At least once each year I like to head to London to look at colors, shapes and themes showing up at retail. It helps me clear my head of all the ins and outs of The Trend Curve's daily business to focus entirely on the future of trend. I always return with new thoughts and ideas—not to mention a camera full of pictures. I suppose I could really go anywhere to do this, but London has always called to me. I love the pace, the options, the style.

I begin my 2009 London journey today with a night flight across the water. While in London I'll be blogging as I see current trends, or trends in the making, so watch for updates during the week. I will also send tweets. Lately, I have been tweeting much more often than I blog. It's so quick and easy! If you haven't already found me on Twitter, you might like to know that my Twitter name is trendcurve.

For more than 20 years, Coverings has been the predominant event for the ceramic tile and natural stone industry in the Western Hemisphere. Jennifer Pinto, Editorial Correspondent for The Trend Curve, was in Chicago for the 2009 event, and has written extensively about it for the June issue. She also contributed these observations for Connecting The Dots:

Innovation had a starring role at Coverings 2009. Especially noteworthy was the introduction of 3 and 4 mm pressed porcelain tiles that were durable yet thin enough to install atop existing flooring. Among the standouts, Inalco, Florim and Levantina released these products, which claimed to reduce installation times and costs and decrease the amount of weight on supporting structures.

At least one of these ultra low-profile products, Inalco’s SlimmKer, also featured a special digital printing technology for decorating ceramic tiles. Though Inalco’s innovation is a few years old, it has helped spur a heightened demand for porcelain tiles that look and act like wallpaper. Ragno USA is among the latest companies to cash in on the trend. The company’s new line of color body porcelain stoneware — aptly named Textile — featured soft, decorative patterns meticulously applied with ink-jet technology. Water-jet cut outs, spotted most notably at Graniti Fiandre, are poised as the customizable wave of the future. After all, as our pocketbooks urge us to make wise decisions when it comes to furnishing our homes, it helps to stay a few steps ahead.
 

Pearson did some amazing thing with neutrals at the High Point Furniture Market. That’s where I am today. I arrived about 3 in the afternoon and spent the next four hours visiting showrooms—including the 8th-floor Pearson location. By using metallic highlights, subtle contrast and chameleon personalities (The Trend Curve created a forecast of 20 Chameleon Neutrals that you can buy in the Trend Store), Jennifer McConnell, Pearson's top creative, once again made Pearson’s showroom sing.  Below is just one example of the kinds of combinations Jennifer put together. The velvet is 44% bamboo.

I have had a few emails and calls lately asking about where I will be speaking. Below is my seminar schedule for the next few months.

High Point, NC
April 26 at 3:00pm
Trends To Bank On
Presented by the Interior Design Society
IDS Seminar Room
164 S Main Street, 8th Floor
High Point, NC 27260
Limited Seating
For information: Erin Woody 888.884.4469 x224

Orford, Quebec
June 5, time to be determined
Quebec Furniture Manufacturers Association
Estrimont Hotel
44 de L'Auberge Ave.
Orford, Quebec, Canada
For information:
Joanne Dalpé: JDalpe@afmq.com

Dallas, TX
June 26 at 5:00pm
‘Tis The Season: International Colors and Trends for the Holidays
Dallas Market Center
Grand Pavilion, Trade Mart 1
2100 Stemmons Freeway
Dallas, TX
For information: eforsythe@dmcmail.com

Dallas, TX
June 27 at 12:00 noon
Home Décor Trends
Dallas Market Center
Seasons Gallery, IFGC 1st Floor
2100 Stemmons Freeway
Dallas, TX
For information: eforsythe@dmcmail.com

Philadelphia, PA
August 2 at 8:30am
Buyers Market of American Craft
Details to follow

San Francisco, CA
August 25 at 9:00am
Envision The Future
Seminar and Hands-On Trend Workshop
Presented by the Interior Design Society
Limited Seating
For information and pricing:
Erin Woody 888.884.4469 x224

Los Angeles, CA
August 27 at 9:00am
Envision The Future
Seminar and Hands-On Trend Workshop
Presented by the Interior Design Society
Limited Seating
For information and pricing:
Erin Woody 888.884.4469 x224

It was only upon returning from giving seminars in Quebec City on Friday night that I finally realized that I must be over the jet lag I ended up with from the week before. I got it by going back and forth to Bangkok to give a lecture about U.S. color and design trends during the Big Design Week 2009 event. I was one of six speakers from around the globe who was hired to talk to Thai companies about color and design trends. The others hailed from Russia, Japan, UAE, Latin America and Europe. Even though I was quite pleased to be invited, I knew I would need a week or two to get over the 12-hour time change between Minneapolis and Bangkok. I don't know why I can go back and forth between Minnesota and Europe all the time without missing a beat, but Asia tips me right on my head!

