Hi everyone,
Just to let you know we’ve now moved our blog to www.trendbible.co.uk/blog so that we can upgrade the quality and volume of information we share with you, so there will be no further posts on this particular blog. Please be sure to visit our new blog and subscribe to our feed! We look forward to seeing you there!
Joanna Feeley
Founder and Creative Director
Filed under Uncategorized
We’ll it’s not all hard graft* here at Trend Bible HQ – we do have some glorious tasks that make us rejoice and be thankful for such creative and lovely jobs. The same can NOT be said for filing VAT returns (boo) cutting down Pantone swatches with very stiff scissors (ow) or getting the 7am train to Stansted (snore)… Take for example a sunny day back in August where our stylist Naomi Shedden joined the team to help style our shoot for the hotly anticipated Spring Summer 2012 trend books. Naomi was formerly Styling Assistant at House and Garden magazine in Sydney so it was a pleasure to work with her. We thought we’d share a few shots from the day in their rawest form, they’ll all make an appearance in the 8 trends across our Home and Kids books which are due for release mid October 2010, where they’ll make a lot more sense when put into context! So here’s a sneak peek…
* when checking how ‘universal’ this phrase was on the internet I stumbled upon this gorgeous collection! Yum.
Above images: Naomi Shedden for Trend Bible Copyright 2010.
Filed under Home Trends
Firmly on our radar this month is Julie Spurgeon’s delicate and gorgeous hand-made bone china tableware. We first noticed her as an exhibiting graduate at the Pulse show in London in 2008, and Julie is now exhibiting at the prestigeous London Design Festival this week. You can see more of her work at Hands On: Design Brought to Life, London Design Festival Exhibition:16 September – 29 October 2010 Arts Gallery, University of the Arts London, 272 High Holborn, WC1V 7EY. What we love about Julie’s work is her ability to add the fluidity and grace seen in folded textiles to the medium of porcelain – truly unique and absolutely lust-worthy! Grown-up glamour is a big trend this winter for fashion and beauty (think TV’s Mad Men,the launch of Gentlewoman magazine and the new Louis Vuitton ad campaign), and we see this direction for more elegant, ladylike refined designs spanning textiles, furniture and lighting too.
Above image: Copyright 2010, Julie Spurgeon
Above image: Copyright 2010 Julie Spurgeon
Above image: Copyright 2010 Julie Spurgeon
Above image: Copyright 2010 Julie Spurgeon
For more information please contact Julie at;
JULIE SPURGEON
E: mail@JulieSpurgeon.com
E: julie@MaterialPleasures.net
W: http://www.MaterialPleasures.net
Filed under The Trend Bible Radar
Here at Trend Bible, we’ve been talking about the personalisation of the retail experience for a while now. Forecasting future consumer trends accurately has a major impact on sales as this article shows. The below news feature can be seen in full by clicking here.
According to AMR’s Retail 2010 Outlook, demand-driven retailers are the ones that will gather valuable information at each point of interaction, make better use of their knowledge of shopper behaviour, and translate demand insight into effective response and shaping activities. The results are higher return on assets, more inventory turns, and greater revenue growth than their less mature demand-driven peers.
“The forward-thinking retailer is reorganising its business to become demand driven in order to get closer to the needs of the consumers,” says Alexandria Rumble, global product marketing director at TXT e-solutions. “This means using shopper insights to its full potential, connecting business processes, creating personalised offerings and giving consumers the power to browse, enquire, buy and return on any channel that most fits their needs. This allows retailers to meet the consumer need for flexibility and create brand loyalty, with a consistent brand message. Ultimately retailers are putting the consumer first, but in the most profitable way possible to the business.”
But becoming a successful demand-driven retailer is not without its challenges. “Retailers need to get the balance right between demand responsiveness and the need to maintain efficient inventory levels,” says Masson. “We’ve seen massive swings from inventory levels that were too high going into 2009, too low through most of 2009 and rising again in 2010. According to Aberdeen Group’s April 2010 report The State of Retail Logistics, ‘the need to respond to demand’ and ‘reducing current inventory levels in stores, channels, and warehouses’ are the top two pressures impacting retail supply chains.”
