Spokane's annual Reveal interior design trade show is set to return on Thursday, Oct. 17. The event will be held 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., at the Spokane Convention Center.

Founded in 2011, Reveal provides an opportunity for designers, architects, contractors, students, facility managers, clients, and others in the commercial design-build industry to see the latest innovations, building products, and commercial furniture.

The trade show is hosted by International Interior Design Association’s Spokane City Center, which is part of the IIDA Northern Pacific Chapter.

“This is all about being able to sit in the chairs, touch the desks, touch the carpet, touch those fabrics, look at the lighting in person,” says Marian Evenson, a retired founding principal at Spokane-based MMEC Architecture & Interiors LLC and a volunteer on the Reveal event committee. “You can’t tell very much from an online source.”

Reveal is expected to include about 45 booths with over 50 companies and roughly 500 manufacturers represented.

Tile, plumbing, lighting, carpet, signage, furniture, and various other commercial interior design manufacturers, distributors, and installers will show off their products at the event.

“A lot of the things that we’ll see here are the newest things,” Evenson says.

About 400 people are expected to attend, about a quarter of whom are architecture and interior design students from Washington State University, University of Idaho, and Spokane Falls Community College, says Michelle Widner, an interior designer at Architects West Inc. and the co-director of the IIDA Spokane City Center.

Reveal is a great networking opportunity for the design-build community, Widner says.

“We’re gathering all these people that we work with on a daily basis, and it’s also educating them on what (interior designers) do,” Widner says.

The Spokane trade show is also an opportunity for students to meet professionals from around the region, which is important in a design community that’s often relationship-based, Widner says.

Reveal also will include a keynote speaker, a panel discussion focusing on interior design legislation, a student forum, a happy hour, and a raffle for an Eames plastic molded chair.

Widner says Reveal is among the largest events of its kind in the Pacific Northwest.

Tickets to attend the keynote speaker portion of the event are free for IIDA members and $45 for others. The rest of the Reveal event is free.