Experience 2026: Reflecting on the Past and Shaping the Future

Experience 2026: Experience the Past, Transform the Future

A look back at three days of history, heart, and what comes next in the Queen City.

Some weeks you plan for. Others stay with you long after the last bus pulls away. Experience 2026 was both.

This October, nearly 500 members of the Configura community came together in Cincinnati, at the Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza. The hotel is a National Historic Landmark and an Art Deco treasure, all gilded ceilings, marble, and soft light. It was the perfect home for this year's theme: Experience the Past. Transform the Future.

We spent three days honoring where we've been and building toward where we're going. Here's how it all unfolded, one day at a time.

The Netherland Plaza, dressed and ready for its guests.

Tuesday, Oct 6: Laptops Open, Minds Open

The week began the way the best ones do: with coffee in hand and something new to learn.

Our pre-conference workshops filled the morning and afternoon. Led by Configura experts, these hands-on sessions met everyone where they were, from first-time users to seasoned pros. Laptops open, questions flowing, and plenty of "oh, that's how you do it" moments around every table.

Meanwhile, the Configura & Partners meeting brought our partners together to share plans and trade ideas ahead of the main event.

Learning, one click at a time.

Questions asked, skills sharpened.

A Night at the Museum

As the sun went down, buses lined up outside the Netherland Plaza. Destination: the Cincinnati Museum Center at Union Terminal, one of the city's most beloved Art Deco landmarks.

Union Terminal at dusk, lit up and on brand.

Once inside, the whole museum was ours. Attendees teamed up with someone new for our "Time to Find" bingo challenge, hunting for dinosaurs, fossils, and a Swede or two along the way. Congratulations to April Gidlof and Johanna Vasicek, who won a ticket and hotel stay for Experience 2027, and to Leslee Kerby and Mary Jo Connelly, who took home $100 each!

First stop: networking. Everyone, collect those bingo stamps!

Bedazzling badges. Full concentration mode.

Posing with the dinosaurs.

The ice cream parlor was open! A chance to try Graeter's.

Love it or hate it, here was your chance to try Cincy's infamous Skyline Chili. 

Wednesday, Oct 7: The Main Event

By 8 AM, the Hall of Mirrors was buzzing as attendees found their seats beneath the gilded balconies and the lights went down.

A room built for big moments.

CEO Steven Jenkins officially opened Experience 2026 with a personal story: why he came back to Configura. He named three things he couldn't find anywhere else. This community of designers, dealers, and manufacturers who tell us exactly what they think. Thirty-six years of real products, real rules, and real prices. And customers who, in every meeting, asked not for less but to be involved earlier.

"I came back to help build what comes next, with the people who built what exists."

It was the theme in a single sentence. Configura has been making the complex easy since 1990, and the promise hasn't changed. It just reaches further.

CEO Steven Jenkins shares why he came back to Configura.

Then Steven and VP of Marketing Erin Corrill turned to the future, unveiling the tools that carry that promise forward:

• AI Photo: turn a CET design into a realistic, photo-quality image
• Web Viewer: share 3D layouts with anyone, right in the browser
• Spec to PowerPoint: go from spec to presentation-ready slides
• CET Material Handling: the latest for warehouse and logistics design
• Material Portal: now with finishes from Maharam, Mayer Fabrics, Momentum, Designtex, and Kvadrat
• Aline: fast, simple specifying for commercial furniture orders
• Favorites Browser: find and insert typicals in a few clicks

And there's more on the way, including new ways to stay in the loop on everything that's new.

The future, on full display.

Our sponsors took the stage next. Ali Oxley of OFS shared a lesson from geese: flying in a V formation lets them travel much further together than alone, and partners can create that same lift for designers. Wynn Pelak of Dematic followed with "Mind Behind the Machine," a look at how design data is becoming the intelligence that runs tomorrow's warehouses.

Ali Oxley of OFS on the power of flying together.

Plenty of smiles in the Hall of Mirrors.

Sessions: Time to Deep Dive

From the Configura Keynote Follow-Up for Commercial Interiors to sessions from MillerKnoll, Haworth, and Steelcase, there was something for every corner of our community. Topics ranged from workflow efficiency and dealership best practices to what's next for the tools we use every day.

Full rooms, fuller notebooks.

Knowledge and insights shared.

The Time travelers ball

That evening, the Hall of Mirrors transformed. The chairs were gone, the lights dropped low, and the room glowed in shades of gold and blue. At 7 PM, the doors (and the bar) opened, and in walked guests from every era imaginable.

Who's ready for some time travel?

To the roaring '20s.

To the totally rad '80s.

To a certain blue police box.

To three Martys?

To a land before time. 

And to the stage, where some seriously talented attendees joined our live band.

Thursday, October 8: Insights, Awards, and What's Next

The morning after the ball, our attendees showed up ready for one more day of learning.

Sponsor sessions and breakouts filled the schedule once again, and the classic Chat With Programmers made its return.

Ask them anything.

configura awards 2026

Then came the moment so many had been waiting for: the Configura Awards. Hosted by Alexandra Tseffos of The Design POP, we celebrated the people and projects shaping our community, honoring innovation, creativity, and collaboration across our ecosystem. Check out all the Configura Awards 2026 finalists.

The moment everyone was waiting for.

A chance to celebrate in person.

Every win is a team win.

thank you to our sponsors

Between sessions, the hallways of the Netherland Plaza came alive. Sponsor tables lined the 4th floor, booths were packed, and every break brought a new wave of attendees stopping by to see demos, ask questions, and maybe grab some swag along the way.

Where the conversations kept going.

To every sponsor who joined us in Cincinnati: thank you. Your support makes Experience possible, and your presence makes it better.

see you in las vegas

As the final sessions wrapped, the Hall of Mirrors filled one last time for the Closing Ceremony. There was just one question left on everyone's mind: where are we going next?

Experience 2027 marks our 20th anniversary, and we're celebrating right where it all began. Twenty years ago, the very first Experience brought our community together in Vegas. Now we're coming full circle to honor how far we've come, and to go all in on the future.

Tickets for Experience 2027 go live soon. Bet your bottom dollar you won't want to miss it.

All in for what's next. Experience 2027 is heading to Las Vegas!

fomo? watch our sessions ONLINE

Enjoy Experience from home. A selection of sessions are available on Youtube. Check them out at your own pace.

Catch up on our sessions.