We were very excited to attend the 2018 International Home and Housewares Show in Chicago, Illinois at the McCormick Center. The weather was cold in the 20’s and 30’s so it was a little brisk for us Floridians. The show was over the course of 4 days and in four different halls with miles of walking. With 2,244 exhibitors from 47 countries, the show was a lot of fun and allowed us to meet up with existing suppliers and discover new products that will be helpful to our customers.

This is a selfie just getting into the show. We have a long way to go!

Well with all the walking, we even found a place to get off our feet!

Coincidentally, the first product we discovered was Urine Off and they gave us a handy rolling box cart. Kind of like a rolling carry-on suitcase but it’s a cardboard box with the Urine Off brand name on the sides of the box. It was a great conversational piece to say the least. People were stopping us to ask us about our “Urine box”.

The product is amazing! It is a line of products that completely neutralizes urine and other bad smells. They have a mini demo toilet bowl about the size of a coffee mug. They squirt some synthetic urine in the little toilet bowl and of course it smells errr...really bad! Then they add a little UrineOff and the smell is completely gone immediately! It's something you have to see (and smell) work the first time to believe it 100%, It's not covering up the smell, the urine is neutralized. So even though we didn't expect to find a product this good on our first stop at the show, UrineOff surprised us and is something we had to add to our product line for our hotel customers and any company that has a bathroom or restroom to clean. Isn’t that everybody?

Tooletries has created an innovative bathroom organization line of products that simply stick to your shower wall, bathroom mirrors or glass using their patented silicone technology Great for organizing razors, toothbrushes, toothpaste and other personal hygiene products.

Flinka showcased their reusable cleaning products. Flinka manufactures products like kitchen cloths, wipes, shammy sponges, eraser sponges, scour sponges, window wipes and reusable pet towels. Made in Germany, their products are designed to be very rugged yet gentle on all home surfaces. They are washable and reusable. We were impressed because it's a disposable product line that seems almost too good to be disposable, meaning it will hold up well. Plus Flinka products are environmentally friendly because they are made from Viscose — a natural, biodegradable and renewable material harvested from sustainable forests. This line of cleaning cloths is perfect for cleaning counters, glass, dishes, furniture, floors, autos, boats and just about any surface.

Umbra was at the show demonstrating a must have phone holder as part of a new attractive line of bathroom accessories. Yes, everyone takes their phone with them to the bathroom. Finally, a place to stand your phone up to watch your favorite YouTube video while you brush your teeth! We think it's perfect for your nightstand too. The Junip bath accessory line has the look and feel of apothecary bottles but with a modern design. The u-shaped phone holder has rounded lines and a built-in tray for jewelry.

Spectrum showcased their line of hair dryer holder and accessory organizers. Many or their organizers feature an "over the cabinet" design as an easy way to store your accessories for easy use but out of sight.

You never know what will happen and who you will see at the Housewares Show. We walked around a corner and ran into Joy Mangano signing her book. Yes that's the same Joy Mangano #joymangano that had a movie made about her starring Jennifer Lawrence. We watched the movie just recently but never imagined that we would soon be meeting her in person. If you didn't see the movie, Joy of course is the inventor of the Miracle Mop, JOY Huggable Hangers® and many more great home products. She was there signing copies of her new book, Inventing Joy. You would think we would be a little star struck but she was just so casual like she had known us for years. It was really great to meet her.