Trend Forecasting and Consulting by Michelle Lamb
Webinars, color specification, trend direction, retail reconnaissance, articles for your publication and more!
Recent Posts from The Trend Curve Blog
From Japandi to Japanese Craft
Infusing Japanese elements into already established Scandinavian looks, the Japandi trend emerged in 2017 – 2018. It really touched a nerve—in a good way—and grew to be immensely popular. No wonder products in this style are still being introduced. The most recent incarnation was at KBIS, the Kitchen and Bath Show in Las Vegas. The cabinetry […] Read more...
Revenge Travel: Now It’s Impacting Home Furnishings
Revenge travel? Yes, please! We love this buzz-phrase because we can totally relate. It’s all about being cooped up during COVID. It speaks to people wanting to get away, fly away, like in the lyrics from Lenny Kravitz’ 1998 hit. And almost two years after exploding on the tourism scene, the concept is starting to […] Read more...
Retail Delight: Kitchen Living Dining Copenhagen
Between two favorite trade fairs, Heimtextil in Frankfurt and Maison & Objet in Paris, I scheduled a weekend of retail reconnaissance in Copenhagen. I’m glad I did! There was so much to see—shops, boutiques and department stores with unique messages and fabulous visual displays. Among the city’s retail stars was the concept store Kitchen Living […] Read more...
Valentine’s Day: Tokens of Affection at Brown Thomas
One of the happiest outcomes of attending Showcase, the annual trade fair of curated Irish products, is that I also get to shop Dublin’s robust retail scene. Brown Thomas is at the top of my must-see list. During Showcase, which takes place in mid-January each year, Valentine’s Day is always the focus of this department […] Read more...
What’s Trending: Japanese + Italian Mashups
In a mid-2021 blog post titled Japandi: On Trend and Growing, we explored how the Japandi aesthetic (a blend of Scandinavian and Japanese design traits) was permeating trends in home décor and dining. That movement is still alive and well, with many new products debuting in 2022. Yet, since that time, there has also been evidence of […] Read more...
Paola Lenti + Campana Brothers = Sustainability With Artistry
Wandering through Paola Lenti’s popups during Salone del Mobile in Milan is like being transported into a visual wonderland drenched in explosive color and irresistible touch-me textures. It simply takes your breath away. Lenti is a masterful maestra of weaves. With a magnificent understanding of color theory, she fearlessly explores bold, as well as soft nuanced permutations, […] Read more...
Color Stories at KBIS
Color hit different at KBIS, the industry trade show for kitchen and bath products, organized by NKBA. Consumers apparently are reaching a new comfort level beyond safer neutrals, as they emerge from pandemic era restrictions. Designers at the 2022 event, which took place in Orlando in February, agree that a more-liberated approach to color has taken […] Read more...
Fourth of July Influences on Décor and Food
With the Fourth of July at hand, it’s time to look at how popular décor and food trends are being incorporated into Independence Day plans. The National Retail Federation‘s Annual 2022 Independence Day Spending Survey, conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics, reveals that 84% of Americans plan to celebrate our nation’s birthday this year. Per-person […] Read more...
Color Trends from Guimarães Home Fashion Week 2022
Guimarães Home Fashion Week is a gem of a trade fair. This compact event, held in April, welcomed 230 attendees from 30 countries. They met at the historical Pousada de Santa Maria da Costa in Portugal’s birth city of Guimarães. More than 55 Portuguese home-textiles companies, representing 60 trademarks, showed their latest innovations in color, […] Read more...
Trending at Maison & Objet: Valets
At the trend-setting trade fair in Paris, the rise of personal-luxury items spoke to how wellness has expanded in scope and extended its reach during the pandemic. One category in particular stood out: valets. A new crop of valets offered more than elevated designs and flexible functionality. Importantly, these products were intended to appeal to […] Read more...
Embellishments Lit Up High Point
It’s not unusual to see details and embellishments at the High Point furniture market. At the most recent event, two of them lit up showroom floors: piping and channels. Just as importantly, two others—embellishments that have dominated the market for many seasons—backed off to make room for them: nail-head trim and tufting. The speed at […] Read more...
Green is a Rising Star
When it comes to color families, green’s star is rising. Under the spell of a biophilia trend, greens are going lush and rich. And although select cool types can still be found, the best new versions are leaning toward warmth. Names like olive and moss keep repeating when makers describe these earthy colors. Emerald is […] Read more...
Updating Neutrals for Christmas
When the pandemic began, the black-and-white duos that had been so popular just a year or two before dropped off fast. So did angular geometrics. That’s because—suddenly—high contrast and hard-edged motifs felt too bold for a population that had been whipsawed by Covid. As high contrast looks took a step back, they were freed up […] Read more...
Trend Spotting at Maison & Objet
Those who are in-the-know have long considered the Maison & Objet trade fair unmissable. The Trend Curve™ agrees. So, when the new edition, which returned to Paris September 9 – 13 was announced, I made plans to represent The Trend Curve team at the fair. In my first trade-fair assignment focused completely on home furnishings, […] Read more...
Japandi: On-Trend and Growing
Scandinavian sensibilities have been influencing shape, texture and surface design ever since mid-century modern looks returned a decade ago. Today, they are immensely familiar. Japanese elements are more recent, but nonetheless established. Think lotus leaf motifs and sho sugi ban, the charred-wood look that rekindled a broader interest in black almost three years ago. Now […] Read more...
Business Gets PERSONAL at Sweets & Snacks Show
At last month’s Sweets & Snacks Expo 2021, our first in-person food show in over a year, it was impossible to ignore how often the aspect of “personal” arose. The importance of getting personal resonated throughout several merchandising disciplines. Its influence was felt in product creation, brand development and targeted market spending. Intimate Brand Storytelling […] Read more...
Cottagecore & Grandmillennial Trends Find a Home in Food
The Specialty Food Association announced its annual sofi™ Award winners last month. A glimpse at the honorees shows how some brand marketers are flaunting their farm heritage. This caught the attention of The Trend Curve team because it connects with a growing consumer interest in living a closer-to-the-land lifestyle—or at least the appearance of it. About […] Read more...
Kids’ Trends at Las Vegas Market
At the April Las Vegas Market, the latest directions for kids’ products looked fresh and fabulous. COLOR Kids are always drawn to bright colors. In Las Vegas, however, bright color stories were delivered in more nuanced ways. In some cases, color application included watercolor, gradient or splatter textures that tempered their impact. As a result, […] Read more...
Cool Christmas
Anyone who attended my Holiday-season webinars in the past two last years may remember that I emphasized the rise of green for Christmas. The big winner in this color family was mid-tone eucalyptus, a shade that has now been fully embraced. Fast forward to 2021, and the market is ready for the next evolution of […] Read more...
Pets, the Pandemic and Holiday Décor
Pets, especially dogs and cats, are trending as a topic in fourth-quarter seasonal décor. Why? Because for many consumers, they were already valued members of the family. They truly deserved a role for the Holidays. During the pandemic, pets have become even more important. These furry companions have helped many of us deflect loneliness. They […] Read more...