New technology will empower retailers to diversify their strategies for reaching the consumer, but will have the potential to place immense strain on product availability, inventory levels and costs
Alexandria Rumble, TXT e-solutions This is extremely important when you consider that pursuing a customer-centric strategy necessitates that the retailer must carry products that are relevant to its customers. “Having the right products available for customers walking through your door has always been the retailer challenge,” agrees John Ewing, sales and marketing director at Demand Solutions. The problem is that consumer choice has risen tenfold through the power of the internet. Consumers can now reach retailers many thousands of miles away offering greater choice at lower prices. So, today’s retailers face much tougher challenges if they are to survive. According to a Grocery Manufacturers Association study, 47 per cent of out of stock situations are caused by forecasting and inadequate store ordering. Considering that 31 per cent of consumers will go to another store if they cannot find the item they want, 26 per cent will substitute a different brand and 9 per cent will not purchase anything at all, both the vendors and the retailers need to do something to prevent lost sales.”
By looking at customers in a more granular way, retailers can find that differences in the products that customers like and want can differ widely across different stores. With this in mind, in order to provide relevant products, retailers need to localise. “Retailers must do a better job of delivering assortments that customers want to buy,” says Masson. “It’s not enough to get the assortment right at the aggregate level, retailers must deliver the right size and quantities to meet the specific needs for consumers of every store.”
Filed under News
At Trend Bible, one of our core principles is to look at current societal and cultural shifts in order to predict future consumer trends and changes in taste.
One of the most prominent directions we’ve noticed during the recession is a distinct shirt towards families spending more time at home. The financial restraints imposed by the recession have meant that we eat in instead of going to a restaurant, watch films at home instead of go to the cinema and invited friends over instead of socialising in pubs and bars. It’s this big picture direction that has brought about a focus on the home, and more specifically the kitchen as the epicentre of all activity.
The increase in culinary TV shows such as the BBC’s Great British Bake Off, Masterchef and Great British Menu also tell us something of our current obsession with food and cooking in the UK. With a quarter of households now reportedly growing their own vegetables in an effort to self-sustain and beat the effects of the recession, and with an increase in visitors to farmers markets, there are many new products dedicated to harnessing our desire of bringing the outdoors in, like the kitchen prep table by Adele Bird, below.
Above image; Adele Bird
Bakeware, in particular, is enjoying a renaissance, as consumers look toward nostalgic pastimes in times of economic uncertainty (craft is undergoing a similar revival with knitting groups on the rise and a jump in membership to the Women’s Institute), with colourful silicone and acrylic utensils in soft pastel colours that linger on from the vintage inspired trends of 2009. As we move into 2011, these pastel colours continue to be important, yet the vintage elements give way to a cleaner, minimalist aesthetic associated with the start of a fresh decade.
Above image: Dining and Kitchen page from the Trend Bible Autumn Winter 2011/12 Home Trends book
Colour is also becoming a key statement for kitchen units, as consumers demonstrate confidence with colour and pattern through use of wallpapered feature walls and bold decorative accessories in other rooms of the home. Traditional ‘white goods’ it seems are no longer white, with even the most permanent items in the home becoming colourful and highly decorated. For kitchen units, the key materials are still wood / wood effects and high gloss white, although we really like bright flashes of colour on the insides of drawers and cupboards, as seen at WIS Design. (image WIS Design).
Kitchens now have to work hard to facilitate cooking, dining, laundry as well as transforming into home office. This trend for multi-use kitchens is set to be big, with the expected increase of the ‘flexible workforce’ meaning that our homes need to be accessible work hubs where we can facilitate virtual meetings, deliver presentations and host conference calls.
