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Every June, more than 50,000 conservative suits descend on Chicago for NeoCon (National Exposition of Contract Furnishings). There are so many of them, I feel like I never left my lovely hometown of DC, where Capitol Hill politicos run rampant and style still runs short. (Sorry, DC, you’re trying!) NeoCon is the most important show in the American contract furniture industry, with $25B in sales even during an economic slump. Your office chair, desk, and file cabinet were probably first scouted here. You haven’t given them a second thought once you were situated, and why would you (*yawn)? Fortunately, someone else is paid to do so and that person goes to NeoCon.

Established in 1969, NeoCon is always held at Merchandise Mart, a historic structure built by Marshall Field & Company in the 1920s. Once the largest building in the world at 4 million square feet, it has its own zip code and is a monument to architecture, design, and merchandising. It’s quite fitting that NeoCon is here: a pillar of a traditional American industry inside an American landmark. Merchandise Mart is now home to high-end designer showrooms, ad agencies, tech firms, and government agencies.

What you may not realize is that NeoCon is also a huge meat market. The conservative suits visit booths manned by attractive women in Ally McBeal miniskirts representing industry stalwarts. That’s how the manufacturers get the [mostly male] prospective buyers’ attention. Let’s not talk about the parties and after-parties, where the conservative suits take off their wedding rings.

But it makes sense that NeoCon is a bit of a meat market. Just as with politics, in a well-established industry how do you stand apart from the competition and gain attention in the market? How do you make yourself heard? Not everyone chooses to use miniskirts but they certainly can be effective, especially when the sluggish status quo needs a breath of fresh air. So what if you design furniture that offers a new perspective on working and living but do not enjoy wearing miniskirts? What if you want “innovative design” that’s more than one company meshing a Herman Miller chair with Steelcase’s colors from last season? Are there alternatives? Yes: .

You’re probably wondering, “What is the Guerrilla Truck Show and don’t you mean ‘gorilla’ as in ooga-booga?”

Founded in 2004, the Guerrilla Truck show is the independent designer’s answer to NeoCon and is an event where creatives of all types showcase work in a temporary, public gallery space – a truck – with minimal financial risk. Think yard sale meets pop-up shop, because what you see is for sale. For one night in June, the trucks park in Fulton Market (Chicago’s meatpacking district) outside Morlen Sinoway Atelier, a design store named for and owned by the show’s founder. It’s a different type of meat market.

While NeoCon is industry-only, the Guerrilla Truck Show feels like a street fair and is open to the public. The trucks, usually U-Hauls, are transformed into spaces that invite personal interactions with the designers and their wares. You’re free to look and touch [the work, not people] without feeling the laser-beam eyes of a miniskirted blonde willing you to plunk down a $50K order or leave. What’s exhibited can be in the more traditional vernacular – sofa, table, bookshelf. Regardless, it’s new, refreshing, and speaks to more than just function or aesthetics but how they inform each other. Often the design questions object interactions we take for granted but never took the time to understand. A different kind of tabletop lighting that defies traditional mounting surfaces. A high-end spanking paddle that publicly pokes fun at private boudoir activities. A whimsical and friendlier traffic cone.

This show is incredibly successful, with attendance, exhibitors, and press coverage growing each year. What continues to draw people is the casual and relaxed atmosphere in which they can enjoy art, design, and each other. The work is interesting and accessible, the exhibitors personable, the environment neighborhood-like, and the pressure to buy or sell is non-existent. Artists and designers are sharing their views on life in a comprehensible way and the public relates to these insights. The vibe is creative and spontaneous. Momentum is building, as other design events have begun piggybacking off it to create a one-night design extravaganza. Last year, there were thirteen off-site venues.

So of course, as I sit at my desk, I’m asking myself, “What can we Guerrilla Truck-ify for our clients? And here comes the personal plug: I will be in this year’s show, and the spanking paddles are mine. Bring cash.

(The 2011 Guerilla Truck Show will take place on June 14 from 5:30PM-9:30PM at the corner of Fulton and Aberdeen)