Out of the box thinking for living inside our boxes. Design and marketing trends and influences that maximize both delight and long term value for the permanent finishes in today's interiors.
Navigating the abundant choices, evaluating the new and separating the wheat from the chaff - the long-term influences from fleeting fads for those offering products for the interior environment.(AND THE STORIES THEY TELL ABOUT THEM.)
Showing posts with label cultural trends. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cultural trends. Show all posts
Trends often change so subtly, as to be barely perceptible. Much has changed in the global culture in the past year, and as I sit inside during yet another snowstorm, I started asking myself - have last years ideas evolved enough at this point to change direction? I reviewed what I had written as important parts of the ideas inherent in hyper-authenticity and found them to be viable into the new year:
True to Origins and Self
True to Culture
True to Form
Larger than Life
Made by Hand
Sustainable
Raw and unaltered
Reclaimed, Recycled
What I realized is that the vast cultural changes actually create less changes in trends - people tend to stay with the tried and true as cultural changes swirl madly around them. So, the authentic and classic trends bring a sense of security and are actually reinforced by the massive cultural swings we have been experiencing. Any changes throughout this year will be evolutionary rather than revolutionary. The ipad may be revolutionary, but what we use it for are tried and true tasks. Just take a look at this article about David Hockney making art on his ipad.
As a design professional, I have always believed inherently that beauty and thereby good design enhance our quality of life. A recent New York Times article led me to seriously question my bias, as my mother lingers with final stage dementia in an assisted living facility with cloth tablecloths and napkins and constantly changing appropriately seasonal decorative accessories.
The article describes a New York facility called Beatitudes this way: "The facility itself is institutional-looking, dowdy and “extremely outdated,” Ms. Mullan said. “It’s ugly,” said Jan Dougherty, director of family and community services at Banner Alzheimer’s Institute in Phoenix. But “they’re probably doing some of the best work.” " They use common sense and the human touch to make their patients lives more bearable. That is something that "design" simply does not deliver on its own.
(For more on common sense watch Barry Schwartz's Ted talk on Practical Wisdom. He has moved on from observing the consumer in the "Paradox of Choice" to observing the current human condition.)
The backlash to the emphasis on "design" seems to have begun in a subtle way. An article entitled "De-emphasizing Design"on a hotel management website recommends a holistic approach to creating an environment rather than an emphasis on elaborate design - basically postulating that you can't put all your eggs in the "design" basket.
From the article: ". . . according to Howard Wolff, SVP with design firm WATG, people are moving past wanting things and instead crave the more tangible . . . moving from extravagance to experience, from conspicuous to conscientious consumption, from airs to authenticity, from could be anywhere to you are here, from green is good to green is gold and from trendy to timeless - waste not want not."
It is the nature of design centers to offer lots and lots of choices, but I have to ask myself, at what point does it become too much? Recently I was in the Boston Design Center waiting to go to a presentation and looking for inspiration in a showroom. I have to admit, that I couldn't even get myself to pull back the racks, even the brochures of the Fall 2010 introductions couldn't entice me - until I saw the William Yeoward Aranjasa Collection - a refreshingly casual collection of stripes in subtle classic colors inspired by Spain, Norway and Sweden. The color palette and lifestyle photographs in the brochure are what drew my attention.
Did it make me smile because it reinforced one of my trend themes or because it was a beautiful fit for New England interiors? I suspect a little if both, and I will remember it for future projects, with my mind uncluttered by the racks of thousands of fabrics that I didn't bother to even take a look at.
This particular collection may have just touched on my personal taste, but I can't help but think that at least 3/4 of the products in any showroom are superfluous, and that even designers would welcome some type of editing. So many companies are reluctant to discontinue even the most outdated of products. I wonder whether anyone does the accounting on this? Design Centers are not retail stores, but all that excess stuff is confusing to customers that are used to the spare editing of a Pottery Barn or Crate and Barrel. No one wants a fabric or tile showroom to look like these stores or a Home Depot, but being customer friendly is a win-win for all.
Fashion Week has moved uptown and is now held at Lincoln Center instead of in a temporary tent. At the first Fashion Week to be held there, no one captured fashion as performance "art" better than Catherine Malandrino and Couture Snob captured the images. Her collection is also featured as wearable art on a Wall Street Journal blog.
What is even more intriguing is the article in the WSJ "Fashion as Art," where Virginia Postrel has an interesting take on the matter: "Fashion is shedding its cultural stigma. It is increasingly recognized as a significant cultural activity—indeed, one of the defining characteristics of our civilization."That all sounds very noble, but what I see happening is the business has co-opted the concept of design with all the incessant talk of "design-thinking." So what are designers to do but designate themselves as ARTISTS.
And this connection to art is not lost on those that intent to stay trend forward in fashion end of the home furnishings business as well. Silestone, the countertop surface manufacturer is sponsoring an exhibition opening this week at the Museum of Modern Art entitled: Counter Space: Design and the Modern Kitchen.(Fast Company's design blog has a story and some great pictures from the show.)
Some anecdotal evidence shows that fulfilling the lifelong dreams of wheels trumps real estate. I suspect there is a gender divide here, but the article in the Miami Herald goes to great lengths to feature woman motorcycle, RV and sports car owners to convince us that this is more than the fulfillment of males fantasies. There are still more women planning their jewel box retirement homes than buying Harley's, but my guess is there will be extra large temperature controlled garages included.
It's a stretch...a rather tenuous connection, but Interni has a feature called Designing Clouds in their March issue. The Italian tile manufacturer Caselgrande is celebrating their 50th anniversary with a "Ceramic Cloud" designed by the Japanese designer, Kengo Kuma. Or...is this design's preparation for THE END heralded to come in 2012 by an assortment of fanatics?
From the Casalgrande website: "The first event is the “Casalgrande Ceramic Cloud”, a combination of architecture and land art, designed by Kengo Kuma and made by Casalgrande Padana, under an agreement with the Municipality of Casalgrande. The work, the first one to be made by the great Japanese architect in Italy, is well under way and will be finished before next summer.
Set in a communal green area of over 2,8000 square metres, the installation is located on the new Strada Pedemontana next to the company’s production site, with such spectacular landmark acting as the Eastern Gate to the regional ceramic district.
The work is an unusual three-dimensional construction that experiments with innovative applications of the latest-generation ceramic units. Entirely made of special, large glazed stoneware tiles mechanically anchored to a specially-designed metal frame, the construction is over 40 metres large and 7 metres high and looks like an architectural object of refined elegance intended to symbolically mark a traditional productive region which is deeply bonded to the culture of design."
Exactly 4 days after I discovered the video of Alexander McQueen's crazy Spring-Summer 2010 fashion show he committed suicide. Fashion week in New York was upon us, and his death made everyone pay even more attention than usual to fashion. Now we can all have front row seats online at the biannual fashion shows, and I have to admit to indulging in some of them.
While I know that Calvin Klein is a true minimalist, I love his home fashions, but I found it interesting that I just couldn't be bothered to sit through his fashion show. It was so minimalist, there was not even music to distract from the "fashion" - just the tap, tap, tapping of feet. And the clothes were so austere, they could even be updated nun's habits.
The contrast with the McQueen show cannot be overstated, the Calvin Klein show reminded me of the Audi ad at the Super Bowl - taking oneself too seriously is not good business in the current economic climate when offering luxury goods. Offering a little fantasy is not a bad thing - so sad that McQueen is no longer around to invite us into his fantasies - bizarre as they were...but we paid attention and wanted a small piece of it!
Good bye to the carrot and stick approach to all but the simplest work taste. In this TED talk Daniel Pink makes a strong scientific case for intrinsic, not extrinsic motivation in the workplace. As our society moves from brawn to brain work, from repetitive to creative work, employers will be wise to pay attention.
The lovable geeks at Google win the ad Superbowl with their simple, charming and timeless story. At a time when all the fake science on "global warming is coming to light, the ever-so earnest Germans are ever-so tone deaf with their "green" Audi ad. Culture matters, and the Superbowl is about fun and escape from our everyday woes - no one wants to be reminded about the "plastic bag police" in the middle of their relaxation time. So another year has closed on the most innovative advertising that we will probably see all year. The men in skivvies amused, but really! ...And it wouldn't be the Superbowl without the heartwarming Clydesdale team or the crowd-sourced Doritos ads.
