Wednesday 30 May 2012

Design Trend Report 2012

A few weeks ago I attended the annual Trend Report presented by David Nemeth in conjunction with the Institute of Interior Design Professionals.



The report forecasts local and international trends for the décor and design industry based on the results on the annual Maison&Objet expo in Paris as well as the annual Salone Del Mobile expo in Milan.
These 2 exhibitions are the primary furniture and design expos in the world.

Here are a few interesting snippets…look out for them over the next year and see how many become a reality…or maybe not so much:


Simplistic Furniture with a High Wood Grain:





Slatted Timber:



Exposed or Bare Lightbulbs:





Upcycling:  (Note: Upcycling means you reuse a certain object to perform a completely different function. ie. It stays what it is...you just use it as something else. Recycling means changing an objects' form and making it into something else ie. melting down a tyre and using the rubber as a mat)





Botanical References:





Colour Blocking:


Retro Influences:




Industrial Style:




Old-School Trunks:



Evolution of Cane:




Use of Typography as a Decorative Element:



Coloured Glass:



Intricate Wirework:



Below are the forecasted colour tones/hues for the next year:


Greens are still in...but in softer, creamier tones.


Greys make a big comeback...but in warmer hues.


Metallics are still huge...but the focus has moved onto Bronze.



Neutrals tend towards the Mushroom colours.




Berry shades are still in favour.



Blues are soft and powdery and lean more towards the grey scale.


Mustard yellows help to brighten things up a bit.



There have also been interesting developments on the retail side of things with the arrival of the:


These have been the answer to the current economic crisis as well as the ever increasing cost of retail rental space.

These temporary shops pop up for short periods of time in empty parking lots, unused retail spaces and in shopping mall centre courts.



They are small, temporary and tend to sell specialist or once-off branded products...then they pack up and move on to somewhere else...




It's a great way to reach lots of curious customers in a cost effective way and it also generates huge hype around the particular brand.




Apparently these are all over Europe and the US at the moment...and it's only a matter of time before we start seeing them here in SA.

In fact, I saw an Adidas pop-up shop outside the Old Eds Virgin Active last week.They drove it in on a trailer...it operated for a few days and then it was gone!

I also visited a pop-up Art Gallery off Juta Street in Braamfontein a few weeks ago...it was set up in an old office space.

Interesting times...

Friday 25 May 2012

Jump City

Last weekend we took part in the Turbovite Jump City race…W.O.W.!


The race was organised by Shift Sport and Marketing (apparently they do a lot of these sorts of events…so good idea to get onto their mailing list asap) and was the first of it’s kind in Jozi.

Basically it was almost like an amazing race in the city. The route was a 10km run through the streets of Jo’burg with lots of obstacles to tackle along the way.


You could enter as an individual or as a team and there were prizes for the best dressed.

They only allowed 1000 entrants… which worked out perfectly as none of the obstacle stations were crammed, there was no pushing or shoving or traffic jams…in fact I was blown away by the amount of teamwork and camaraderie I encountered along the way.
The spirit of the day was fantastic and absolutely every participant had a fat smile on their faces!



My hubby and I entered as a team. Some of the obstacles were more difficult for the teams and you needed to work together in order to complete them.
Being a retired pro-athlete, my hubby is super competitive (yikes) and I was seriously concerned that things might get a bit hairy…..but wow! What a load of fun we had!
We helped and supported each other all the way and were super proud of our results.


It was such a great way to see Jozi and I was amazed by how clean and tidy the streets were. The cops and marshalls did an outstanding job re: stopping the traffic and we were cheered on by everyone from street vendors and taxi drivers to beggars and students! Such a vibe!

The obstacles were challenging (but not impossible) and the route was fairly flat and scenic.



We were all absolutely exhausted afterwards but then indulged in a cracker of a breakfast at 44 Stanley (gotta refuel you know?)

Rumours are that there will be another race towards the end of the year. If this is your thing, don’t miss out…such a great event, am still smiling! J




 

Monday 21 May 2012

We Heart It

We Heart It is a super cute little website that my sister recently introduced me to.

I suspect it is pretty similar to Pinterest...



People can submit cute, funky, fun images, quotes, photography, graphic design etc. for everyone to download, share, tag etc.








What I like most about it is that everything is grouped into themes...so it's easy to search for images related to a specific topic, word, feeling etc.







The website is a great resource for presentations, invitations, blogs...whatever!

I particularly like the visual quotes...they are so beautifully presented and I often email them to friends...or even to myself!







These are just a few of the images I loved so I guess you can safely assume that:





Have a great Monday and don't forget: