UTR wins Design Prizes at International Housewares Show

We just returned from the 2010 International Home Housewares Show in Chicago which was a great success. The show was well attended this year and we're honored to win a Design Defined Award by the IHA for Hang & Level™ - the picture hanging tool that marks exactly where the nail goes, so eliminates mistake holes while decorating.

The unique decorating product was selected by Design Finders, teams of young designers, experienced practitioners and educators from the University of Illinois-Chicago’s Interdisciplinary Product Development Program. They scoured hundreds of exhibitors in the Clean + Contain Expo in the North Building searching for products that exemplified a commitment to design while achieving a solution to common household cleaning, storage and home décor issues.

“The purpose of the Design Defined program is to bring attention to those companies that have placed a premium on quality design,” said Phil Brandl, president of IHA, which owns and operates the Show. “We are pleased to announce the results of this much-anticipated program.”

“This year’s Design Defined Honorees showed the continued commitment of the housewares industry to integrate design and innovation into their new product launches,” said Steven Melamed, IDSA, president of Tres Design Group and a professor in the UIC industrial design department. “It was also significantly demonstrated that many companies are now actively moving towards the manufacture of more sustainable products”.