Real books are making a comeback. Why? Because it turns out that people like the experience of holding a book in their hands. And lots of people perceive that there is less stress on their eyes when they read ink on paper, vs. on a screen. Now the preference for books is beginning to impact … [Read more...]
Décor is Getting Bookish
Have you noticed that books keep popping up as décor devices? Just as news outlets like the New York Times confirm that print is far from dead, and GeekWire reports that sales of printed books rose 2.4% in 2014, "real" books are making a comeback. Now décor is starting to look a bit bookish, … [Read more...]
The Not So Big House
I’m finally going to do it. I am ordering Susan Susanka’s Not So Big House: A Blueprint for the Way We Really Live. I will probably order all the other Not So Big books, too. I have to. I feel like every newspaper Home & Garden section and every shelter magazine I have picked up for months … [Read more...]
A Whole New Mind
I have just arrived in Frankfurt, Germany for the Heimtextil trade fair. This once-per-year event is the largest trade fair for home textiles. I haven’t missed it since I first started attending in the middle 1990’s. The trip from Minneapolis to Frankfurt requires a stop in Detroit. From … [Read more...]
Like many in my generation, I feel as though I can’t escape the topic of retirement. I am confronted with articles about it in everything I pick up—and I pick up a wide range of publications. I think about it every time I sign checks going to the various retirement plans of those at Marketing … [Read more...]
Formality Returns
I love to read but I rarely have enough time to read as much as I would like. When I have long flights, I relish the uninterrupted time with my newspapers, my perpetual stack of magazines and my trade journals. Only after I am finished with them will I allow myself to move on to a novel (I’m … [Read more...]
Freakonomics
I have just spent an exciting week in Thailand giving trend seminars in Bangkok and Chiang Mai. Getting there begins with a 12 hour flight from Minneapolis to Tokyo, then a flight of about 6 hours to Bangkok. There is always a certain level of excitement on the way there. On the way back it just … [Read more...]
The Paradox
I picked up Thomas Friedman's book The World is Flat a couple of weeks ago. It's well written and easy to read. This is a great book that I recommend to everyone who cares about the amazing ways in which the global economy is playing out today and how it will play out in the future. But for … [Read more...]
Blink
I have just spent the past few days in Frankfurt, Germany where I have been thin-slicing at the Ambiente trade fair. What is thin-slicing, you might ask? To find our, you must read Blink, by Malcolm Gladwell, the author of The Tipping Point. I started his new book on the plane to Frankfurt and … [Read more...]
Creating a New Tier
I bought a book with an interesting title a few months ago. I haven't had time to crack the cover until now. Now I have lots of time. At the beginning of each year, I travel to Europe three times in about 35 days for a series of trade fairs. And while I take a lot of time to write while I fly … [Read more...]