13 Design Trends

Posted on February 18, 2012 by Studio

Whilst delivering our Trend Events at SURFACES | Stone Expo in January, Floor Focus publisher Kemp Harr grabbed 5 minutes with our Managing Director to discuss trends forecast across the Autumn/Winter of 2012/13.

Watch the video to see what Victoria has to say about trend forecasting and the coming trends, as well as getting a sneak peek at the trend boards and colour palettes displayed in the trends hub Scarlet Opus curated at the SURFACES Expo:

You can see all of the interviews Kemp conducted for Floor Daily whilst at the SURFACES | Stone Expo 2012 HERE.

Full details of all the Autumn/Winter 2012/13 trends for the interiors sector are contained in our report The Opus, and our 6 trend boards for Autumn/Winter 2012/13 can be bought individually or as a set. Simply email designteam@scarletopus.com for more details.

IMM Cologne: Reviewed by Bojana Niksic

Posted on February 15, 2012 by Shelley

We are pleased to welcome to our family of Guest Bloggers, Bojana Niksic, US Representative for furniture company, Manulution. Today she shares her review of IMM Cologne.

January is the month when more than 150,000 professionals and those interested in the latest furnishing trends descend upon Cologne for IMM. Along with the Milan Furniture show, IMM is the most important fair of the global furnishings market. In addition to what it offers to established furniture professionals, IMM also provides a great platform for young designers to showcase their work, [D3] Design talents is presented within Pure Village, a hall dedicated to showing inspirational, new and innovative design concepts.

Manulution was one of several noteworthy exhibitors at IMM. Launched in 1927 by Adem Niksic in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Manulution’s parent company Rukotvorine is famous in South East Europe for its traditional hand-carved solid wood furniture. However, its innovative and authentic modern line is what qualified Manulution for the Pure Village.

What makes this line of furniture special are the modern design forms combined with traditional carved patterns, often in very abstract form. Manulution’s exhibit generated tremendous interest in the design community; the quality of their designs recognised by the international jury appointed by the German Design Council – they have won the prestigeous Interior Innovation Award at IMM 2 years running.

Pure Village is a small hall but very rich in design innovations, offering a wide range of new and fresh ideas to visitors. I was very impressed by the bold and brave attitude, and uniqueness, of some of the Designers’ ideas. Mexico’s Hierve presented a modern interpretation of the traditional wardrobe with their modular storage system; surrounded by a glass cabinet it can be used for storing clothes as well as showcasing just about anything.

Another experimental product, and Interior Innovation Award winner, was the Concept Kitchen designed by the German design studio, Kilian Schindler, for German kitchen accessories brand, Naber. This adaptable modular kitchen offers a changeable skeleton to it’s users. I liked the option that allows you to easily take your kitchen with you when you move locations!

One of the most interesting places at the show is always the Boulevard of Innovations, the exhibition presenting all the winners of the Interior Innovation Award.

Manulution’s Umbra Coffee Table was displayed there together with the other winners. The Umbra Coffee Table was constructed by joining together tiny ‘Penrose Prototiles’ in solid walnut – these specific prototiles are named after Sir Roger Penrose, a famous British mathematician who first investigated them in 1970s. The Designer, Jasna Mujkic, joined the prototiles to create an abstract tree form: walnut trees need 80 – 100 years to grow, what would otherwise be waste in the production process is used to create this table, made up of small pieces of left over walnut wood.

If you want to see the most renowned international design brands, the place to go is the Design Post: a permanent exhibition of the international design collections from the living, work, outdoor, and textile sectors. I am passionate about Scandinavian design, especially vintage from the 60s, that’s why I was looking forward to visiting the Design Post, a place where you can see new products from brands like Linteloo, Arco, Arper, and Carl Hansen all in the same, cosy showroom.

Originally designed to hold books, this charming ‘carousel’ can also serve as a kitchen/dining room piece. Designed by Roderick Vos for Linteloo.

I loved the Pivot Vanity table designed by Shay Alkalay for Arco.

Another company exhibiting in Design Post was the Tel-Aviv based lighting and furniture manufacturer, Aqua Creations. The Designer, Ayala Serfati, creates pieces both for residential and hospitality projects and offers custom solutions.

