April 2007 / Asian Inspirations


Email us for your trial subscription today.

Complete the order form to purchase the Trendease presentation(s) that interest you.

This month the Trendease Team takes you on a journey east to experience an entire new world of inspiration. See where East meets West and where new opportunities lie, witness the blurred line between exportable and importable designs, explore innovative design strategies, tour influential retail locations, delve into the latest EcoChic creations, furnishings, fashions, textiles, 2008 colors with Pantone references, and more!

Get inspired with the April edition,

Jennifer Castoldi,
Chief Creative Director

Download a printable info packet on Trendease.

Features and Articles

Exploring Central, Hong Kong

Jennifer's April Antics '07

Hong Kong — Asian countries are having more and more of an influence in the western design world—and it is not exclusive to sourcing and knock-offs. This issue looks as a variety of Asian inspirations from art and design to trade shows to retail to eating out and exploring the local street life. Here lies an opportunity for those involved in imports, exports, and art and product design. In this column Jennifer Castoldi shares her thoughts and looks at inspiration found within Hong Kong.

Bringing West East

Hong Kong / Europe — Decosit HKG, an invitation-only trade event was held for the second year in a row. The small intimate show where quality is preferred over quantity was the ideal exhibition for the Eastern-based design professionals who cannot make the long haul to Europe. This event has a first mover advantage, and those involved are ahead of the pack. In this Trendease feature check out the trends and see what the best of the best have to offer.

Burlesque

Alice's Wonderland in Hong Kong

Hong Kong — The Trendease Team was no doubt at Decosit in Brussels last September. So it was quite intriguing to see how Alice’s trends would translate from the dedicated exhibition hall in Brussels to a much more confined space and niche market in Hong Kong. The result was unexpected and for each thing taken away, something new was given in its place. In this gallery get a glimpse of the Hong Kong expo and Pantone references for textiles through 2008.

An Exportable World of Design

Bangkok — It is a fairly unknown fact that 80% of the furniture produced in Thailand is exported to various corners of the earth. The Trendease Team was pleasantly surprised by the designs found while attending the 2007 annual Thailand International Furniture Fair (TIFF) in conjunction with Interior Design Asia (ida) in Bangkok. This review looks at the larger design items presented at the show while other features in this issue look at the accents and accessories presented.

The 'In' Out Room

Bangkok — Outdoor furniture is not only for people with backyards. The outdoor room is the new trendy space of the home. Whether it is grassy turf, a screened-in porch, a glass walled sitting room, or an urban oasis rooftop garden, bringing interiors to the exterior is growing in popularity. See some of the trendiest products for this ‘in’ out room here within.

Boundless

Worldwide — Cotton Incorporated has shared its color and surface forecasts researched for apparel Spring/Summer 2008. Subscribers are welcome to review the colors and descriptions along with textile surface directions and buzz phrases surrounding the Boundless trend. This color story is complemented with the closest available Pantone color references.

From the Deco Team display at Heimtextil

Bliss

Worldwide — Cotton Incorporated has shared its color and surface forecasts researched for apparel Spring/Summer 2008. Subscribers are welcome to review the colors and descriptions along with textile surface directions and buzz phrases surrounding the Bliss trend. This color story is complemented with the closest available Pantone color references.

A close up shot of a floor cushion from Pasaya

Dominion

Worldwide — Cotton Incorporated has shared its color and surface forecasts researched for apparel Spring/Summer 2008. Subscribers are welcome to review the colors and descriptions along with textile surface directions and buzz phrases surrounding the Dominion trend. This color story is complemented with the closest available Pantone color references.

Elemental

Worldwide — Cotton Incorporated has shared its color and surface forecasts researched for apparel Spring/Summer 2008. Subscribers are welcome to review the colors and descriptions along with textile surface directions and buzz phrases surrounding the Elemental trend. This color story is complemented with the closest available Pantone color references.

Sensory

Worldwide — Cotton Incorporated has shared its color and surface forecasts researched for apparel Spring/Summer 2008. Subscribers are welcome to review the colors and descriptions along with textile surface directions and buzz phrases surrounding the Sensory trend. This color story is complemented with the closest available Pantone color references.

New Talent: It's Good to be Homeless

Hong Kong — The big question upon graduation is “What now?” For designers it is often a question of how to get their products into the marketplace. John Wong and Heyman Poon faced that very challenge. Since then they have successfully entered the market with their shops and their original designs. Not only do they support local artists and offer unique contemporary designs, they also have developed an exclusive bridge between the East and West, bringing international flare to homes throughout Asia.

EcoChic: A Touch of Thai

Multiple Thai Cities — Globally, the issue of the environment is pushing itself further into the forefront. The Trendease Team has been striving to spotlight the ecologically friendly products which are friendly to the eye as well as the earth. This month Trendease highlights a couple of companies discovered during a recent trip to Bangkok, Thailand that are surely eco-chic.

S.W.O.T. in Design

Bangkok — The savviest professionals will take a weakness and strengthen it and a threat and turn it into an opportunity. That’s just what Touchable did. With its factory hours away from the city center of Bangkok it was a deterrent to get clients to visit. So they opened a showroom/retail outlet in the famous shopping center Siam Paragon. See the results of the strategic move here within.

The International Appeal of Thai Silk

Bangkok — Jim Thompson was an American who fell in love with Thailand post war 1946. It was his passion that has made Thai silk as internationally desirable as it is today. It was his intelligence that created a small empire that lives on long after Thompson’s disappearance. Thompson’s venture is a perfect example of how a “dying craft” was morphed into a “world class designer brand.”

Facing Sanctuary

Shanghai — Desiring a taste of Thailand in a well designed hidden getaway with international sparkle? Believe it or not in the heart of the French quarter of Shanghai, China within the walled Rui Jin Bin Guan compound rests a sanctuary. This red brick chateau is the ideal place to stop for a drink after work or take business associates for a nourishing meal. The décor is as rich as its food and as fresh as its drinks and subscribers can get a glimpse within this gallery.

Impeccable Merchandising & Foresight

Bangkok — Here is a retailer and producer of some of the most breathtaking textiles. One cannot help but admire the company’s concept of “Quality of life is the beginning of quality products.” And “quality products” is an understatement. Not only are the products top notch and extremely well merchandised, they come from a source that is very eco-chic, proactive and aware.

NEWSLETTER #166

Bangkok — Thailand is known for its furniture, but it also has a plethora of accessories on offer from modern and contemporary designs to local and traditional ones. In this newsletter see some of these products as well as read up on some of the opportunities in the East and green movements in Sydney, Australia.

NEWSLETTER #167

Bangkok — Don’t let the traditional crafts fool you; with the right colors, patterns, trims, and detailing craftsmanship from yesterday creates the hottest items for tomorrow. In this week’s gallery subscribers can see some of the trendiest silk products for the home and the body. Also read up on the latest tidbits in eco trends, business solutions, and emotional spending.

NEWSLETTER #168

Multiple European Cities — Ciao from the Milan Design Week! The Trendease Team has been tossing back mini cups of hard core Italian espresso to pump our systems with enough energy to keep up with all of the events taking place. So far so good. A day at the fiera, and a day in Zona Tortona has barely skimmed the surface of all of the happenings taking place. In this week’s gallery see a sneak peak of what’s to come from Milan!

NEWSLETTER #169

Bangkok — Have you ever been to a shopping mall where there were no camera / no photograph signs placed throughout the walkways? Trendease went through the appropriate channels to bring our readers this scoop on traditional design with a modern edge to it. Here original design blends with contemporary lifestyles and the East converges with the West.