Although the current trend is for nostalgia and seeking comfort in the familiar, watch out for a new futuristic dimension to food on the horizon. Recently we’ve being talking to our clients about the future of convenience food and how this will impact kitchen design, and one of our favourite findings is MIT’s Cornucopia ‘food printer’ which uses a series of ingredients cartridges to whip up meals and snacks and literally ‘prints’ them out in 3D. Similarly, the Philips’ Food Printer is inspired by chefs like Ferran Adria and Heston Blumenthal, and provides molecular gastronomy at the touch of a button by using the principles of rapid prototyping. Unappetizing as they sound today, they tap into a broader trend for ultimate convenience which is very current.
Enquiries to commission trend reports can be emailed to enquiries@trendbible.co.uk.
Filed under Home Trends
Office Administrator – Temporary position
Location; Highgate, North London
Selvedge Ltd
Selvedge magazine is a textile publication directed towards an international, discerning audience. Selvedge covers textiles in every context: fine art, interiors, fashion, travel and shopping. As well as being a bi-monthly publication, we have a retail space and mail order site selling textile products and the publication.
Selvedge is currently seeking an administrative assistant to provide support to all areas of our business. This is a temporary role until the end of the year. This is an ideal position for a recent graduate looking to gain confidence and experience within an established but growing company.
Duties:
– Customer service
– Attending trade fairs – this will involve selling subscriptions, promoting Selvedge to potential customers and the merchandising of our stand
– Helping with the organisation of our upcoming Christmas Fair. This will involve liaising with exhibitors and the venue on a regular basis
– Assisting customers in our retail space
– Packing orders and working with our drygoods range, pricing and organising stock
– Subscription mailings and assisting with sending out all new subscriptions from our office on a weekly basis
– Editorial research for upcoming issues
– Updating the website, including regular blog posts and emailers
Requirements:
– Flexibility, you must be willing to work some weekends
– An excellent telephone manner, the ability to talk to our customers with confidence is essential
– Excellent computer skills ideally on Macs, including Microsoft Office and Adobe Photoshop
– You must be a quick learner and able to take instruction
– A good work ethic is essential
– Previous office experience is preferable
– You must have an interest in magazines and in textiles
– You must be able to work independently
– You must live in London
– You must be available to start this position immediately
Selvedge is produced by a small, dedicated team. The suitable candidate must be able to work effectively within the team with the ability to operate efficiently and decisively in a fast paced environment.
Hours: 40 hours a week. Please note this will involve weekend work as we have many trade fairs on the lead up to Christmas. Please do not apply if you cannot work weekends.
Website: www.selvedge.org
To apply: Please send your CV with an accompanying letter to: marketing@selvedge.org
Closing date: Monday 6th September 2010
Filed under Uncategorized
The New York International Gift Fair ran August 2010 at the Javits Center in New York, USA. The show is a key destination for buyers and designers from around the world with 2,800 exhibitors and over 35,000 attendees. As we’ve reported from various other show, there is an overall sense of optimism, fun and positivity as we start to emerge from the ashes of the global recession. It seems the exhibitors and attendees agreed with us. “This is a very exciting time for design. When the economy suffers, creativity thrives” explained Tony Moxham of DFC, one of the exhibitors at the show. We sent our US trend editor Estela Lugo to check out the key directions at this years show. Next year’s show will run from January 29 – 3rd February 2011.
Hard Lines
We’ve reported on this new, cleaner aesthetic from the Maison show in Paris in January, through to New Designers in London in July, and here we’re seeing it in August in New York. Bold, clean shapes and geometric print and pattern featured heavily- watch out for prisms and squared-off shapes as print icons and shape direction for decorative accessories.
above image: lighting at the NYIGF
Hammered metals, bronze casts and mixing gold glazes with rustic enamels were seen at the show. Texture is the key message here. 
above images left to right: frame by
Our typography obsession continues! Vintage style fonts were used across ceramics and tableware, paperweights and packaging design.
This trend has been evident at all the key shows this summer and who better to demonstrate how colour updates classic pieces than Pantone? Consumers have more confidence than ever using colour in their homes, from smaller items like accessories through to more permanent items like wallpaper and furniture. 
