It seemed that many of the approximately 18,000 visitors to the International Contemporary Furniture Fair shared a common sentiment. The most frequent statement overheard by this reporter was: “The fair was really interesting this year.” Indeed, there were many fresh ideas and innovative concepts that lent a sense of optimism and energy to the event. Not surprisingly, most of these designs were displayed by emerging exhibitors from smaller companies and the host of schools that had been invited to participate in the fair.

“I feel like there’s something almost postmodern happening,” said New York designer Harry Allen, referring to the new work on display. Mr. Allen’s own “Reality” line could possibly fit that description. Transforming existing shapes and forms by recasting them in unorthodox materials, Mr. Allen makes thought-provoking, amusing, and beautiful products that are also fully functional. For example, a resin cast of the designer’s own hand becomes a small, mounted shelf or candle sconce. An innovative wine rack is made of plastic replicas of actual bottles; a colorful series of resin candleholders were modeled on his grandmother’s favorite candlestick. “I believe that form is no longer the most vital force behind a design,” the designer said. “The beauty of material and concept is just as important.” (Mr. Allen’s designs are sold at Moss, 146 Greene St., 866-888-6677, www.mossonline.com and www.harryallendesign.com/reality.)

Swedish design trio Jorgen Pudeck, Bjorn Stillefors, and Gunnar Cedervall adopted a similar philosophy in creating their multifunctional chandelier “Glasklasen” (distributed by Form Nasielsky). The lamp, which features a multitiered steel frame holding clusters of drinking glasses, is a modernized and improved version of a fixture that Mr. Cedervall originally made in the 1950s. The innovative aspect of the product lies in its material, concept, and function, not its form per se (www.nasielsky.se).

Another artist whose work emphasizes modernity in technique and material is the Filipino-American designer Kenneth Cobonpue. Mr. Cobonpue’s products often integrate locally sourced materials with innovative handmade production techniques inspired by traditional crafts from his native Philippines. His most striking product at this year’s fair was “Dragnet” a knotted, half-globe-shaped lounge chair inspired by fishnets. The red netting was made from skinny strips of fabric wrapped around a galvanized steel frame, a technique Mr. Cobonpue invented himself (www.kennethcobonpue.com).

Recycling is becoming an increasingly popular approach to the use of materials in design, and was a common theme at the fair this year. The most radical statements in this area came perhaps from Anteeksi, a 14-member Finnish design collective. This eccentric group creates whimsical multifunctional furniture, clothes, and interiors, many made from used objects. Charming designs such as an old-fashioned briefcase that expanded into a very narrow bed frame, and shirts featuring odd stitched-on mittens as pockets, made an important point about putting discarded things to good use (www.anteeksi.org).

Some of the students at American design schools were also thinking in an ecoconscious manner. The fair’s most popular accessory was an attractively slouchy shoulder bag in biodegradable paper that could be picked up at the booth of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. The project, “Collective Difference,” was created by a heterogeneous team of art, graphic design, and textile students with the intention of inventing a simultaneous design and production process. The result was a display of large, digitally rendered paper rolls, which continuously pumped out prefab patterns of abstractly printed bags that were swiftly cut out and assembled on-site. As each pattern was seamlessly fit next to another, there was no waste product in the process.

While some designers used the concept of recycling in a literal manner, others found it to be a source of inspiration. The idea behind LF Spring Chair Company’s signature LF Spring lounge chair came to designer Matthew Hoey during a visit to a scrapyard. Spotting a beautifully bowed metal leaf spring (a suspension part used for trucks), he decided to integrate the tool in a furniture design. Mr. Hoey teamed up with metal designer Darren Vigilant, and the duo created a sleek, leather-upholstered chair that sits gracefully on top of an adapted version of the auto body part. “This is a design that you keep for life,” Mr. Hoey said. “It’s extremely durable.” Indeed, the spring, which creates a softly bouncing motion, is strong enough to hold the weight of several people, just in case your party guests get the urge to jump on your furniture (sold at Sublime American Design, 26 Varick St., 212-941-8888, www.sublimeamericandesign.com).

The subtle humor of this piece seemed to channel the current mood perfectly. Contemporary design is leaving the slickness and seriousness of the 1990s further and further behind and moving toward a climate where work is play and play is work.