I:di News & Notes

You Could Be a Star!

2008-01-24T16:43:00.001-08:00

BravoTV is seeking undiscovered interior design stars for the second season of its hit competition series, “Top Design.” All types of designers from all walks of life, whose design sensibility can be expressed in the world of interiors, are being sought. Up-and-coming as well as established professionals will compete for career-making opportunities and work under the eyes of the industry’s top names!
This is your chance to battle for a coveted spread in Elle Décor, $100,000 and the momentum to achieve your dream career. For complete application information, go to www.BravoTV.com/casting or e-mail casting@magicalelves.com. Look where it got Matt Lorenz!

Exceptional Projects. Extraordinary Products

2008-01-06T11:49:00.000-08:00

More than 700 members of the design community gathered recently for Interior Design's second annual Best of Year Awards. The standing-room-only crowd filled the Times Center event space to hear editor in chief Cindy Allen and publisher Mark Strauss announce the winners. Sponsored by Edelman Leather, the program consisted of 19 project categories ranging from beauty and spa to education, and 37 product categories from both the contract and residential sectors. The 59 winners were selected from 930 entries, which were pared down to 224 finalists. Product winners were ultimately judged by more than 22,000 Internet votes, while Cindy Allen and a panel of judges chose project winners.
In the window treatment category design professionals chose Conrad’s Tahoe Roman Fold shade collection. Merit winners were Knoll Textiles Mira sheer and Rodolph’s Risqué fabric. Designers voted on 5 nominees in the window treatment category. Other nominees were Hartman and Forbes’ Erthe Weave Collection and The Shade Store. The Shade Store had two nominations with Eclipse and Chilewich’s Woodgrain.

The Tahoe Collection is a luxurious new line of roman fold shades designed to weather the elements. Woven of 100% solution-dyed acrylic, the shades are sheer and elegant with a unique finish that protects against stains, mildewing and fading. Eleven fresh designs offered in roman fold, top-down/bottom-up, and drapery

Mira Sheer is a variation on a printed drapery, originally designed by Ross Littell in 1958. Mira was part of a series described by the designer as "visual adventures, an exploration of texture, pattern and form based on visualologies or systems incorporating arithmetic or geometric fundamentals or progressions."

Circular motif embroidery creates an undulating overlay of color that isprovocatively risqué in a wide width sheer.

THE OTHER NOMINEES

Hartmann & Forbes' ErtheWeave™ Collection captures the texture and artistry of Old World fabrics ranging from provincial European wools and linens to elegant handwoven Asian silks, such as EW49 Panta. Each pattern is woven with the one-of-a-kind subtleties of traditional weaves, and than hand-tailored into an original, ErtheWeave window covering.

The Shade Store Panel Systems are innovative window "dressing" solutions ideal for a large and small windows, as closet doors, and room dividers for small spaces. The new Eclipse-3 roller print fabric is used for custom panels that glide easily along a track system for sleek, simple use.

Chilewich for The Shade Store is a collection of custom roller-shades and panel systems designed to reduce sun heat and glare and maintain the view. Woodgrain, one of the five Chilewich designs, is a 'woven wood' pattern created by weaving vinyl yarns on industrial looms producing wood grain texture.

Little Ones Make a Big Impact

2007-11-16T07:58:00.000-08:00

SimpliCity is a framework for design, encompassing a surprising array of styles and niches. One of them is the rapidly evolving category of juvenile products and accessories.
America’s kids are having a huge influence on their parent’s purchasing decisions about everything from minivans to sofas. In fact, they are often determining on their own what their parents are buying. With an eye on this market, companies are launching new “sophisticated and hip” collections geared to children and the teen-plus age group.
In the end, parents often allow the children a large degree of freedom when choosing their beds, dressers, and window coverings.
Whose is buying ?
Baby Boomers who are buying for their grandchildren
New parents who are above the traditional parental age
Young parents with above average incomes/wealthy young parents
Luxury consumers who prefer “exclusive” products and do not hesitate when it comes to spending money on their children