The Tokonoma lamps are made from handmade felt and wood, designed in the spirit of the objects usually displayed in the Japanese reception area: the Tokonoma.

After visiting the majority of the halls at IMM I began thinking about the major trends on show at the exhibition:

It seemed that many Designers were paying a lot of attention to comfort …

Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec’s Ploum Sofa for Ligne Roset

… Small, round side tables …

Lorenz * Kaz’s Secreto Coffee Table for Cole

E27′s Loll Table for Pulpo

… Practical and space saving products …

Michael Hilgers’ Flatmate Sekreter for Müller Möbel

… Transforming old into new – vintage products get a fresh look …

Hans Wegner’s CH33 chair for Carl Hansen & Son

… and wall systems …

Studio Parade’s Paperback Wall System for Spectrum

There are furniture fairs which you can explore, or get enough of, in a single day. IMM Cologne is not one of those. It captures your interest from the start, and keeps it growing through its offering of oh so many objects to admire, and so much inspiration.

Valentine’s Day Lovin’

Posted on February 10, 2012 by Shelley

Image Credit: Jackie on Flickr

After reading about the giant beating heart, ‘BIG ♥ NYC’, in New York City’s Times Square, we couldn’t let the big V pass by without a mention but wanted to bring you something more than what great gifts you can buy your loved ones (as an aside, if you are looking for something special, here are some ideas that are still fabulous). So, we asked some of our favourite industry people what they’re loving right now … here’s what they had to say:

Barbara Chandler | Best-selling Photographer and design journalist for the London Evening Standard

“This is a bit cheeky (and self-promoting) but the products I am loving right now are the ones I am developing myself based on the 180 images in my recently published book of London photographs, titled Love London (Batsford, £9.99).

I had the idea that I would like to see photographs on different media – textiles, say, and bone china. I found two wonderful business partners, DigetexHome of Manchester (high-quality digital printers with a wonderful design studio) and The New English of Stoke-on-Trent (bone china designers and makers).

[You can read more about The New English in our Trendspotting column for The National here.]

Liverpool Street to the Gherkin, Bone China plate – £39.95

What started as the idea for possibly some tea towels and a plate has grown into a fully fledged range, including huge wallpaper murals, and I am so excited, because we are working on getting this range into a major store by Easter. I just cannot reveal right now which store it is, as we have promised not to tell until we have the designs finalised. And would you believe it, we also had an approach from another central London store, which we had to turn down because of the first offer. At Interiors UK, Ercol came on board, and we showed their iconic studio couch with Love London photos.

I am trying to do something a bit different from the flood of graphic merchandise coming onto the market for the Jubilee and the Olympics. Many of my images go back 15 or 20 years. My products are a way of making photographs available to larger numbers of people in a way they had not thought of before. A cushion, say, is a medium for the photograph – though people seem to very much want to put them on their chairs!! The murals fill a whole wall in a way photographs have not done before.

Wallpaper mural showing detail of the drinking fountain outside St Paul’s Cathedral – from £99

After over 30 years of writing about products, it is beyond thrilling to have my own range. After spending a similar time taking photographs, usually with little end view, and mostly out on the street often in difficult circumstances, it is also beyond thrilling to have my work recognised in this way. The book is called Love London, and that’s the name we have given the merchandise – well, apparently I am a brand now! Thank you London for making all this possible for me personally – no wonder I love you!”

Follow Barbara on Twitter @sunnyholt

Beau McClellan | Artist and Designer

“My favorite pieces right now are of the Japanese clothing Designer, Rie Hosokai - she makes the most beautiful fashion designs using old techniques and she makes them all from balloons! Teaching us all that we can still develop a market for luxury products from very inexpensive materials and we don’t always have to look to the future to source new materials or work new techniques to create cutting edge designs but, we do need to search deep within to find the right inspiration.”

Follow Beau on Twitter @BeauMcClellan

Pratyush Sarup | Freelance Journalist and regular contributor to The National and Harpers Bazaar Interiors

“I guess I will go with the London based lighting Designer, Alex Booker of Lights Of London. I like how he elevates the humble drum lampshade to something bespoke with handwoven fabrics and individually hand screen printed illustrations and designs. The beauty is in the brilliance of something so simple.”

