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World of Woodworking

August 27, 2018

We visited the International Woodworking Fair (IWF) last week, which took place at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta. More than 30,000 woodworking industry professionals were in attendance, as well as more than 1,000 exhibitors showing the latest in product innovation, technology, material advancement and design.

CLICK HERE FOR A GALLERY OF IWF PRODUCTS

IWF touts itself as the largest showcase of machinery, materials, supplies and services in the Western Hemisphere for woodworking and related industries. It’s an opportunity to learn, network and make new connections. Learning opportunities were available through the IWF Education Conference and 11 day-long symposiums on how to improve products, work more efficiently, expand to new markets and become more profitable.

It was all about color at the Elias Woodwork booth.

The majority of the products we saw included cabinet hinges, slides, hardware and other components, but there were also several cabinet companies that exhibited and displayed the latest in colors, styles and finishes. We saw everything from new sliding door options to ultra-thin countertops, drawer organizers, storage options for tight spaces and movable shelf units for vanities.

Brown Wood specializes in such things as decorative panels for cabinet ends.

The big trends were ease of use and convenience. Soft-close and touch-to-open technologies are almost a given in today’s market. We also noticed the use of more mixed materials and contemporary styles like floating shelves. It also appears that acrylic is making its move to a material of choice for certain projects.

The 2020 IWF – it’s a biannual event – will take place from Aug. 26 – 29, 2020, at the same location.