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...]
SoCal Halloween
Since moving to Southern California from Minneapolis a few months ago, I have discovered that many elements of décor remain consistent across the miles, yet some things are different. Take Halloween decorating, for example. It turns out that kids here in SoCal love decorating their homes just as … [Read more...]
Gingham? Check!
If you count yourself among gingham’s adoring fans, get ready to be wowed. A revival of these cheerful checks is emerging for tableware and décor that feel breezy and lighthearted. Assortments debuting at Dallas Market Center in June, and AmericasMart in July showed off a range of sizes, colors … [Read more...]
Smitten by Texture at GHFW
After years of focus on minimalist simplicity, consumers began to crave product designs with a different sort of character. Mixed media combinations were the market’s first response to that need. The next step was texture. And once consumers got a look at what texture could provide, they were … [Read more...]
These Ideas Are On The Fringe
For so many years fringe has been thought of (when anybody thought of it at all) as down-market. It had a reputation for being thin and scraggly, and it always got tangled in the wash. No wonder fringe faded from view long ago. But now fringe is back in a big way, and it has a growing following … [Read more...]
Top Trends: Licensing International Expo 2018
Themes noted among the 389 exhibitor booths on the floor of the 2018 edition of Licensing International Expo were as varied as the product that represented them. They included the continued growth of collectible toy brands as licensed properties, merchandise with a message, properties tied to … [Read more...]
Fancy Food Gets Ugly
The Summer Fancy Food Show is the largest specialty food-industry event in North America. Held at New York’s Javits Center, this year’s show provided a snapshot of upcoming food trends. Food and licensing expert Leigh Ann Schwarzkopf of Project Partners Network identified one of those trends as … [Read more...]
High Point Had a Lot of Dogs
Llamas may be on-trend, but dogs are not giving up their share of the whimsical-animal pie without a fight. At the High Point furniture market, dogs appeared in framed art and on trays, as the inspiration for the shapes and surface designs on rugs and embossed onto hardware for kids' furniture. Dogs … [Read more...]
Student Designers at FURNEX
FURNEX & The Home is the largest trade fair in Africa. Held annually in Cairo, Egypt, it hosts the top Egyptian furniture manufacturers, exporters and traders serving domestic, regional and international markets. This year, it was also host to a student exhibition called Soft and Hard. The … [Read more...]