Lorraine Tierney

"For the past 20 years IIDEX/NeoCon Canada has brought together the Canadian design community," comments Lorraine Tierney, Vice President of Marketing for IIDEX/NeoCon Canada, "and so many aspects of the show owe a debt to the community members and supporters who have helped nurture and sustain Canada's largest design industry event."

The Association of Registered Interior Designers of Ontario (ARIDO, Toronto professionals association) has named five individuals as ARIDO fellows: Lorraine Tierney, director of marketing for IIDEX/NeoCon Canada; Marilyn Donoghue, president of Design Intl., Ottawa; Carole Howlett, senior consultant for MCD Design Group; John Kitamura, retired ARIDO member; and posthumously, Alan Fairbrass, former ARIDO president.

Lorraine Tierney, vice-president of marketing, IIDEX/NeoCon Canada, anticipates the utilization of sustainable design throughout the expo: "I hope one day everyone starts asking 'Is it safe to produce or manipulate a certain product?' Hopefully, these questions will become commonplace."

said Lorraine Tierney, vice president of marketing, IIDEX/NeoCon Canada. "The

"The Greenlife exhibit was just amazing and the buzz it generated shows just how important responsible, sustainable design is to the design community," said Lorraine Tierney, vice president of marketing, IIDEX/NeoCon Canada. "The 60 companies featured all offered a ‘green' dimension, which brought a tremendous level of attention to this growing area of interest," added Tracy Bowie, vice president of sales for the event.

"The GreenlifeÔ exhibit was just amazing and the buzz it generated shows just how important responsible, sustainable design is to the design community," said Lorraine Tierney, vice president of marketing, IIDEX/NeoCon Canada. "The 60 companies featured all offered a 'green' dimension, which brought a tremendous level of attention to this growing area of interest," added Tracy Bowie, vice president of sales for the event.

According to Lorraine Tierney, marketing director for IIDEX/NeoCon Canada, approximately 60 are first time exhibitors, and the show will cover about 290,000 square feet, approximately 60,000 square feet more than last year's event.

Attendance at the show has been fairly consistent for the past couple of years, attracting approximately 12,000 buyers, including architects, interior designers, facility managers, specifiers and corporate end-users.Attracting more corporate end-users has been a high priority for the organizers, Tierney said.

Tierney said 45,000 direct mail pieces will be sent to corporate end-users throughout the Greater Toronto Area inviting them to attend the show.

"The free keynote addresses are planned to add an additional can't-miss component to our event and to deliver a heavy dose of inspiration," said Lorraine Tierney, director of marketing, IIDEX/NeoCon Canada, Merchandise Mart Properties, Inc. (MMPI)."And this year there's such an amazing line-up that attendees will want to hear all three – about how corporate culture can nourish the soul, how innovations can benefit from mimicking nature and how the philosophy of a design icon shapes his original and provocative work."