Episode 102 Show Notes

Welcome back to the show Rob Kirkbride. Rob joins me to chat about NeoCon 2022, Fulton Market, industry trends, and most importantly, the new ventures he has started in the past few months. As usual, Rob and I had an amazing conversation full of fantastic insights you won’t want to miss. 

Rob and I both attended NeoCon this year but he got to experience more of the show. What it really showed to him after having several conversations with others in the industry was that the contract interiors industry is booming. He knew that there had been growth but every single company spokesperson he spoke to said that the last year had been their best ever. 

But an area that we are all falling short in is developing solutions for the hybrid workplace. Very few companies are still entertaining the idea of completely abandoning the office space but they have leaned into the hybrid workplace model. But what is the solution? 

After we’ve chatted about the state of the industry, Rob shares his new ventures. He’s been in publishing for years and what he’s realized is that many companies have let their content and copy go by the wayside. Rather than focus on creating content and resources they’ve leaned into other areas of their businesses. 

Listen as Rob shares what he’s doing to help others in the industry to reclaim their content and continue to attract new customers and clients with Write Office. That’s not his only new venture though. Listen to the end to hear all about his foray into NFTs and why he thinks it’s the right investment for the future. 

In this episode:

[01:35] Welcome back to the show Rob!

[03:01] Listen as Rob discusses NeoCon 2022 and the new products being shown.

[05:33] He shares which international designs caught his eye.

[07:13] We lived through a tornado during NeoCon 2022.

[08:21] My thoughts on Fulton Market.

[11:18] Rob talks about Design Days at Fulton Market.

[13:47] Learn about the Frovi product and a couple of Australian and Canadian companies.

[14:34] Rob shares some trends he noticed.

[19:01] He doesn’t believe that work from home customers were very well represented by companies at NeoCon.

[20:38] “The hybrid workplace is the greatest opportunity and the greatest challenge for our industry.”

[23:22] Why the industry isn’t coming up with a plan on what the hybrid workplace should be.

[25:25] Rob shares his final thoughts on NeoCon 2022.

[28:18] He talks about a new venture he has started and why he created, Write Office.

[32:57] What his company does.

[37:00] Who in the industry and outside the industry can use his experience.

[39:47] The industry needs more people to stand up and share their voice.

[41:09] Thank you for listening!

Links & Resources:

INDEAL University
Support the Trend Report

Frovi
Fulton Market
Episode 31: Celebrating 5 Years of Publishing with Rob Kirkbride

Connect with Rob:

WriteOffice

TiiCKER

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Sid on Clubhouse - @sidmeadows

The Trend Report is proudly sponsored by INDEAL U. Partners in progress in the commercial interiors industry. To learn more about INDEAL U, please visit their website athttps://www.indeal.org/

The Trend Report introduction music is provided by Werq by Kevin MacLeod Link:https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4616-werq License:http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/