It’s show time! Well… just about.
Now that summer is here, the ARIDO team is fully shifting gears into IIDEX/NeoCon Canada production mode and the sense of anticipation is definitely on the rise. Setting foot on the show floor last year for the first time was quite the experience. Having just joined the Association as the new Communications Manager that week, there was so much for me to take in. I was amazed at the show’s breadth and scope of offerings from two perspectives. As an attendee, I spent much of my time navigating the different booths, checking out their new products, taking in the keynote talks and dropping in on a few of the seminars. As the newest staff member, I spent all the remaining moments mapping out the quickest way across the floor from the ARIDO booth to the Press Room (should I take the scenic way past the champagne bar and the keynote theatre, or take my chances with the ‘quicker’ route that offered no less than 20 new and intriguing distractions at each turn and thus, inevitably taking just as much time and more?). It was an invaluable educational experience, and that was just that was just during the day. At night there was also the ARIDO Awards of Excellence and Innovation Awards to take in. So many details for all of these events and offerings, each carefully planned and executed by the ARIDO and IIDEX team to bring the 15,000 attendees of the show an inspiring and educational two days of jammed-packed activities.
From where I stand and from what I’ve learned since then, getting ready for the show is a bit like a marathon—many months of intense and meticulous preparation for the main event, that proves a tremendously rewarding experience at the finish line. As an insider, I can’t wait for this year’s show, and hope you’ll come back to this blog again in the weeks ahead to read about all the many reasons for why that is the case. Check back regularly for regular blog postings and more importantly, don’t miss IIDEX/NeoCon 2008 this September!
Tonia Addison
Communications Manager
ARIDO, Association of Registered Interior Designers of Ontario
www.arido.ca