International Home & Housewares Highlights 2012 #IHHS12 #IHHS13

ChiIL Mama's original photos and take on IHHS12

The giant, annual trade show known as The International Home & Housewares Show is rapidly approaching and once again ChiIL Mama will be there to bring you the best.   IHHS is NOT open to the public, but we'll be taking a sneak peek at all the hot new housewares offerings with an eye to the eco-friendly, family friendly, fun & functional.   We'll be primarily focusing on green living, but we're suckers for the colorful, too, especially when the gadgets are useful and make life easier.

Apologies for the photo quality.   I'm in the market to replace my original generation Galaxy S which does NOT have a stellar camera feature.  Our highly coveted photo credentials came down late and I only had my cell phone on site.   I was the "accidental press" last year.   

It was going to be a one day/one event deal.  I was invited out to a special press event by Soda Stream and had only planned to cover that.  But while I was there I bumped into a colleague I cover lots of theatre for, who offered me a full blown media/photo pass.   It's good to have friends in high places.   So, we did more extensive IHHS Show coverage than we'd initially planned.

These boots are made for walkin:

This year we're back to cover the whole show with intention...and with my pro Canon.   We're taking at least 2 days to explore the THREE full locations of IHHS13.   This show is seriously massive.   And we've be invited to eat, drink and be homey with lots of interesting vendors.    We'll bring our readers along virtually as we:

*Attend an exclusive press breakfast with Cake Boss, Buddy Valastro, for the launch of Meyer Corporation, U.S.'s Cake Boss brand of baking and decorating products.

*Meet Revol handmade porcelain for drinks & hors d'oeuvres

*Attend an internet media lunch IHA Social where we'll 

Network with reps from 10 of our well-known exhibitors

Meet with other influential bloggers and internet media

Learn about the IHA, the Show and what we have to offer in addition to more than 2,100 exhibitors showing off their newest products

and so much more.

Here's our recap of our favorites from IHHS 2012. 

Du-Jay (8) in 2009, trying SodaStream for the first time, for a feature on ChiIL Mama

Soda Stream highlights the waste an average US family creates in a very visual display at IHHS12.   

We've been using our Soda Stream machines for years...we got our first two in 2009 in fact!  

Check out our early coverage here.

Look how cute and little Sagezilla, Du-Jay and their friend, Daniel were back then!   But even over 3 years ago, Soda Stream machines were still simple and well designed enough for them to work them with ease.

We were given two of the original Soda Stream machines for a comparison feature.  Since then we bought a bigger one for ourselves and one for my parents.  Highly recommended.   This is honestly THE kitchen appliance we use daily.   It's saved us money and time and energy carrying heavy cases of water and soft drinks from the grocery and out in the recycling bin.   And we can feel great about the eco-friendly impact, too!

My how you've grown!   It was sweet to see how Soda Stream has expanded and grown in a few short years.   They have a huge line of flavors now, and an impressive array of machine designs from basic and affordable for everyone, to high end glitz, and everything in between.

They even brought in author and fitness guru, Jillian Michaels, as guest speaker at IHHS13!!   Check out her inspiring podcasts here 

Jillian Michaels’ podcast.

Check out their site here for Garlic Card info.

We're big fans of the Garlic Card, a Swedish invention that makes life easier for sure.    Sometimes the simplest ideas truly are the best!

We have a Garlic Card to give away to our readers along with adult ($9.95) & kid size ($6.95) produce scrubbing gloves by Fabrikators shortly!   

She's Crafty:

This crafty booth got our attention for most creative!   Lynne at Lynne's Wim.com was staffing the booth with her mom.   She gives "kitchen witch" a hip, new twist with adorable aprons and witchy wear.

Check 'em out here on Facebook.

As a music blogger/ photographer/videographer I was stoked at her choice of monickers for her styles--some of the most rockin' women in alt rock!!   Can you match a last name to the rock stars below?   

Cooking's not my forte, and it'll be a cold day in the kitchen before Martha Stewart or Betty Crocker have any shot at being upstaged by ChiIL Mama.... but The Whim Collection was so dang funky and fun, it had me seriously tempted.   My husband's in the TV/film industry, eats on set a lot and travels extensively...so I do still have to feed the kids more often than he does, by default, but he actually LIKES to cook!   Wonder if my awesome better half could rock the whim look?   

Green Favorites:

Our fav IHHS swag was the Nude Food Mover lunch box in a bright blue neoprene case.   We rock the green living as much as possible and have been moving toward zero waste packed school lunches for several years now.   We have reusable bottles and containers versus baggies.   These are specifically food shaped and the stackables are perfect for smash proof snacking.

Freshwave is local, green and great smelling.   I almost walked by but heard "....stinky tweens, smelly dogs...." and did an about face.   Yes, yes we do...have both.   We also avoid chemical cover ups and weird, allergy aggrevating sprays.   They gave us an awesome, unscented odor remover jar to sit around, dog shampoo, and a little spritzer.   Highly recommended!!

Nellie's All Natural  makes a sweet line of eco-friendly cleaning solutions.   We tried samples of the laundry soda and watermelon dish soap.   Smells delightful, lasts a looong time, and works great, too!  Highly recommended.

Capabunga keeps your xtra wine fresh with a silicone topper that's easy to apply and remove!   We got a sample of the 2 on the left and have been enjoying them all year.

Our aptly named friend, Johanna Cook at Mommacuisine, will be back again, early in the morning on the final day, with a cooking demo!   Our friend, Anupey Singla Indianasapplepie will be cookin' too!

2012

Check back with ChiIL Mama like we vote in Chi, IL...early and often for our photo filled recap of IHHS13!

Disclosure: SodaStream invited me to a blogger event and during the course of covering the IHHS show, we were given a small number of items for review purposes, including soda stream bottles,  a salt shaker, grapefruit segmenter, mixed drink rocks, a garlic card and peeler gloves, Nellie's dish soap and laundry soda, a Nude Food Movers Lunch box, and several natural odor removers from Freshwave.  

All opinions are my own.   There were no stated or implied coverage requirement or expectation from any of these brands in exchange for products or gifts.