Today I got an email from the official photographer for Big Design Week 2009. It included a few shots of me that he took during my presentation. I have included one of them below.

I know I should be working hard while I’m in Quebec City. I did actually work quite hard on Wednesday when I presented a talk about the business case for color and design trends to 25 presidents of Canadian companies, and then guided them through a workshop. The purpose of the workshop was to practice answering the question: If this is the trend, what is the product/color line/marketing program/font/web design, etc. Only two or three of these people are engaged in businesses that are décor driven. Maybe that’s why this was the most fun I have ever had with a workshop group!

I will also work hard today, when I give another talk to marketing vice presidents and designers. That happens in a few hours. (I woke up at 3:20 this morning. I think I am still a little off my game when it comes to sleep because I was lecturing in Thailand just last week.)

But yesterday was a day-in-the-middle respite, and I spent most of it enjoying old Quebec City. I began my day with a breakfast meeting at Le Chateau Frontenac, a fabulous hotel with castle-like architecture. You can see a picture of it below. I hope no one will be disappointed to learn that it is part of the Fairmont Hotel chain.

Then, along with fellow-presenter Joann Thomas Yaccato, I hired a guide for the afternoon and toured the old city by car. One of the places we stopped was called Petit Champlain, a narrow street where our guide told us scenes from The Santa Clause were filmed. You can see me doing the tourist-picture thing at the top of that street when you look at the pictures below.

Joann and I fortified ourselves with tea and scones, and then took off on foot for a couple of hours to explore more of the old city. What a gorgeous city it is! I will be back here in June to speak at a conference, and I can’t wait to see more of it.

Those of you who read this blog often may have noticed that I am not writing as often as I once did. That's because I have moved some of my attention over to Twitter. If you would like to follow me there, go to www.twitter.com/trendcurve. I'll still write for the blog, just not as often.

I spent two and a half hours yesterday talking about US home décor trends at a meeting in Bangkok, then had the pleasure of listening to a colleague talk about trends in Europe. As I take in the trend points from my colleagues around the world I see how much overlap there is in color and design. It's a big change from when I began in the trend business about 25 years ago. Still, there are nuances and interpretations for each country or geography that are important, so listening to multiple sources makes sense. I feel quite pleased to have been chosen as one of the voices Thai companies are listening to.

In the evening I walked to yet another department store and mall. I came away--after seeing lots of shops with nobody at all in them but sales help-- wondering just how much upscale retail one city can tolerate. Maybe I was looking at an off-peak moment...

I don't want anyone to think I am pathetic when I report that I had dinner alone in my hotel last night. I spent a delightful hour in the Dining Room listening to a jazz duo, reading the newspaper and writing notes about my day. And I drank a Coke with ice. I'm really a Pepsi girl, but it turns out to be difficult to find soda pop of either kind here, not to mention expensive. I savored mine last night!

I have had several requests to show the view out my window that I blogged about in my prior post. Here it is!

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 go to www.lookyangdesign.com.

There are a few companies I always try to see when I am at the Ambiente trade fair in Frankfurt, Germany. One of them is Cosmique Global. This New Delhi-based textiles company does trend like few others. That’s because they not only know which looks are best for their categories of toss pillows and throws, but they also know how to make each trend their own. Case in point: plaids. These patterns are incoming on the bell curve for trend, and are forecasted to become a major influence for 2010 home décor. Menswear influences are converging with this direction, adding momentum to both segments.

Cosmique Global began with a plaid throw, then appliquéd yarn and fabric leaves and blossoms to make it special. A glen-plaid pillow was delicately embroidered with a bird-and-floral design to keep it from feeling too masculine. These two examples show how it is possible to not just follow a trend, but interpret it.

While many other companies have retreated to what is safe and familiar, or even basic, this company continues to offer colors and designs that are fresh and exciting. And in today’s challenging economic climate, that is exactly what is needed to get the consumer’s attention and get them to buy.  As the president of a furniture company told me in Las Vegas this month, “You can’t excite with basics.”

The best defense against slow sales is fresh product—new colors and new styles. Cosmique Global is a great place to find it. Look below for a picture of the throw I described above.