At the end of the day, what we remember most are the stories that engage and entertain us; in the time of global commerce, some stories are universal but getting the local culture right matters more than ever before.
The previous blog entry is interesting from a sustainability perspective - but at the end of the day, we are not Europe...and the American consumer will not consume like their European brothers and sisters.
One of the conversation starters on the Harvard Business blogs reminds us of this, it is entitled: Why American Consumers Will Spend Lavishly Again. The author is a social anthropologist who has come to understand the American consumer from that perspective. He says that our things define us, but more importantly define what we want to become. He is quite sanguine about the fact that consumption will return and uses the recent history of remodeling as an example. From an anthropological perspective, our constant remodeling is hardly irrational consumption, but actually has a deeper, cultural motive. "Susan (his composite consumer in speaking of an expensive great room remodel) is fashioning her social life. To be sure, there is status seeking here. But there is also something richer and more cultural, as Susan works out new ideas of the "host," "guest" and "entertainment.' "
If this article is correct, it speaks to the continued importance of keeping up with fashion trends in building materials, as when the pent-up demand for remodeling returns, consumers will not be interested in yesterday's fashions. The American consumer looks towards the future, even if that future means looking for new, yet more traditional looks because the resale value of a home is not rising as rapidly as it did during the go-go years.
My new favorite magazine is The Atlantic; under its new ownership and editorial staff it continues to be well written and appears to me to be a voice of reason on our current global economy without the cheer leading, grandstanding or bs evident in so much of today's mainstream media.
THE FUTURE OF HOUSING STYLE
The lead-in to the article: "Houses of the Future" goes like this: "Four years after the levee failures, New Orleans is seeing an unexpected boom in architectural experimentation. Small, independent developers are succeeding in getting houses built where the government has failed. And the city's unique challenges—among them environmental impediments, an entrenched culture of leisure, and a casual acquaintance with regulation—are spurring design innovations that may redefine American architecture for a generation." The houses featured are small and functional, and my guess is that the classic Greek Revival shotgun style house will become a favorite, despite the attempt to "upgrade the taste" of the populace with modernism by the various players. The author describes 5 house in the article, so be sure to follow the link map in the article to see the designs by the well-known architects. These are the efforts to which Brad Pitt is lending his star-power.
The article notes that the classic New Orleans style (pictured above) is by the New York architect William Monaghan, who grew up in New Orleans and both understands and appreciates the vernacular architecture. Check his website Build Now for other classic New Orleans plans.
THE FUTURE OF HOUSING SIZE
The small houses featured in the article are functional and above all affordable. It was most instructive to read Witold Rybczynski's archived article from 1991 in the same publication "Living Smaller, the Advantages of a Small House". I wonder if he had any idea then of the McMansions that were to come. Recently, the Harvard Center for Housing Studies reported that new home sizes are slowly coming down in size, but it seems to me that their numbers are not yet significant.
THE FUTURE OF HOME OWNERSHIP
However, the most interesting article from March 2009 may be the most significant of all, as it relates to the future of housing - "How the Crash will Reshape America." Richard Florida discusses the winners and losers in the geographic lottery, the choices and opportunities as we reshape our economy and where we will live. The most interesting idea that he develops is his call for reducing our focus on home ownership, he sees renting as a much more flexible way to keep our economy strong and flourishing in the future. Renting will allow the population to follow opportunity much more readily than home ownership, moving forward. (In the past, when IBM stood for I've been Moved, home ownership was never a problem, because large companies simply bought up home at market value to remove any burden from their employees - times have changed.)
The concept entails sound thinking, and will have a major impact on interior finishes. We would be moving towards the European model, so industries must develop products that are movable like kitchen furniture instead of built-ins - a radical change for many material and product suppliers. There are many years to plan for this eventuality, but now is the time to plan ahead. - rather than let others countries become the winners like the Japanese automobile manufacturers became when the domestic manufacturers refused to build fuel efficient cars. (IKEA stands to become the go to cabinet manufacturer because they already know how to do this.)
We know that Washington needs more revenue, and whether and how fast this shift will happen, depends on who has the deeper pockets for lobbying to keep the tax write-offs for themselves and their customers.