Still, with all this talk of meeting the wants of our kids, it is important to consider the parameters we put on the buying decision. Fortunately, a tight budget is often not an issue. Many Americans have delayed having children, so they have progressed in their careers and have the disposable income to splurge on their children’s furnishings.
At ICFF many of the green introductions also coincided with the boom in infant and juvenile furnishings, indicating that Gen X and Gen Y parents are ready and willing to search out, and in some cases, pay extra for low toxicity, low environmental impact nurseries.
So, why should window covering designers and workrooms care about juvenile trends? Trend spotting is not only about spotting the next hot product, but in creating opportunities. If business is slowing because the housing market is flat in your area, or you feel like you have exhausted all the usual suspects for customers, look to this profitable niche for window fashions and soft furnishings
How?
Well if the grandparents and older, wealthier Gen Xers are spending their disposable dollars on baby or grandkids rather than on draperies for their dining room, switch gears and look to selling window treatments and soft furnishings in the nursery niche. Function like sound absorption and room darkening; and safety are high on the priority list. Crib sets, custom comforters, bassinette skirts, monogramming even christening blankets can be great high margin products. Believe me, I recently had the chance to personally see what is available in baby bedding. Outside of the character licensing, there is a huge wide open area for sophisticated baby. If Hollywood celebrity is any indication this trend cycle has a long curve life. Keep in mind that kids themselves have opinions about motifs and patterns. Designers should start from the viewpoint of making products specifically for children. This means color and design trends that are more on target because of the specialty focus.

Trendtracking
*Multi-functional is an important factor in juvenile product purchases these days. Busy parents with lots of baby gear want products that do more than the obvious.
*Space saving
*Fashion
*Licensing
*Natural and organic products are leading to innovative and sophisticated products.

In the spirit of SimpliCity, manufacturers are coming up with new and innovative ways to put on a modern spin to make old products new again in every product

Craft the Vote!

2007-09-20T07:43:00.000-07:00

With the Presidential debates already in full swing it seems crafters are a political lot. I found this blog on slate.com. Love it!

Winning the presidency with a Bedazzler and a crochet hook.
By Jessica Vitkus
Posted Monday, Aug. 13, 2007, at 3:55 PM ET
Presidential candidates take note: Knitting is no longer a hobby. It's a lifestyle. In America, do-it-yourself handicrafts are everywhere. Magazines like Bust, Make, Craft, and ReadyMade reach out to a hip, young audience whose hands are rarely idle. Even Hugh Hefner's ladies on the reality romp The Girls Next Door have a scrap-booking room in the Playboy Mansion.
Forget NASCAR dads and security moms—it's the craft vote that can no longer be ignored. The candidates already missed an opportunity to woo craft leaders at the inaugural Craft Congress, which convened in Pittsburgh this March. (Musical version coming to Broadway in 200 years.) But it's not too late for campaigns to embrace the crafting kind. Sewing circles as fund-raisers! Collage and glitter billboards instead of e-mails! I challenge Hillary, Obama, Mitt, and Rudy to whip out their pinking shears and win the hearts of the DIY crowd. I've suggested politically appropriate projects for each party—DemoCrafts and RepubliCrafts—and whipped up some samples.

DemoCraft : Old Glory Oven Mitts Better to burn the American flag than your tender hands. Take a standard-issue U.S. flag, cut into mitten shapes, and insulate with wool Army blankets. One flag yields about 13 mitts (one for each of the original colonies). Betsy Ross would be proud. Probably.

RepubliCraft: Bedazzled Money Money is pretty. You earned it (or inherited it). GOP tax laws let you keep it. But it's even prettier when embellished with colorful crystals and jewels. Play Department of Treasury and bling up Benjamin Franklin with a tiara or Elton John-style sunglasses. Impress friends at the club when you buy the next round.

Artsy Craftsy

2007-09-20T07:33:00.000-07:00

We are a crafty bunch here at GMI and our Creative Director, Randy Palmer has gotten in the act of spotting interesting and off beat crafts. He recently put us on to
Heavy Metal Quilts http://www.quiltsryche.com/

Boo Davis, Quiltsryche’s owner and a designer from Seattle is a one women show (WF pros can relate) with a Pfaff sewing machine and a passion for rock. Quiltsrÿche turns traditional quilting on its ear with modern heirloom quilts that look like they were made by your metal-loving, half-blind Grandma. Bold designs, eye-popping color combinations and a touch of evil are the hallmarks of Quiltsrÿche quilts. A one-of-a-kind rock quilt won't match your curtains, but it will have enough character and craftsmanship to captivate you year after headbanging year.

