Displays were photographed in the following showrooms: Burton & Burton, Melrose, Raz, Sullivans and Twos Company. All photographs were taken with permission. Many of the showrooms do not allow photography. Please note, all designs are copyrighted by the designers and manufacturers and are protected by international copyright laws.
This is not intended to be a trend report per se. The photographs and notes (below the photos) are merely provided to give you an idea of what is available to retailers to purchase for their stores. Christmas items have already been ordered, but Spring items won't be available to the consumer until 2012. For the most part, the consumer wants to make what they see in the stores and catalogs, so hopefully this will give you a small insight into some of the colors and designs which may become popular next year. Enjoy!
As I walk passed the showrooms, I take particular note of what is being displayed at the front. I note the colors, textures and images and eventually see recurring themes or "trends" if they are in more than 2 or 3 of the larger showrooms. I also talk to showroom sales reps to see what has sold well and what hasn't. Here's a summary of my notes from yesterday:
Colors: There are a lot of bright, jazzy colors out there, but also pale muted, natural colors like sage and taupe. I think it depends on what you are decorating - a girls room (hot pink and black), or your patio. I saw fewer color choices for Christmas. Red, Green and white still dominate, but if you want a pink Diva/Princess tree, you'll be able to find it, no problem, but it's not "up front and center". Lime green, bright orange and bright pink were recurring color combinations and bright teal is popping up especially with black.
Texture: Twigs, burlap, sackcloth, felt, knitted items (especially for Christmas including a sock elf), fabric and either a very dense velour or tight nap velvet. Lots of metal. It's always there, but there was more gray, vintage yet elegant metal items. I also saw painted metal accessories and colored foil items, for Halloween & Spring in a couple of showrooms. Glitz is still popular and could be found on all kinds of surfaces. Lots of wire bird cages, but not as much black wire sculpture as I've seen in the past. I saw dyed wood baskets and containers in a couple of places.
Images: Birds and butterflies everywhere. Every year my friend always sees cats, because she loves cats. I don't (except for Halloween). I like cats too, but I'm more of a dog person and this year I saw a few dogs..... one sales person told me that anything "dog" is wildly popular, but we'll see. Scotties are still great decorating images for lots of surfaces....... and, ok, cats too. Not as much "Chef" to see this time and cupcakes didn't dominate like they have in the past. Peace signs and flowers in abundance and animal prints can still be seen on everything from packaging to furniture and fabric. Snowmen still rule and elves are everywhere. I only saw penguins in one of the smaller showrooms. Since Mr.Popper's Penguins is out this summer and I understand there's a Happy Feet 2 in the works, I thought I'd see more. According to a sales person in one of the showrooms, they had a cute penguin line a couple of years ago, but it bombed so they shipped them all back to the South Pole. There are a few gnomes around, but not the cartoony, garish ones. We'll have to see whether they have staying power in the US or not. You can find gnomes in small gardens all over the UK. I remember visiting gnome gardens on Anglesey (off the coast of Wales) and in Polperro (in Cornwall) over 55 years ago and lots of folk had one or two gnomes in their gardens.
Flowers: All kinds, but more hydrangeas, daisies, ranunculous and geraniums. Hydrangeas were a big part of the "natural" muted side of decorating whereas bright colorful gerber daisies and red geraniums were more for an upbeat decorating style.
Folk Art Flowers: I saw bright, flowered hand painted items on a display right in front of the World Trade Center, then in 2 of the larger showrooms. I may have noticed this because I like Folk Art and all things flowers, but didn't see anything like this last January. Interesting. We'll have to keep an eye for items like this in the catalogs. It may be out there, but it doesn't mean it will sell thru. I've already got my brushes out....... LOL
That's it......... please feel free to e-mail me if you have any questions.
Yours truly,
Julie :)