To contact Pratyush email pratyush.sarup@gmail.com and follow on Twitter @PratInTheCity

Bright pink lampshade with screen printed gold geometric print – £94

Rebecca Thompson | Dulux Colour & Design Manager

“My favourite product at the moment is something I recently bought, the Hare Clock in red from Lush Designs. Red is my favourite colour right now after the Dulux trend team revealed Red – Fire Cracker 4 as the colour for interiors for Spring/Summer 2012.”

Follow Rebecca on Twitter @BecThomp1

Hare Clock – £45

Selina Denman | Editor at The National

“I’m loving the Illusion armchair by Emirati Designer, Khalid Shafar. The piece is made out of stained ash wood and polyester rope — and its simplicity really appeals. PLUS, it’s always great to see homegrown talent creating truly striking design.”

Follow Khalid on Twitter @KhalidShafar

Leanne Prain | Writer, Yarn Bombing Blogger, Graphic Designer, and Guerilla Knitter!

“I’m currently in love with a necklace that I purchased from Heather Kraft at the One of a Kind Craft fair here in Vancouver. Heather, who is based in Seattle, cuts and binds pieces of old china dishes into whimsical, mid-century modernist designs. The necklace is beautiful, comfortable to wear, and I adore the fact that my jewelry has been re-purposed out of existing material.”

Follow Leanne on Twitter @LeannePrain

Lauren O’Farrell | Graffiti Yarnstormer & Writer

“At the moment I am a bit in love with my cross stitched iPhone case from Firebox. I used it to create a cross stitch version of my favourite Invader graffiti.”

If you think you have what it takes to be a “five star sneaky stitcher” you can join the Graffiti Yarnstorming Bootcamp in April.

Check out Lauren’s free Valentine’s pattern here, a knitted Smitten Softspot Heart!

Follow Lauren on Twitter @deadlyknitshade

Sabine Warlich | Interior Designer, Stylist, and Icon Baby Blogger

“At the moment I’m in love with the ‘Meteor’ table from Chista. The coffee table is made out of Bronze and I’m fascinated by the sculptural, organic feel. The design gives me ‘1000 & one’ ideas and I love it.”

Follow Sabine on Twitter @iconbaby

Phil Pond | Scarlet Opus Dreamweaver

“My favorite product right now is my Bread maker which just happens to be made by Kenwood and purchased at Lakeland. It’s not a fantastic looking piece of kitchen equipment, nor is it colourful; in fact much more could be achieved with both of these aspects I think – come on Kenwood! However, on a daily basis, I can share with Victoria freshly baked bread, the recipe of which ‘I have made up’ which is a really nice thing to do.

Having been making bread for a few months now, I discover that it’s easy to add flavours and ingredients that personalise the bread to me. This means that when I share the bread with people (OK I have to force myself to sometimes!) we all know exactly what is in it, and that thought was put into what they are eating by me, with the express purpose of making it pleasurable.

At the moment my favourite is very strong, white Canadian flour, fresh basil and rosemary, walnuts broken into small pieces, pumpkin seeds, a little sesame oil, and some fresh red chilli. Lovely jubbly!”

Follow the Dreamweaver on Twitter @Phil_Pond

Victoria Redshaw | Scarlet Opus Queen

“Right now I’m in love with Heather Gillespie’s ‘Break the Pattern’ collection of glass. This particular piece is featured in our Spring/Summer 2013 trend, Orient.”

Follow Heather on Twitter @hgglass

For more details on our Spring/Summer 2013 trend report, The Opus, contact designteam@scarletopus.com plus our trend boards can be purchased individually or as a complete package, with prices starting from £125.

Personally, right now I just can’t get enough of anything Lee Broom has had a hand in designing! I must must have his F A B U L O U S (you knew I would Victoria!) Salon Dining chair in Pewter with gunmetal studs for my bedroom.

We wish Lee the best of luck with his first solo exhibition in Milan this April, ‘Public House’.

Follow Lee on Twitter @leebroom

What are you loving right now? Join the discussion by leaving a comment at the top of this posting or tweet us your favourite products @scarletopus

If you haven’t seen New York’s beating heart installation by Danish architecture firm, BIG, here it is:

The 10-foot high interactive sculpture glows brighter and beats faster when couples touch the heart and hold hands or kiss. In celebration of Valentine’s Day, the installation will remain on view until the end of the month: ”More people = More love”