PTS America is primarily a dinnerware company. You can see more of their designs by visiting their website and to find out where their products can be found. Their eco line of office supplies in my last post began in 2005 under the brand 222 DECOR……

Lunar Barbecue Dinner Plate. Atlas Salad Plate. Rosie the Riveter Mug.

But they have this great line called “Slice of Life,” (above). And that it is. The dinner and salad plates have a similar look but the particular story being told on each plate is different and can be assorted….mugs too. These would make great conversation pieces over dinner.

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The charger for these plates is an eggplant purple, and the plates have a rich sun yellow background. It’s a hit. Their set Napoli has continuted to be number 1, but I’m betting Napoli will be upstaged by Fruit Bounty. Plan to see it in stores by June (according to show sources).

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Sarut Group (pronounced sa roo) who owns the Pylone Stores, (pronounced pee lone) four of them in Manhattan (Grand Central pictured top) but with a website and distribution in thousands of specialty retailers, catalog and chain stores. However, seeing all of it in one place is nothing short of a thrill.

New York Soho location

It’s a U.S. division in partnership with a French company….need I say more? I kept wanting to understand their design aesthetic better because it is not falling into any of my neat little trend descriptors. Is that because it is French? Because it is not retro….it is not this minimalist contemporary aesthetic…it is not referencing the Japanese Manga movement, so it is kind of going against the tide so is it ahead of it?

Fun, kitchy yet cool, and very clever. Clever. That’s my final word. Oprah named one of their items in her must have list, the umbrellas; and overall the press has loved the company, being referenced in In Style, O Home, and others….looking at it, I felt happy, it was a happy visit in their booth. And while the gents in charge were in and of themselves cool dudes, they were, dare I say, nice? A sort of French “Charles In Charge.” Ooh la la.

Tell me you wouldn’t be happy popping toast in those first thing in the morning (better than sugar, less fattening, less sweet and yet the results are the same…..a lift!).

They also have the answer for hip happening lighting, desk and ceiling.

But, they also have very cool kitchen utensils. You can see much more than I’ve represented here on their website, Sarut.com.

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The standout themes of this show were sustainability (and the definition and education of same), materials innovation, and color.

This last one, color, is of no surprise to my readers as that is what I earlier stated as one of the top 5 2009-10 top trends (color cornucopia), and for that matter sustainability will be of no surprise to either my readers or my clients–the fact that housewares companies stepped up their game for all of the above is surprising though as aside from tabletop a lot of the housewares companies stick with their same programs for as long as they can. In other words, innovation has NOT been a hallmark of this industry, but I will say that this show in Chicago has most definitely and finally changed with the times.

That said, there are stand-out companies who have exemplified the attributes of these themes above and beyond, and that is how I hope to personalize each of the aforementioned themes (trends if you will) of the show.

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LOL. You all must realize how much I like color by now. A fun topic, it’s changing like crazy of late, which gives me much to talk and therefore write about.

Alas, its time to move on from red. So, where shall we go? From images of Maison Objet 2008 and the ever so creative and innovative Campana Brothers, it’s a little bit of everything with heavier influences of pink and purples which is putting the reds into blues and popping it with greens and yellows.

Campana Brothers Sushi Chairs: (above left: Sushi IV Chair) (below Sushi II Chair)

Maison Objet 2008 (taken from NY Times article) and Dior Fall 2008 (Style.com):

Maison Objet 2008 (Image taken from 3 Layer Cake blog):

New York Gift Show 2008 (Pablo Pardo, images from Apartment Therapy):

NY 2007 Gift Show: John Pomp Glass

I want to talk more about the Campana Brothers, because those chairs are from 2003 and produced in limited editions. They’ve come out with some more recent stuff that I think will also have a waterfall effect in home design (next post). If you are wondering where to find the chairs featured here MossOnline, ExtremeMoss, carries them or you can go directly to the Campana Brothers website.

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Webkinz. As Alison Zisko reported 2.11.08 for trade journal Home Furnishings News, “For the uninitiated, Webkinz, manufactured by Ganz, are small plush toys that come with a secret code that unlocks a secure Web site, enabling children to take care of a virtual pet online. It offers games, trivia questions and all sorts of ways for children to mind the health and well being of their pet, as well as create and decorate rooms for it on the computer. Webkinz are introduced periodically. Introduced in April 2005, they retail for around $12.95 apiece.”

The article further states ,”“We sold almost half a million dollars in Webkinz last year,” said David Calcaterra, vice president of Thrifty Florist, which operates 16 of the combined flower and gift shops in the metropolitan Detroit region. “People bought other things. In the month of December, it made a difference.”

So far what they are talking about is the selling of the stuffed animals, Webkinz, themselves. What about actual products that license them. Seems like a terrific boost to sales of anything i.e. bedding, tabletop items themselves, furniture, pajamas….lunchboxes, backbacks. It’s a thought, or more like a recommendation. I haven’t checked into licensing the product myself, not yet.

I will say that it is one of those things Moms are recommending to other Moms and is a topic of conversation between Moms….always a surefire way of seeing the beginnings of something very big.

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After grappling with how to say Happy New Year to Everyone, this is what I decided on: a sneak peek to my 2009-2010 top trends, as I see it, and as a way to help wrap up 08 depending on where you are in your buying, your product launches, your presentations, or your strategy planning.

1. Color Cornucopia: Eye Candy for the Color Maven’s Soul. Image from John Galliano for Dior Haute Couture Spring 08 Collection. Seattlepi.com.