Ample Sample 2007

2007-08-15T16:18:00.000-07:00

You might remember Tricycle from previous blog postings and our I:di presentations in the past year. We initiated a conversation a year ago about the future of sampling in our industry and how we can make samples more eco friendly, cost effective and future forward. Timing is everything and just about the same time we came across Tricycle at NeoCon. Susan and I were excited to see Tricycle® leading the charge in the carpet industry. They launched a transformation of sampling for the interiors industry in 2002, with design tools and services using digital product simulation. We have been following their progress ever since.

Ample Sample 2007, a design contest sponsored by Floor Focus magazine, Prince Bentley Street and Tricycle™ challenged designers to "Rethink. Reuse. Upcycle", by repurposing carpet samples - after their usefulness to a design project - to make a design product. Believing that recycled materials became valid design elements only because designers chose to see them as such, Ample Sample challenged designers to come up with new ways to use old school materials. Do gooders around the world, from Minneapolis to the Republic of Macedonia, uploaded their best plans and images of designs that transformed samples into a beautiful and/or functional interior product that any designer can create.

The Judges Choice, Rugburm, was created by a team at RSA Los Angeles (led by James Wong) and was promoted at NeoCon World's Trade Fair this year.

RUGBURM uses recycled objects from design firms. Rolling the carpet sample tiles to different diameters yields different comfort densities. Ergonometrics determines how to locate the rolled tiles. Tying the tiles and cardboard tubes like a "popcorn string" provides stability and comfort. Samples used: 42

At NeoCon, show attendees also voted for their favorite and selected the Care-E Purse, created by Jonathan Knodell of Columbus, Ohio as the People's Choice award winner.

The simple Care-E Purse is designed from a single carpet tile and blocks of scrap wood, and provides a convenient way to carry your things and tells the world you're GREEN! Inspired by the theory that the green movement will truly become a mainstay in our culture once we infuse it into the world of fashion and trend. Samples used:1

"The finalists' designs are a mix of furniture pieces requiring major undertaking and quick DIY! projects for home or office," said Catherine Minervini, Vice President of Marketing for Bentley Prince Street. "The winning designs are all buildable with a small materials list, and they are also beautiful, adding an accent of recycled luxury to any space."

"Check back this winter for the next call for entries," said Tricycle Chief Brand Officer Michael Hendrix. "We'll be hosting the contest again, only bigger and better." Blueprints and/or instructions of finalists' designs are available for free download from http://www.amplesample.net/ to forward-thinking design firms around the world.
By The Way- The Care-E purse is now available for sale on etsy.com

Disappearing Act

2007-07-25T20:31:00.000-07:00

John Ryan didn’t while his summer away; instead it was the inspiration for abeio, his line of outdoor furniture and accessories that was his graduate thesis.
Research has shown that living in urban locations with limited outdoor and storage space; durable outdoor furnishings are often treated as consumable goods: purchased at a discount, used for a season, and disposed of in lieu of disassembly and storage. I know I am part of that statistic.
Ryan asked, “If outdoor furnishings are used as consumables, then why aren't they designed as consumables?” Why design durable and permanent furnishings that spend ¾ of the year in the storage shed or under a tarp? Ryan feels to be truly seasonal, goods should, through the very function of their use, cease to exist. This means no disassembly or storage. End of season should mean end of life. Thus, abeios (from the latin abeo: to disappear slowly) was born. Low-cost, low-impact consumable outdoor furnishings which celebrate seasonality.

abeioLight, resembling Malibu Lights, is” Made entirely of beeswax — a non-toxic, renewable, and biodegradable ignition source. abeioLights are designed to be planted in the ground and used for outdoor lighting. The cup shaped top of the candle provides cover against drafts, while the tapered base gives stability and support. “

abeioDrink is”A decanter and cup set made from low-fire terra cotta. Terra cotta has been proven to absorb tannins from wine, reducing bitterness and reducing hang overs. Terra cotta also has osmotic properties - smashing abeioDrink and burying the shards in a flowerbed normalizes its moisture levels; thus preventing root rot, freezing and parching.” http://www.abeio.com/

