So about that excitement I was talking about . . . it was there but with a side of downer. A lot of the retailers we wanted to see were out of business or had closed their New York store. Block after block in Soho we saw empty retail spaces with big "For Lease" signs adorning the front doors. I suppose it's a expected side effect of the economic times. We didn't let that get us down for long though. We just had to create a new playbook on the fly and as a result I have decided to change format from the first posting. Rather than walk you though the places and spaces we visited, I'm going to just give it to you straight and fast! Here is what we saw that's still hot in retail.
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| Nature Inspired |
Nature Inspired - Last year we talked about how the Natural Wood trend has evolved slightly in to what we are now calling Nature Inspired. It's lot's of literally interpreted twigs, branches and tree trunks. Throughout Soho and Upper East Side retailers we saw examples of the earlier trend with sun bleached shades and in some cases rotted and worn looks. Between the two they were balanced in representation. Maybe this is peaking.
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| Sack Containers |
Soft Rustic - This is a bit of a spin off from last years Rustic & Primitive Object find. Where there were only hand carved tools and vessels there are now softer interpretations of the rustic life. The image on the right is an example of containers modeled after fruit and grain sacks.
Ethnic Chic - Still huge! So huge I'm not showing you a picture because you already know what it is. Plus, it's made the leap into so many broad categories I could write an entire entry on it alone. Next!
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| Look at the Size of that Lamp Shade! |
Upsizing - This has definetley gained traction since last year. We only saw it in a few places before but now it's popping up everywhere! Oversized lamps, over sized table legs, the list goes on. I'll be watching this one to see if it's really going to stick or not. Trends like these may die quickly.
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| Industrial |
Industrial - This is very much alive and moving in all kinds of directions. It started with found industrial objects, moved into rough industrial elements paired with polished metals and now literally knows no boundaries! Designers have really embraced this and are getting more and more creative in it's use. It's as diverse as the Ethnic Chic category and can no longer be defined in simple terms. Don't be afraid to get involved in this and put your own stamp on it. It's steam punk goes mainstream!
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| Hamam Bowls |
All the other major and minor trends are still the same but we did see a lot more soft metal tones than usual. In addition a few high end retailers are offering brass bowls such as these Hamam bowls (left) and high quality Tibetan Singing Bowls. I'll have to do do a bit more research on this but it does play with the Ethnic Chic trend well. It just stuck out as obvious from one retailer to the next.
There is of course much more to digest and we will be doing that over the coming weeks. Analyzing, forecasting and of course mind reading are par for the course. :) To my fellow designers, artisans and crafters I leave you with the immortal words of Bruce Lee.
"Take what you can use and discard the rest."
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