2. Mother Earth Beats Her Chest: Science Popular.

“An armada of robot submarines and marine sensors are to be deployed across the Atlantic, from Florida to the Canary Islands, to provide early warning that the Gulf Stream might be failing, an event that would trigger cataclysmic freezing in Britain for decades.” Meric Srokosz of the Southampton Oceanographic Centre, explaining the purpose of the $31 million Rapid Watch system he is heading up, does just that, citing the plotline of “The Day After Tomorrow” - specifically the collapse of the Gulf Stream - as a potential occurrence that warrants further investigation. From Treehugger.com and The Observer.

3. Finishing Touches Birth Special Effects. Photo Yohji Yamamoto, Mens FW 08, Style.com.

4. High Tech High Touch in Living Breathing Action. Image from Nau.com’s trademark “webfronts,” which is their idea of recognizing how the internet has changed consumer’s buying behavior.

5. Cross Marketing/Collaborations in Unlikely Places/Partners Creating Phenomenal Hybrids. From Designspotter and Globus by Michiel Van der Kley.

These are but a few of the macro trends I allude to during my strategy sessions or across the year in trend newsletters, reports and product development/programming strategy sessions.

Let me know if you have questions about how the above references might effect your planning for 08-2010, any initiatives that Trendbites publisher, the kimbro agency, may help you support in ‘08 and/or if you’d like to subscribe to any number of Trendbites’ sister, Trendcites (rhymes with bites!), publications.

We do trend newsletters, customized trend reports, product development strategizing and implementation, marketing consulting,
color palettes and by request only, show reports.

You can reach me by email at kim@trendcites.com.

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While strolling through a Williams Sonoma Home the other day, I came across their fretwork desk and thought it was lovely. Their version is simple enough for people to be able to incorporate it into their modern or traditional decorating styles. While it struck me as being unique, I wondered about incorporating it, the fretwork style or piece, within a traditional setting or if that was just my taste. Then while perusing the NY Times, I came across their piece on fretwork in rugs. They seem to think this style will work along side modern as well as traditional too.

Williams Sonoma Home to me was like walking into an upscale version of my parents home, only in today’s time. It was some really interesting mixture of 50’s, traditional, and 21st century. So the final takeaway was….drum roll please….Modern.

It’s a breath of fresh air from their Pottery Barn stores; and I imagine that sounds blasphemous for all of you Pottery Barn fans, (of which I am one), but still this isn’t Ethan Allen because it’s a little more casual than that but it’s a far cry from Pottery Barn. It’s upscale for sure, but I could put more than one of their room settings in my (fantasy) house by the shore. They have a very wide range of fabrications which I think helps, and colors…but they then pair it with the odd piece, such as a fretwork desk, or a dining room set that in design is very traditional but with the chairs upholstered in tweed, which is very clever. If you put it in leather, then yes, that’s my parents’ house, but tweed, that’s an altogether different style story.

In fact their description of their fretwork desk on their website reads “In homage to the Asian-inspired designs of Thomas Chippendale, this desk is aproned with intricate, hand carved fretwork.” Kudos to William Sonoma Home for walking this fine line and being able to carry it off. There are only eight of these stores in the nation at this point, one of which is in the St. Louis Plaza Frontenac area. Turns out that area is a marketing test site for a number of new luxury outlets….(Nieman Marcus puts all of their Christmas Decorations out in August at the St. Louis location and depending upon what happens there in early August and September sales, so goes the rest of the nation’s merchandise mix).

You may have found this sofa and these chairs in my parent’s house, but not that rug, not that bust on the coffee table (probably not that exact coffee table–in fact WS Home’s description says it’s a sophisticated take on early 20th century architecture ) and certainly not that glass top desk in the background. It’s a delight. You can view more room settings on their website, WSHome, but a visit to their stores is a much better way to understand the abundance of choice within. The stores are strategically positioned around the country, two in CA., one in Fla. (Coral Gables), Indianapolis, Ind., Cincinnati, Ohio, King Of Prussia, PA, and one in Portland, Oregon.

So, no need to fret yourself any longer, not when you have others who can do it for you, and so well at that….

P.S. I can at some point see Williams Sonoma Home going into a Casablanca type decorating style, but that is for another time and another report.

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I found these while surfing decor8’s site and clicked on one of her advertisers, I heart design from Elsewhere.com who features independent artists and designers works. The products shown here are from the Working Class Studio, whose goods you can access from Elsewhere.com. Now I am smitten. Working Class Studio is the product development arm of the Savannah College of Art and Design, giving students real world experience designing and marketing home accessories and lifestyle products.

It’s not necessarily new news that manufacturers are using students to create new products for them, but what gets turned out of these incubators can be news and when its good, it’s very very good.

This group is from the Working Class outdoor dinnerware series, made of melamine and coming in these four colors. All those who have worked with me and know me by now know that it’s work like this that really makes me happy. Artisan like works set on top of good old fashioned melamine. It’s a match made for outdoor party heaven.

Good art, well thought out functionality, good design, good layouts…what’s not to like. Besides the designs on their own, I like the mix and matchability of them. Sold separately, you can build your own design tabletop look from the collection. Since I can’t decide, I’ll take one of each. But alas and alack…too much like old school manufacturers ( let’s work on that, okay?), they’re currently out of stock.

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Just when you think there is no more innovation left in the world, up pops something as cute, as simple and as clever as these little hand knit cozys for any kind of round fruit. Just the idea of it makes me smile.

FRUIT LOOPS Cunning knit jackets by Jacqueline Dufresne for apples, peaches or any round fruit keep Granny Smiths from being bruised in your handbag — or just look delicious on the kitchen table ($12.50 each at roseandradish.com) made a New York Times list of winning hostess gifts.

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