Eco and Chic Used to be Mutually Exclusive

2007-07-14T20:33:00.000-07:00

Don't dismiss Green Design as a fleeting fad or the trend du jour. It is quickly becoming part of the mainstream practice both in the workplace and residential interiors. According to Jill Salisbury, founder of EL: Environmental Language, a green furniture company, and at the forefront of the movement, "The movement is not a trend; it's an awakening. It wouldn't surprise me if, in five years, green design becomes the defination of good design. " We have to agree with her.
In July's WF Trendspotting column, we covered the subject. Here are some more green products coming on the scene-

Sprout: Mod Green Pod’s founders Nancy Mims and Lisa Mims loved swank design and sustainable goods, but they couldn’t find anything that combined the two. Refusing to choose one over the other, they started their own company. Veterans of the fashion industry, they create products that won’t harm the planet, its manufacturers, or users, all without sacrificing style.
Their 100% organic cotton fabrics are produced without using any harmful finishing agents and our water-based printing process also respects this simplicity and purity. Mod Green Pod’s wallpapers are also printed with water-based inks and unlike most wallpapers, ours are finished without a coating of toxic vinyl.
Their debut collection Jubilee merges clean modern lines with classic damasks for whimsical but sophisticated mixing and matching. Look for their new Sprout collection to be unveiled this month. http://www.modgreenpod.com/

Fresh Air Textiles: This collection by Louise Russell for Carneige Textiles has an intriguing place in residential interiors. The collection is based on the precepts of intregrative medicine, emphasizing wellness and healing of the whole person. The power of positive imagery is transferred into textiles to impart healing on both a mental and spiritual level. Russell, believing in the energetic importance of objects in our environemts, worked with nature photographs; broke them down into pixels and then reassembled them into patterns. A proponent of vibrational medicine, she trademarked the collection as Vibrational Wellness –a textile that has healing powers. http://www.carneigefabrics.com/

Eco-to-Go: Non-profit organization Ecoagents recently coined the phrase “eco-to-go” as a way to encourage consumers to request less packaging when ordering take-out meals. Ideally, once the phrase catches on, employees and managers at dining establishments will know to go light on napkins and utensils when an order is requested “eco-to-go”, cutting down on the roughly 30% of waste that comes from discarded packaging in America.

Flow Kitchen:John Arndt's Flow Kitchen is its own mini eco-system. This compact modular sysytem features dish drying racks that drip water onto herbs and edible plants in terra cotta jars. The inset bowl flips to empty into the worm compost bin complete with Red Wigglers and removable tray. http://www.johnarndt.com/

I:di themes and trends in the news:

2007-01-17T12:07:00.000-08:00

HideTech
The Wooden USB memory sticks by Dutch design studio Oooms were
introduced in early 2006 and became a sleeper hit this holiday
season. Literally a wooden stick, sourced from deadwood on the local
forest floor, the sticks are drilled out, trimmed, sanded and
polished and a standard USB drive is inserted. Part of the product's
success is due to the striking contrast between the sleek ubiquity of
laptops and a rough-hewn piece of nature.
www.oooms.nl/usb/

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Renegade Craft
In New York City, the Museum of Arts & Design features "Radical Lace & Subversive Knitting" an exhibition scheduled from January 25 - June 17, 2007
Image credit: Cat Mazza, Comfort Room
www.madmuseum.org

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Cabinet of Curiosities
"A fascinating place of artful oddities" is how one British visitor
in 1928 described Deyrolle, a Parisian taxidermy shop, founded in
1831. Located in townhouse on the fashionable rue du Bac, the
enormous collection of stuffed and mounted animals, insect-filled
shadow boxes, perfectly preserved skeletons and other strangely
compelling decorations is worth spending several hours exploring. For
those who prefer to spend their time in Paris shopping for a
different type of artifact, the collection is now available on line,
including a fascinating selection of antique scientific and
anatomical prints. Think this is all a bit "too out there" for the
mainstream? Deyrolle.com was recently picked by Lucky magazine as one
of its favorite websites!
www.deyrolle.com

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Iconoclastastic

We've been spotting lace in all kinds of places and in all kinds of
renditions as it moves along the trend curve. Here one of the new
Young Guns of design, Stella Bugbee has dressed up the most
indispensible component of every shipping room.
www.stellabugbee.com