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
Halloween 2020 is Really BIG!
The National Retail Federation’s annual purchase intent survey, fielded in September, revealed that Halloween celebrations will be fewer this year. Compliments of the pandemic, only 58% of Americans planned to participate, down from 68% a year ago. Still, a Harris poll conducted on behalf of the National Confectioners Association found that 74% of millennial moms and […] Read more...
Why Trends Mean Even More to Christmas in a Covid-19 World
There is a lot riding on Christmas every year. For 2020 and into 2022, however, there has never been more at stake. Why is that? To begin with, consumers are planning to reign in their spending. A July 15 Coresight Research survey revealed that 48% of consumers intend to spend less on the Holidays in 2020 […] Read more...
Retail Energy in Paris
Over the past three years, we have teamed up on a number of seminars and webinars about best practices in retail visual display. If attendance at our June AmericasMart’s Apparel Mart webinar program is any indicator, audiences are appreciating our unique perspective. They are drawn to our combined expertise in trend forecasting, licensing, marketing and […] Read more...
Décor’s Response to Covid-19
It’s interesting to see how décor choices have started being impacted by the pandemic. In response to Covid-19, some consumers have found themselves newly drawn to tradition. Within this segment, the pull of classic elements that speak to timeless truths has been particularly obvious. Often subliminally, they point out how humans have survived through the […] Read more...
Cookbooks by Black Authors
Anyone who knows me already understands that I’m better off in a kitchen with two microwaves, rather than two ovens. Yes, I did learn to cook. As the youngest of eight kids, I regularly whipped up excessive quantities of everything from pasta sauce to hotdish (I’m originally from the midwest). However, I never really wanted […] Read more...
First Mall Visit Since Stay-at-Home Orders
Malls and retail stores are opening up in SoCal, albeit slowly. Still, it was good to see a bit of life on the bricks-and-mortar scene on my first trip to a mall since stay-at-home orders were issued in mid-March. At the Shops at Mission Viejo this week, department-store anchors Macy’s and Nordstrom remained dark. Other […] Read more...
What COVID-19 is Teaching Consumers About Quality
In early April of this year, an MIT survey of 25,000 American workers found that 34.1%, or just over one third of workers, had shifted to remote work. Add this number to the 14.6% of respondents that were already working from home, and the result implies that nearly half the US workforce is now working […] Read more...
Holiday Trends Q&A
A week or so ago, Tom Mirabile of Springboard Futures and I were interviewed about fourth-quarter seasonal trends. The venue was a webinar hosted by Lenise Willis, Editor in Chief of Gifts & Decorative Accessories magazine. The timing was perfect. My fourth-quarter seasonal forecast, The Return of Happy Holidays™ had just been released, so seasonal […] Read more...
Anticipating a Boost for Navy
Color studies done in the early 1940’s, and repeated many times since, confirm that blue is North America’s favorite color family. And why not? Blue has high appeal for both men and women. Another interesting fact is that the degree of preference for blue is high from the start. It increases a bit from childhood […] Read more...
Interview Topic: Seasonal Trends
On Thursday April 23, consumer trend analyst Tom Mirabile of Springboard Futures and I will be interviewed by Gifts & Decorative Accessories’ Editor in Chief, Lenise Willis. In the webinar, “New Seasonal Realities for a Post-COVID World,” our conversation will focus on how today’s health crisis may change fourth-quarter holiday and seasonal products, as well […] Read more...
Halloween, Harvest and Christmas Will Still Come
Are fourth-quarter celebrations at risk, given the current Coronavirus crisis? That’s a question I’ve been hearing for the past several weeks. It was top-of-mind as I prepared The Return to Happy Holidays™, my seasonal color and trend forecast for Halloween, Harvest and Christmas assortments. If Easter is any guide, we know that consumers will still celebrate. […] Read more...
For the Future of Wood, Lighten Up
For several seasons, colorful finishes like brown on walnut and gray or black on oak have been on-trend for furniture, lighting and decorative accessories. But of course, nothing remains static in the world of trend. Today, walnut’s popularity has leveled off, along with the preference for Mid-century Modern looks. Gray and black finishes, while still […] Read more...
From Gray to Brown: A Brief Trend History
In a conversation last week, a colleague asked whether I recommend gray for upcoming trend assortments. My answer was no. I realize that lots of people still love gray. If you are one of them, you have plenty of company. That said, the rate of preference for gray is solidly in decline, causing gray to shift […] Read more...
Home Décor to Color
There are a lot of coloring books out there for both kids and adults. But how many of them focus on home décor as the subject? My email this morning included a message from furniture-maker Blu Dot. Attached was a coloring book, featuring some of their pieces, sent just for fun. Marketing Director Kelly Sieben […] Read more...
What’s Next for Trend?
In the past couple of weeks, several people have asked me how I think trend will change in a COVID-19 world. This is an important question, given the vital role that trend plays in assortments. To begin with, I believe that the language used to communicate about products softens. Already, many companies have put excitement […] Read more...
Sasha Bikoff’s Whimsical Designs
Paris Déco Off bills itself as The Rendezvous of International Interior Designers and Decoration Editors. The Trend Curve’s editorial team always heads to Paris a couple of days before the Maison & Objet trade fair to see what’s new in the world up upscale fabrics and designs. The 2020 edition, held January 16 – 20, boasted […] Read more...
Why Décor Needs Classic Style Again
A return to classic elements has begun moving the needle on home-décor style trends. It is part of a broader interest in traditional décor that has been building for about two years. In the wake of COVID-19, The Trend Curve expects classicism to really take off. Why do we believe this so strongly? The answer […] Read more...
The Wild Side of L’Objet
L’Objet’s table linen collection made quite a splash in Paris. And why not? The patterns, including fetching mitered stripes and a tiger print, offered mix-and-match variety in an amazing range of au currant solids. Linen sateen in ochre, terra cotta, blue and mossy green harmonized with neutrals of black, warm white and gray. Coordinating leopard […] Read more...
Vending to New Heights
Consider the lowly vending machine. Once nothing much more than a modest, self-service supplier of cigarettes, candy and soda pop, this iconic form of retail is getting new life. Developed in the late 1800s, vending was a common method of delivering stamps, postcards and writing paper in England. The version shown here, made by Harper […] Read more...
Wallpaper Is No Wallflower
Wallpaper is back in a big way. This phrase refers to the accelerating preference for using wall coverings throughout the home. It alludes equally to the scale of motifs in the freshest new on-trend designs. There is nothing boring about these papers. In a bold reimagining of an outdated 80s trend, they use enormous scale […] Read more...