May 2009 / Celebrating Five Years!!!


Founded in June 2003, Trendease launched its online publication to the world in May 2004. This month we celebrate five years of content! Located throughout the world, the Trendease Team continues to deliver our subscribers around the globe cutting-edge design information straight to their computer screens.

We attend over 100 design events a year on your behalf to bring you leading-edge insights to help you maintain and strengthen your competitive advantage. Currently we keep readers in 5,965 cities within 146 countries in the know! Are you reading Trendease.com?

In this latest issue find reports from Milan Design Week and around the world. Get the scoop on colors and trends. See the hottest designs in textiles, furniture, lighting, tabletop, decorative accessories, eco-chic and more, from new talent and well-known brands. Get inspired with the May edition!

Show us what you’ve got! For editorial consideration please email editorial@trendease.com with your latest original designs.

Upcoming Trendease Market Edge PowWows and Trendease.TV scheduling can be found on the homepage.

REPORTING TO INSPIRE,
Jennifer Castoldi,
Chief Creative Director

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

Features and Articles

Jennifer's May Marvels

Worldwide — It is incredible how time flies. It seems like not too long ago Jennifer was sitting with the developers mapping out a site that would be user-friendly and deliver oodles of information to people around the world. That was almost six years ago. And this month marks the fifth year of Trendease premium content. In this gallery designers are seeing the brighter side of things, literally. This selection of images is bursting with color. Whether an interior is splashed from top to bottom with bright hues, or merely accented with them, this gallery has something for everyone.

Taste Lounge: A Tribute to Italian Porcelain

Milan — Very rarely do products offer the best of both worlds. For example, an original pressing of “The Velvet Underground & Nico” is a priceless piece of 1960s pop culture, but the digitally remastered version you find on iTunes sounds clearer. Richard Ginori 1735 wants to be an exception to the rule. During Design Week Milan, the company presented Taste Lounge, a hang-out spot that displayed porcelain products designed with both traditional elegance and modern sophistication in mind.

Quilt by Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec, new product 2009

Pouffy Style

Multiple European Cities — The pouffy style was prevalent at shows in Paris and Milan, from the classic Chesterfield look with a twist to marshmallow fullness, ski jacket puff, ruched summer shirt puckering, and quilting techniques in diamond, rectangular, and other geometric forms. Colors, materials, and form add variety to these full-figured beauties. Ranging between fashion and fun, the product selection in this photo gallery is more durable than Marie Antoinette’s pouf hairstyle.

Hanging Around

Multiple European Cities — The coat hanger was celebrated at Milan Design Week this year. The convenient little inventions were swinging on lines and racks all over the place. And don’t think these were the kind the drycleaner gives you, in all his infinite generosity. Most were functional, some were for sheer decoration, and others were used as merchandising tools to draw attention to the products dangling from them and vice versa. See the celebrated here and read up on some fascinating tidbits!

Strength in Numbers

Multiple European Cities — We are many, they are few, and there is strength in numbers... All sociological theory aside, it seems this fact has had quite an impact on designers lately. Clusters and clusters of shades and bulbs made their way to Italy this year, and no two arrangements were alike. Some lights had overlapping shades; others had no shade at all. At Milan Design Week, Trendease learned that when it comes to lighting, there’s strength in numbers too.

Mystique

Textile Trends Spring/Summer 2010

Los Angeles — The Los Angeles International Textile Show showcased their Spring/Summer 2010 fabrics and trends this April at the California Market Center. Trendease was there to photograph the large assortment of fabrics and trims presented in multiple vignettes located throughout the show. This year’s Spring/Summer show also included some children’s fabrics, which we are happy to present in this gallery as well.

Building a Durable World

Paris — Planète Durable, in its second year running, is an exhibition in Paris based on the assumption that to build the world we all dream of, we must first create a desire to live there. The fair was filled with people and products ranging from furnishings and fashions to foodstuffs to post services and utility provider options. In this gallery find some products to help in creating a better environment for mankind.

Designer Spotlight: Jan O. Alt

Heidenheim — Zoeppritz since 1882 is a brand many textile professionals are familiar with, and many try to emulate. Over the last ten years Alt has transformed the traditional company into a fashion icon in the textile circle. Now Zoeppritz not only produces textile products, but also a loungewear line, pet collection, furniture, lighting, and both home and fashion accessories. A blend of basics and designs a la mode, the merchandise mix created by Alt is inspiration at its finest.

New Talent: Of the Cross

Multiple European Cities — Whether traditionally religious or secularly modern, the cross seems to have maintained a significant presence in the daily lives of people belonging to cultures found all over the world. Perhaps the symbol’s simplicity is what allows it to be adopted so easily and employed so differently. Indeed, one can’t help but wonder what else the cross might come to signify in the future. New talent in Milan bore the cross as light, sound, and decoration.

EcoChic: The Kitchen of the Future

Paris — It’s comforting to think that one day we might all have a way to do more with less; not just because it’s good for the environment, but also because it’s good for the wallet. In the beginning, being eco-friendly was easy: shut the lights off when you leave and close the faucet while you’re brushing. We’ve raised our expectations since then. Fortunately the kitchen in this feature meets them.

NEWSLETTER #267

Worldwide — Five years ago yesterday Trendease.com went live to the world. Sometimes noticing a new trend can be like a light bulb turning on over ones head. Bing! It is with this thought that we celebrate this week with a gallery of inspirational lighting the team and I have found across the world. Subscribers can get turned on with the images and learn about the latest IP and earth-saving tidbits in this week’s newsletter.

NEWSLETTER #268

Worldwide — This week’s photo gallery is fully loaded with walls that may make the other surfaces in the room jealous. From extravagant florals to decorative text, trompe d'oeil, and graphic prints, subscribers can admire these 30 wallcoverings and the latest tidbits keeping you on the forefront of eco-chic matters.

NEWSLETTER #269

Toronto — Jennifer had the pleasure of attending her best friend’s weddings over the weekend as a bridesmaid. Why mention it in the newsletter? Well, for two reasons, one it represents a social trend of our times, and it also has some inspiring motifs we wish to share with our subscribers. In this newsletter also read up on bamboo tidbits and Dutch inspirations.

IKEA PS SVARVA by Front

Sneak Peek: New IKEA Designs

Worldwide — In this avant premiere feature see over 50 yet-to-be released products ranging from textiles to tabletop to furniture and lighting. Also view nine videos that each tell a story about a design. This new collection embodies storytelling where each piece has its own unique account of how it was produced--some are rooted in tradition, inspired by materials, or innovative with responsible design. See what’s in store for August 2009!