The view out my hotel window in Bangkok is a mix of beauty, leisure and industry. I have a great site line to the hotel’s well-manicured hedge and floral bushes, a golf course across the street and the elevated train tracks between them.
Unable to sleep more than a couple of hours, I got showered and dressed this morning, and then walked to the Zen department store. That’s where Big Design Week 2009 is taking place. This weeklong event, sponsored by the Thailand Department of Export Promotion, includes lectures by a roster of trend experts from around the world. I will be speaking about U.S. trends on Sunday morning, then consulting with individual companies for two days to help them adjust their assortments to U.S. color and design sensibilities. Today I listened to the speaker from Chile discuss the Latin American market. He gave an excellent presentation—and it was in English, which worked well for me! The afternoon session was all about trends in Japan. Unfortunately, that speaker kept to his native tongue, but I still got a lot from the pictures. These sessions were well worth staying awake for.
Outside the meeting room was a display with several pieces of furniture that won the Design Excellence Award for 2008. One chair made of rubber, from Flexible Co., Ltd. was particularly intriguing. The picture below shows me seated in it. I felt so tired I was nearly unable to get up! It’s a VERY comfortable chair. For more on this piece look here.