The Materials Show Announces Dates for Northwest and Northeast Events

Kate Nishimura
·2 min read

The Materials Show has released the schedule for its events occuring across the U.S. in 2024.

The Northeast Materials Show will take place on Jan. 24 and Jan. 25, debuting for the first time at the SoWa Power Station in Boston, Mass. It will be followed by the Northwest Materials Show, scheduled for Jan. 31 and Feb. 1 at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland, Ore.

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The Northwest expo will be preceded by a Footwear Materials Sustainability Summit on Jan. 30, bringing together speakers from brands like Nike, Puma and Allbirds in a discussion with William Wong, president of the Global Footwear Sustainability Summit and Vice President of the Hong Kong Footwear Association. The session will center on environmental stewardship and production practices, materials and circularity, with the goal of providing insights into the next generation of technologies and innovations propelling the industry forward.

Jeff Mandel of ExIT Shoes will facilitate a presentation on 3D fit technologies at the Portland event, focusing on the integration of tools like 3D scanning and CAD programs in custom shoe design and development. The session will demonstrate the synergies between digital tools and traditional shoe-fitting and production practices. The Tech Pavillion will also be a unique feature at the Northwest Materials Show, highlighting advancements in areas like 3D printing, artificial intelligence and digital design, with a special focus on advanced manufacturing technologies revolutionizing the footwear and apparel sectors.

Registration for both events opened this week.
Registration for both events opened this week.

In Boston, Jessica Del Genio of design group Four Trend Services will lead a presentation on the art of mixing colors and materials, delving into the concept of material and color synthesis and showcasing methods for combining a diverse array of materials and textures with different hues and shades.

Former Nike materials manager Hisham Muhareb, alongside his wife Kari Muhareb, grew the Materials Show out of a Nike vendor fair that took place throughout the 1980s and ‘90s. The two founded American Events, Inc. in 1995, becoming the official operators of vendor fairs for Nike, Adidas and New Balance in the Northeast. The Materials Show was launched 30 years ago in Portland, followed by its Northeastern counterpart, which launched in Boston in 2005, focusing heavily on materials for footwear. In the years since, the expo has grown to include materials and fabrics of all kinds, serving categories like performance and outdoor apparel and shoes.

Registration for both events begins this week on the group’s website.