Today, the British design and home furnishings troika of Sir Peter Osborne, Tricia Guild and William Yeoward discussed their personal connection to the Silk Road and how it has influenced their products. All three make annual pilgrimages to India both for inspiration and manufacturing. They certainly inspired the room full of designers who came to look and listen at the Boston Design Center. A historical perspective was also offered by moderator Pamela Parmal, David and Roberta Logie Curator of Textile and Fashion Art at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
Know for brilliant saturated color,Tricia Guild based her first collection, created almost 40 years ago, on the recoloring of hand-blocked Indian textiles. (In the 9/11 post below you can see one of the printing blocks that I found at Brimfield.) Her showroom is a must-visit on every trip to London, one can always expect to see trends being developed there.
Although Osbourne and Little prints are softer in color, all three spoke of floral inspiration (particularly the rose) as well as the ever important paisley decorative element. Also expect to see more pomegranate designs. (Above from Osbourne & Little) The hundreds of years of continuity of these designs are comfortable and familiar, and have been a part of our design heritage since the first link was created from Asia to Europe - the Silk Road. All three designers have updated the various Asian, Indian and Middle Eastern influences to fit today's lifestyle. We never grow tired of worn classic cabbage rose patterns and embrace every new version of Silk Road interpretations that are introduced, particularly on the East Coast.
Yesterday was my first visit back to the Brimfield Antique Shows since the beginning of the current recession. Somehow, it all seemed fresh and reinvigorating to me, maybe it was because I skipped a few years - but now my interest has been rekindled. Forgive me for use of these cliche RE words, but this is a venue where they truly apply. Reuse and recycle truly mean something where everything that is offered has a past. Frank Luntz says in his book Words that Work: "…The so-called “re” words… are incredibly powerful because they take the best elements or ideas from the past and apply them to the present and the future.”
This applies to the wonderful world of Brimfield and the antiques and collectibles that have past lives - from parts of farming machinery that become enormous outdoor sculptures, to vintage fabrics applied to create charming lampshades to tin ceilings made into mirror frames along with the expected antiques that are looking for another home.
I have always looked to Brimfield to supply some of the ingredients that go into the stew that I consider as sources for home furnishing trends. The shelter magazine editors are always there, so expect to see many of the things that they find at Brimfield incorporated into future stories.
Trend-wise, of course antique shows are tradition, but more recent decorative objects, such as the recycled metal sculptures, could also be found. Although a constant throughout the decorative arts, there is a renewed interest in the influences and trade objects of the Silk Road as large selections from Pakistan could be found at various booths. After a decade of neutrals, the bold colors seen in the fall couture could be found here and there and I will address that in a separate post.
In a recent article in the NY Times: When Creativity Diminishes Along With the Cash Nicolai Ouroussoff worries that the new diminished plans for the Parrish Art Museum on LI "suggest the possibility of a worrying new development in our time of financial insecurity. It is a creeping conservatism — and aversion to risk — that leaves little room for creative invention."
Yes, conservatism and a return to the familiar is no surprise and quite common in insecure economic times. There will always be trends, but the current "trend" is to look back to iconic products that have stood the test of time and do not scream: "I brought this in the 2nd half of 2009" as we saw during the recent boom-boom times. It is simply a fact of life.
Added 8/14: Saw an ad on TV last night (am clueless who it was for) that said - and I am paraphrasing: "We are going from trends to tradition." The perfect sentiment for the times.
I picked up a copy ofThe Shadow of the Silk Road as soon as it was published, because the idea of the Silk Road has intrigued me since high school history class. The book languished unread for a few years, there always seemed to be more pressing matters. This summer, I finally started reading about this part of the world, so unfamiliar that I kept my laptop turned on by my side so I could google images of the places in Colin Thubron's adventures. My imagination couldn't comprehend the exotic places he was writing about, despite his beautiful descriptions. As a visual person, I spent almost as much time with his hand drawn maps as I did reading, so that now I even know exactly where the Uighur unrest is taking place.
And yes, this does have something to do with interior trends. Following trends is about observing the convergence of ideas. Today, I received my new Garnet Hill catalog and discovered another traveler along the Silk Road - the textile merchant, John Robshaw. I can't believe I previously missed this lovely collection of textiles both made and inspired by the artisans and patterns of the Silk Road of both long ago and today.
