More musing on ICFF 2008

I took the pictures of HansandFranz stools for their wonderful collection of colors, but walking the sterile Bernhardt Design space I was left in a quandary. Above to the left is a collage of fabulously and shamelessly decorative furnishings from young entrepreneurs showing - often for the first time at the show. It seems corporations are commissioning the same sterile looks that those of us "of a certain age" have been seeing our entire careers. Does the future of design really hold more of this? We do live in a time of "anything and everything," but I can't help but be more inspired by the more hand-crafted looks presented by the entrepreneurs rather than the machine-age modern also still prevalent in the Italian booths at ICFF. I do think it is time for a change.

Musing on ICFF 2008

I kept meaning to blog about my visit to the Kitchen and Bath Show, but there was truly nothing inspirational about the show - even though it it the industry in which I work. I will try to forget the large scale images of Kelly Ripa and her cupcakes at the Electrolux booth. However, I was impressed that finally this year a little reality hit the industry - the focus was off the massive collection of shower heads seen in the past - gee! the industry finally figured out they are a waste of water... and who has enough water heaters in their house to keep them going anyway? It seems this year we will be vibrating in the tub and doing aromatherapy and light therapy in the shower instead of gallons and gallons of water. Large corporations do take so long to catch on.


But ICFF, now that is another story - there was much that inspired. Some misguided, like the plastic blow-up chair filled with garbage...but so much more that was thoughtful and thoughtfully "green" as well. Yothaka, the Thai company that first gave us water hyacinth furniture has created an elegant and beautifully colored seating series made of pineapple fiber - like water hyacinth-normally thrown away. A chaise is pictured above.

The Adults have left the Building at P&G

Tone-on-tone labels for shampoo and conditioners that can't be read without glasses- and who wears their glasses in the shower? "Fortifying fortifier" - why not fortifyingly fortifying fortifier for further emphasis? Graphically tone-deaf and functionally illiterate MBA's have taken over at P&G. What's next - a pastel tone-on-tone redesign of the iconic Tide label for this company that is considered to have the "best marketing practices"? Whether they will catch themselves or continue on this new path remains to be seen. The problem with a "best practices" survey is that the surveys go to agencies and other marketers - and they all blow sweet nothings in each other's ear. They should ask a few articulate consumers what they think about such tag lines as "Fortifying fortifier."