IHHS 2015 Recap and Product Reviews for Dump Cakes and Fresh Tape

For the second year in a row, I was fortunate to attend the International Home and Housewares Show in Chicago. I was able to attend as a member of the media and spend quite a bit of time talking with many companies who bring us the great kitchen and home products we love. I wanted to tell you all a little of my experience.

While the show runs for four days (Saturday through Tuesday), I have a life outside the blog, so I could only attend Saturday and Sunday. Because of that, I needed to cram four days of conversations into just two.

The show is held at the McCormick Center just south of downtown Chicago. The show uses over 1.2 million square feet for convention space and by the time Sunday ended, I felt as if I had walked it all twice.

The vendors present made everything for the kitchen (tableware, cookware, utensils, electrics, etc…) and the home (bath, storage, etc..). I was able to see some very interesting products that are either newly released or, in some cases, won’t be released until later in the year. Watch for a bunch of product reviews over the next several months.

In addition to seeing some great products and talking with some really innovative vendors, I wanted to pass on a few other fun items.

The first was a lunch session that I attended where Ree Drummond, aka The Pioneer Woman, talked.

I was three feet from her during her entire talk.

I have to say I really enjoyed her talk. For someone with her own show on Food Network (which she still seemed stunned that she did) and her own line of housewares that are set to come out this year, she seemed like the most down-to-earth person in the room. She told a few great stories of her life on the prairie and how she became a world renown food blogger.

I also got to meet one-on-one with Cathy Mitchell. Cathy is the author of Dump Cakes and Dump Dinners. you may have seen these or other products of Cathy’s as she has been selling her products on television for several decades (ever since the Snackmaster).

The concept behind Dump Cakes and Dump Dinners is recipes that can be made in one dish where you throw everything together and cook. During the talk I was able to taste two recipes of hers from Dump Cakes and they reminded me a cobbler recipes that I make in a dutch oven when camping. They were pretty tasty. If the concept sounds interesting, check them out here.

Another interesting item I found in an area with cleaning products.

Yes. That is a real Delorean Car. Just like the one from the back to the future movies. No idea what it was doing parked in a booth.

Lastly, 2015 is the 100th anniversary of the Pyrex brand. On one day of the show, they celebrated by unveiling the world’s largest measuring cup (as verified by a member of the Guinness Book of World’s Records who was on site).

It was filled with 3000 cups of Chicago’s famous Garrett Popcorn.

One of the products at the show was FreshTape.

For those who haven’t heard of FreshTape, it is resealable tape to be used for bogs of food. Think opened bags of chips, pretzels, sugar, frozen corn, etc…

Instead of using a clip that collects germs with each and every touch (particularly with snack food), you have a quick and decorative piece of tape that is easy to apply, easy to open, and most importantly, easy to reapply (like I did above and below).

FreshTape comes in a variety of decorative styles and can be found in stores all around the globe. Take a look where you can purchase FreshTape here.