Both men stay in "funny old hotels;" while Thubron brought back words, Robshaw brings back textiles and future design inspiration. His historically inspired hand-crafted imperfect textiles speak to those of us that are tired of computer generated perfection just like the Arts and Crafts era was a reaction to the first machine manufactured goods.He may just be the new and more authentic Ralph Lauren for our "less gilded age."Trends point strongly towards "the local" and "Buy American" for interiors, but for those who want more exotic looks, supportingartisans from around the world and helping them build lasting and sustainable craft enterprises is the NEW GLOBAL. This is John Robshaw's inspiration, product source and business model.
Both the media and the blogosphere absolutely adore the John Robshaw line, his influence will be felt in finishes as well as textiles - if only in the move towards less perfect, more hand-crafted looks.
We are never told "why" the use of the word "Gamma" which is the third letter in the Greek alphabet, but we are presented with a detailed description of what makes a woman a "Gamma" by the Meredith Corporation, the leading media company that is best know for publishing "Better Homes and Garden." The company may have offices in New York City, but its heart is in middle America, where it is headquartered.
The "Gamma Woman" may be the just another buzzphrase, but Meredith's report:The Gamma Factor: Women and the New Social Currency redefines the consumer precisely for the current economy. The report identifies five key personality profiles within today's Gamma mindset.
· Connector – She believes people can accomplish more together than they can alone. She enjoys sharing her experiences, passions and recommendations with her network of friends and family. Fluent in social interactivity aspects of Web 2.0, her interest stems from a desire to keep in touch rather than simply the love of technology.
· Catalyst – She wants to impact her community, and ultimately the world at large, in meaningful ways. She finds great pleasure in volunteering her time and inspiring others to do the same.
· Family-Focused – These Gammas put their family first; work exists to serve family needs, not the reverse. She looks to family and close friends to stay grounded and considers her loved ones her personal board of advisors. She uses technology to seek out information, but relies more heavily on personal connections for support.
· DIY Creator – She lives life by her own compass and expresses herself by creating. She enjoys sharing ideas and techniques with fellow enthusiasts.
The 40th Anniversary of the moon landing has spawned a stream of backward looks to that era. What did those times look like? The New York Times published a photo-essay of the year 1969.
Color is playful! Color is fun! Color is profound? Paint manufacturers all offer infinite color on demand in a mostly commodity item, but each as found a creative way to engage those that arrive at their website. This is Benjamin Moore's entry into the paint wars, and it is charming for the wordsmiths among us. Turn one of the selected words into your favorite color and leave your thoughts on the word and color combination behind for posterity. Consumer engagement at its best.
This slide show is my favorite tribute to Paolo Soleri, whose 90th birthday will be celebrated at Arcosanti this year. It is fitting that his birthday falls on the Solstice, as he truly designed for and lived sustainably long before Al Gore started his "creative" endeavors. The website at Arcosanti explains how he lived with the land at both Arcosanti and Cosanti, his homes in Arizona.
And who says that youtube is only for youngsters? Some, like the creator of this particular youtube slide show are contemporaries of Soleri and definitely young at heart.
I see this as only about 5% of the problem. Actually a bigger problem related to this is that the labor force can't keep up with the innovations that exist already. All the ads notwithstanding, one need only read all the complaints about dealing with and living with today's technology. Often we find it is just not worth the hassle until companies get their technology foolproof. Help desks, no matter in which country they answer the phone, are less helpful every day that goes by.
A recent article in theThe Atlantic (May 2009) The Quiet Coup , IMHO represents 80%, if not 100% of today's reality. The article suggests that we are on our way to becoming a banana republic. The causes of the downturn presented in this article by Simon Johnson, a professor at MIT’s Sloan School of Management, and former chief economist at the International Monetary Fund during 2007 and 2008, give more insight into the seeds of the recent downturn in our economy than the simple explanation in the Businessweek video.
Trends often change so subtly, as to be barely perceptible. Much has changed in the global culture in the past year, and as I sit inside during yet another snowstorm, I started asking myself - have last years ideas evolved enough at this point to change direction? I reviewed what I had written as important parts of the ideas inherent in hyper-authenticity and found them to be viable into the new year:
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