of modern and traditional quilting technique were used for the creation of this quilt. Blocks from Japan were hand-pieced, blocks from Germany and Hong Kong had a combination of machine and hand-embroidery, and blocks from Singapore were silk-screened. All fabrics have been pre pre-washed.