Thursday, March 7, 2013

Merchandise Mart Trip!!



Our Merchandise Mart trip will be on Friday, April 12th! We are encouraging everyone to take the train together! A train will be leaving Bloomington-Normal at 7:31 am and arrives at the Chicago Union station at 10:00am. To get home you can take a train that leaves the Union Station at 5:15pm and arrives in Bloomington-Normal at 7:29pm. For those who might want to stay in Chicago a little later, there is a train that leaves the Union Station at 7:00pm and arrives in Bloomington-Normal at 9:14pm. You can buy your tickets online at http://www.amtrak.com/home. ***If you buy your tickets in person at the uptown Normal train station you can get a student discount with your ID.
                                                                                                        
Once we are at the Union Station, you can get to the Merchandise Mart in two different ways. You can take a cab directly to the mart. You can also walk a couple of blocks from Union Station to the Quincy/Wells train stop and take the train to the Merchandise Mart stop that is directly in front of the mart. The second option would be the cheapest and easiest!
 
 The map shows the walking distance from union station to the train station.

 

Once we are at the Merchandise Mart, we will be getting a tour of the IIDA Headquarters at 10:30am. The Headquarters is a LEED Gold office and is really interesting. Many of us have not been able to see a LEED Gold building or office, so this is a good chance to actually see what goes in to getting that Gold recognition. I was there recently and found the Headquarters to be really interesting and a place I think that others should go and take a tour of!


At 11:30am we will be getting a tour of the Izzy+ showroom. Izzy+ is a different kind of Furniture Company. Everything the company was founded on back in 2001 and everything they do today is all about people. They love individuals, with their unique perspectives, styles, and ideas, but what they love even more is bringing people together to see what level of amazingness will transpire.

“The reason Izzy+ exists is because we feel strongly about connecting people so we
can all be better together.”
– Company Founder and CEO Chuck Saylor



The Izzy+ family—Fixtures FurnitureHÃ…G, Harter, Izzy and ABCO—models something they deeply believe in: collaboration. We are Better Together—able to be more creative and meet more needs and opportunities than we can alone. A subsidiary of JSJ Corporation, Izzy+ is based in Spring Lake, Michigan, where their facilities bring together great design, advanced engineering and lean manufacturing capabilities.



 


After the Izzy+ showroom tour, we will be having a half hour lunch in the food court.
At 1:00, we will be taking a Kravet showroom tour. Kravet Inc., established in 1918, is the industry leader in the to the trade home furnishings industry. This fourth generation family business distributes fabrics, furniture, wall coverings, trimmings, carpets and accessories. The family’s commitment to innovation has helped the company transform from a small fabric house to a global leader, representing brands and designers from all over the world. Kravet Inc. owns Kravet Fabrics, Lee Jofa, Groundworks and GP & J Baker, all high end fabric houses that specialize in style, luxury and exceptional design. In 2011, Kravet Inc. acquired Brunschwig & Fils, a prestigious decorative house founded in 1900 that shares Kravet and Lee Jofa’s legacy of international design, commitment to quality, attention to detail and superb craftsmanship. With locations in North America and worldwide, Kravet Inc. offers the highest level of customer service, quality products and web technology for today’s design professional.

  

We are still in the process of contacting other showrooms to get to take more tours that day. As things are finalized we will update you! Make sure to wear comfortable shoes because we will be walking a lot! I also suggest to dress to impress. You don’t need to wear business attire, but don’t show up in your sweats!



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