Birds and flowers are mainstay print icons but we love these vintage style illustrative versions as spotted at NYIGF. We flagged up botanical and anatomical studies and sketches as part of a trend called Secret Garden for Spring Summer 2011 in our Kids Lifestyle Trends for the Home book.
Filed under Trade Show Reports
With the trend towards crafted textiles gaining some serious momentum, this timely exhibition by Donya Coward is best described as ‘textile taxidermy’ but is as much about preserving textiles as it is about animals. Donya lovingly creates these fabric collages depicting dogs using found fabrics, knit, crochet and jewelry. Donya will be exhibiting these little treasures alongside her never before seen freestanding sculptures that incorporate the same style of working. We highly recommend you check it out at the Margo Selby Gallery, London, until 2nd October 2010. The Margo Selby shop itself is well worth checking out and features on the Trend Bible Shopping List for those international visitors who want to know the best places to shop while here in the UK.
Images above; Donya Coward
We have also noticed a few other doggy collagers (!), check out self-taught contemporary artist Michel Keck. Inspired by her own dogs she creates collages with a pop art feel, and with a percentage of all profits made going to PETA do we need any more reasons to snap one up!?
Images above; Michel Keck
We recently stumbled across the artist Pete Clark who is the creator of these humorous and highly original animal collages. These artworks are made from found paper like maps, letters and stamps found on many scavenging trips to flea markets, antique fairs and car-boot sales. 
Images above; Peter Clark
We love the recycled factor evident is all three artists’ work-which we think is brilliant inspiration for kids’ wall art.
Filed under Satellite Trends
With consumers cutting back on discretionary spend and taking less interest in home improvement, the homewares market is suffering. By the end of 2010 the market will have shrunk by 1.9%, resulting in a decline of £652m since its peak in 2008. With the robust growth of the last decade over, retailers will have to work harder to attract spend.
Levels of consumer confidence and activity in the housing market have improved, but not to levels where they will boost spending on homewares significantly. With the homewares market seeing either no growth or slow spending increases for the foreseeable future, to increase sales, retailers will have to gain share from competitors.
The departure of Woolworths, Rosebys and The Pier from the market during late 2008 and the beginning of 2009 has lessened the impact of the decline in the market and allowed the survivors to up their share. However, without similar failures they could find 2010 much harder, with a return to declining like-for-like sales highly probable.
According to a recent report from Datamonitor, the homeware market shrunk by 3.9% to £10.9bn in 2009. The report claims that those retailers with distinctive positioning will succeed, as the online market for home product purchases begins to shake up dynamics. The supermarkets have enjoyed growth in this sector this year, and Argow remains the leading homeware retailer brand in 2009, with John Lewis in second place with 5.2%. Dunelm Mill is the biggest gainer in 2009, as more retailers add spin-off homeware stores.
Trend Bible work with some of the UK’s leading retailers to help define future strategies and exploit opportunities for growth in a challenging financial climate. Accurate, well-informed trend forecasting can help brands pin-point catalysts for change, social and cultural events that will impact consumer behaviour, and determine how this will affect design and colour trends. We help our clients build strong, inspiring and commercially successful product ranges. To find out what we can do for you, please get in touch at enquiries@trendbible.co.uk.
Filed under News
This month our Spring Summer 2011 forecasts form the basis of a feature in Homestyle magazine. Check out the pages from our Home Trends book, below and see how Homestyle have interpreted our looks in this gorgeous shoot- it really brings the looks to life and shows their commercial appeal. If you want to order one of our limited edition trend books for Spring Sumer 2011, these are now being offered at a reduced price of £150 + postage. Each book has four inspiring trend themes, complete with colour palettes, Pantone cotton chips and actual swatches of wallpapers, fabrics and trims. We don’t have many left so place your orders asap by emailing enquiries@trendbible.co.uk.
above image: feature in August edition of Homestyle magazine, as presented by our glamorous assistant Rosie!
above image; feature in Homestyle magazine
above image: feature in Homestyle magazine
Filed under Press
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