September 2008 / 360 Degrees of Global Design


Trendease International celebrated 5 years this summer! Covering over 100 design events a year, currently 29,000 images in 1,075 reports keep 140 countries and 4,270 cities in the know! Are you reading Trendease.com?

We continue our mission to help you gain a definite competitive and strategic advantage through a combination of fast-breaking information, breakthrough thinking and applied creativity. In this issue we travel from Europe to America to Asia and back again. Explore the NY Home Textiles & Gift Week, Intertextile, Formex, and other international design happenings. Get retail inspiration. Fall into residential and commercial interiors dreamland. Dive into the worlds of innovation, eco-chic advances, and new talent freshness. See the lines blur between art and design. Observe holding onto the past with a modern twist. Get inspired with the September edition!

This Month’s Trendease Market Edge PowWows:
- September 14th and 15th: Decosit – Brussels, Belgium
Trend Theories & Emerging Markets-14th at 11am, 15th at 12pm
Major Evolutions & Visions on Trends-14th and 15th at 4pm

Visit our booths for the latest inspiration: Maison&Objet, Hall 6 VP602; Decosit, Palace #12; Le Cuir à Paris, stand E4

REPORTING TO INSPIRE,
Jennifer Castoldi,
Chief Creative Director

Download our informative tri-fold brochure as a PDF file here.

Features and Articles

Jennifer's September Scribbles

Stockholm — In this new issue of Trendease the team takes you on a trip around the globe, and you don’t even need to leave your computer screen! If you are looking for product for your shop or showroom, searching for new talent to hire, products to fill your clients’ interiors, inspiration for new collections or merchandising methods, or the latest market shifts, you have come to the right place! Read Jennifer’s thoughts on market shifts and see trends and color references for upcoming seasons.

Retail Inspiration

Stockholm — Starting this fall Formex has invited an innovative and influential store to present its range of products at “Formex Goes Abroad”. The purpose of the exhibit is to inspire trade fair visitors, thus making the event a more attractive international venue. Trendease readers need not go abroad, but simply travel through this gallery of images.

Design by Christian Lacroix

Amid the Aristocratic and the Artistic

Paris — Decorated by Christian Lacroix, a new gem of a hotel blooms on the left bank in Paris. In a neighborhood at the crossroads of the traditional and the modern, the thirty-four rooms of the hotel are decorated in seven different themes. Can you guess which trends appear in the styles of decoration? This way for the answers…

"Bus Retro" hanging above a sofa

Beyond the Wall

Baltimore — In a time where the line between art and design is blurring, and art and wall coverings are competing, the Trendease Team has found Christos Palios. Readers are familiar with Art Basel, Design Miami/Basel, Parcours St. Germain, and the competition between art and amazing wall coverings; now see the talent of Christos Palios.

Entering Intertextile

Shanghai — Residential living space in China reached 170 million square meters, almost equal to the size of Greece. That is without a doubt a lot of interiors to decorate! Trade buyers in China are keen to locate products to match the growing demand for fashion-forward, quality furnishings. It’s only natural in the midst of our international reporting we point out why Intertextile is an intriguing market to visit.

Gamble on This- 1891 by Sferra, taking influence from the milieu of 1960s Las Vegas, launched The High Life Collection that also ties in popular color palettes.

New York's Soft Touch

New York — 500+ mid-to-high-end bed, bath, and home accessory vendors gathered to show their latest wares at the New York Home Textiles Market Week. The Trendease Team was there to get the scoop on the US market. Trendy colors, motifs and patterns, eco-friendly and advanced materials, market shifts and consumer behavior can all be found within this review.

Tomorrow's Gifts

New York — Many product categories catering to a diverse range of taste levels were presented during The New York Gift Week. Many trends were recognized at the events including the merging of the art and furnishing worlds, products for contemporary living, and the inspiration from, and the preservation of, all Mother Nature has to offer. See and read more within.

It's Formidable

Stockholm — The Formidable design award was launched by Formex in 1994 to stimulate and foster good design. The objects must be innovative, creative and marketable. The prize is a marketing contribution in the form of exhibition space, technology and advertising, to a value of SEK 100,000. And the 2008 winner is…

New Talent: Formex Young Designers

Stockholm — The Trendease Team has picked what we see as the crème de la crème from Young Designers to feature here. Enjoy a more personalized office chair; see your kids put their toys away with fun furniture; make a character out of jewelry; store magazines in a trendy bag; eat off of the hottest graphics; stomp on the wall; the sky is the limit with this group!

EcoChic: Today's Long-Term Future

New York — Setting the bar high, the New York International Gift Fair is the subject of our EcoChic feature. Low-impact, long-term sustainability, community conscious, and global, here are the products of our environmentally-friendly future. And not least of all, they are also fabulously designed and are carving out a bigger and bigger market for themselves.

NEWSLETTER #235

Multiple European Cities — While many people are still sporting their tans from summer vacation, many people are also thinking about the season to be jolly. Yes indeed, the holiday season is here, here in today’s gallery. Thinking red and green? Well think again. This week’s images will show you inspiration fresh outside the box. Subscribers may see the trendy festive designs mixed in with complementary dec pillows, lighting, and tabletop.

NEWSLETTER #236 - Outside

Stockholm — It is not breaking news to say that lifestyle merchandising with a range of products beats that of a category killer boasting a narrow assortment. But it is important to continuously remind yourself that showcasing a product in a shop or showroom in an environment helps the buyer to understand items in a complete picture. It is also a great opportunity to cross sell. Read about this and cutting-edge product information inside.

NEWSLETTER #236 - Inside

Stockholm — This week’s newsletter highlights the fabulous Celebrating Traditions display found at the recent Formex Stockholm. Numerous contemporary designers and product developers have been looking to the past for inspiration. This exhibit located in the main entrance hall of the exhibition center showcased how tradition, handicrafts, and handmade items are making a comeback.

Nabaztag : 417 grams of fashion

NEWSLETTER #237

Paris — We are in an electronic, gadgetry age. Many homes are becoming bionic. The not-so-fuzzy Nabaztag rabbit has become all of the rage. More than 60 designers have dressed the rabbit. Previewed before the Paris Fashion Week and an international tour, subscribers can see the little advanced hoppers in the gallery while reading the latest tidbits on Decosit, Established & Sons advanced technologies, and how to be more eco-chic.

NEWSLETTER #238

Paris — As we have mentioned before, the recent edition of Le Cuir à Paris marked a new focus on the interiors markets. In addition to Home Inspirations, the new section titled INTERIEURS CUIR was created to inspire the world of home fashion. Here twelve French tanning and dressing companies created a writer’s home decorated with lacy, pleated, draped, encased, wrapped, taut, cut-out, perforated, and printed leathers.