Many Portuguese towel, rug, throw and bed-linen makers exhibiting at the last Guimaraes Home Fashion Week agreed that blues are key. Antonio Salgado characterized this color family as being, “on top.” Coton Couleur said sales of their blue products were rising. One mill, Domingos de Sousa, projected … [Read more...]
Time For Less Trend Product?
Is our obsession with color trends killing the planet? A Fast Company article by Elizabeth Segran asks just that question. The piece chides us with numbers that reveal our wastefulness—like how many times we wear an item before banishing it from our closet (down 36% to seven to 10 times since 2000), … [Read more...]
Party Product Trends: Birmingham Spring Fair
The Trend Curve team has gone from one trade show to another since the year began. Today, Leigh Ann Schwarzkopf is at Spring Fair Birmingham. She is trend-spotting many categories, including party products. I spoke with her this morning about her top party-product trend takeaways: Bridal is … [Read more...]
Keeping Embellishments Simple at GHFW
Guimares Home Fashion Week is a showcase for Portuguese manufacturers of towels, rugs, sheets, comforters, throws and more. The fourth annual edition of GHFW took place June 26 and 27. One of the biggest trends at this year’s fair came from embellishments. This was not because they were opulent … [Read more...]
Color at the Chelsea Flower Show
The Chelsea Flower Show, held May 19 - 23 was a visual delight. Color always leads the way at this Royal Horticulture Society event, and this year was no exception. Nonetheless, along the Main Avenue show gardens, there was an overwhelming sense of green. Towering trees, quiet under plantings … [Read more...]
Sustainable Textiles at GHFW
The fourth annual Guimarães Home Fashion Week was held June 26 and 27 in Guimarães, Portugal. At this year's fair, ways to minimize the impact of home-textiles production rivaled interesting materials as top innovations. Fátima Sousa, Commercial Manager for Domingos de Sousa & Filhos, … [Read more...]
Nature Rises from the Ashes
One of the newest trends in wood, seen in accent furniture, kitchen products and decorative accessories over the past year or so is Shou Sugi Ban. This ancient Japanese technique involves charring, cooling, cleaning and finishing with natural oils as a way to preserve wood. This process results in a … [Read more...]
Trend and Core: They Were Meant for Each Other
A long-time subscriber to The Trend Curve wrote to me a couple of days ago to ask my opinion of Farmhouse collections going forward. I told her that I haven't seen Farmhouse as a trend for some time. Farmhouse is a core look. The same is true of Mid-Century Modern. It's a basic, not a trend. But … [Read more...]
Color for Outdoor Living
Nature-inspired shades of green and blue always attract attention in outdoor assortments. That said, not all green and blue hues are on-trend. Some of them are core colors. This designation doesn’t take anything away from the basic shades. Instead, it clarifies that they can be counted on day-in, … [Read more...]
Ready for Heimtextil 2019
With just a few days before Heimtextil 2019 opens at Messe Frankfurt, there’s once again optimism in a new year. That’s in spite of economic volatility and political unrest globally. One reason is the theme for the 2019/2020 design trends, always one of the most anticipated presentations at the … [Read more...]