The 2011 Home and Housewares Show in Chicago is as hard to summarize as it is to walk: imagine acres of coffeemakers, hundreds of square feet dedicated to ceramic knives, and show displays of epic architectural achievement housing fry pans of every imaginable configuration and metallurgy.

I found myself on the floor as a member of the Hoover Insiders, brought to the show by the storied maker of all things suctional (I met VPs in the categories of Dry, Wet and Steam) to see their new products and offer some feedback and consulting. I was impressed by the Hoover offerings and look forward to taking their Cyclonic Bad Boys for a more extended test drive (as long as they don’t transform into battle droids — they look like they could).

As is usually the case, the dad contingent was slightly outnumbered by moms, but inclusion is always a good thing, and being a token means that you get a great chance to meet some highly organized, tasteful, entrepreneurial and clever moms.

I also had the opportunity to wander the show floor for a couple of days, and saw quite a few interesting items. I compiled a quirky list of odds and ends that caught my eye. Then edited the things out that I knew I would be mocked for (beer kits and items “seen on tv”) and shot a little Flip footage. The finished video should be up on March 21st. Look for it here.

The only bummer — I never found the truly killer waffle iron.

Special thanks to the teams at Hoover and Dirt Devil for hosting a great event!