June 2016 / Bridging the Gap


Located throughout the world, the Trendease Team continues to deliver our subscribers around the globe must-know market information and inspiration straight to their computer screens.

In this issue we connect multiple things as well as make the difference between them. Case in point is the designer maker versus technology; here we examine how they can coexist and work together with 3D printed ceramics. The distance between design and manufacturing is localized at Meet the Manufacturer. Lighting, textiles, tabletop, furniture all take on new forms while staying true to their function at ICFF, WantedDesign, NYCxDESIGN, CDW and more. Get inspired with the June edition!

We attend over 100 design events a year on your behalf to bring you trend insights and design movements to help you maintain cutting-edge knowledge of the lifestyle and design markets. Currently we keep readers within 173 countries/territories in the know! Are you reading Trendease.com?

Show us what you’ve got! For editorial consideration please email editorial@trendease.com with your latest original designs. Upcoming Trendease Market Edge PowWows and Trendease.TV scheduling can be found on the homepage.

REPORTING TO INSPIRE,
Jennifer Castoldi,
Chief Creative Director

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Features and Articles

Woven jacquard

Jennifer's June Journal

New York — Not wanting to disappoint you, we were on our toes most of May at events researching the market on your behalf! Read and see the latest reports here on these events as well as cross-referenced examinations, plus enjoy Part II of our Fashion Institute of Technology Textile/Surface Design coverage, this time featuring woven jacquards and hand woven textiles from the students.

Where Do You Meet the Manufacturer?

London — A visit to London’s Truman Brewery at the end of May introduced us to the niche event Meet the Manufacturer. It is an exclusive trade show / conference / workshop of approximately 150 companies who produce entirely in Britain. This was the optimal opportunity to talk with knitters, weavers, tanneries, and leathergoods producers for the British fashion, textile, and homeware industries of all sizes. Most of them also cater to international clientele as well.

Adding 'Human' to 3D Printed Ceramics

Worldwide — Some people may say there is still a long way to go with 3D printing ceramics and others would argue we have already come leaps and bounds over the last few years. Out of the Trendease travels we can honestly say that the world is looking at these processes, but on closer inspection the main innovators appear to be coming from the Netherlands, and traveling the globe. Here is a look at a few.

Lights that Take Flight

New York — ‘Mythical’ may not be the first word one would chose to describe lighting; however, we discovered a few pieces during New York design week at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF) and a gallery party that are more on the side of fantasy, bringing sculpture and function together as one. The fanciful lights do truly exist and add whimsy to interiors both residential and commercial.

Visiting the Heart of Creation

Brooklyn — In May during NYCxDESIGN Trendease took the journey over to Brooklyn to explore WantedDesign Brooklyn and the Industry City Open Studios. And who doesn’t love to visit creatives in their natural habitat: their studios?! We had a blast discovering the latest exploits from textile and graphic designers, screen printers, sculptors, painters, glass artists, photographers, woodworkers, jewelers, and material manipulators.

Ryo Anno

Long Live Material Experimentation

Brooklyn — During our NYCxDESIGN excursions we came upon Talking Textiles at WantedDesign Brooklyn. This is an exhibition curated by Li Edelkoort and Philip Fimmano showcasing submissions from The Dorothy Waxman Textile Design Prize, a competition open to students worldwide presently registered in a textile, fashion, or knitting class creating inventive fashion, interior, or lifestyle textiles. Winning is based on creativity, innovation, and aesthetics.

TERRA FIRMA by Connie Huang

Furniture & Tactility

Risskov — In Denmark VIA Design’s 6th semester furniture students explored the theme of tactile furniture and its personal meaning, which resulted in 16 new and very different pieces furniture such as an elastic hammock woven of rubber rings, a bench that invites you to mess with it - and rearrange the small mushrooms -inspired cushioning devices that are very hard to keep your hands off, and many more.

Second Runner Up Geode

The Odd Couple: Laminate & Cherry Pie

New York / Detroit — The annual ‘Wilsonart Challenges Student Chair Design Competition’ unveiled the results of its 12th edition at ICFF, this year featuring original creations from students of the College for Creative Studies who received a brief to “design for delight”. Wilsonart notes that the competition challenges the future generation of designers to go above and beyond form and function to encapsulate a story and project an emotion with their body of work, all the while celebrating the versatility of laminate.

NEWSLETTER #549 - Brexit to New York

New York / London — We cheekily titled this newsletter ‘Brexit to New York’ because on June 23rd the United Kingdom will vote on the referendum question of whether or not the UK should remain in the European Union (Britain + exit = Brexit); and if you add this to the stellar line up the British European Design Group brought to New York’s International Contemporary Furniture Fair, there is much tongue and cheek with which to play.

NEWSLETTER #550 - The Wild Side of CDW

London — Clerkenwell Design Week is always an experience. Exploring the subterranean House of Detention, St. James’s Church Garden, the Crypt on Clerkenwell Green, Fabric Nightclub, Spa Fields, The Order of St. John majestic Church, Crypt, and Cloister garden, plus the numerous surrounding showrooms and pop-ups is as much about the places as it is the products. It’s an urban creative scavenger hunt! This newsletter and gallery is about the wild side of CDW.

NEWSLETTER #551 - Clever with Materials

Multiple European Cities — It appears that more and more independent designers are opting to move from producing seasonal collections to focusing increasingly on the contract market and that of customized projects – a logical step for many who cannot compete on price in their mainline collections, but have sufficient talent to develop unique pieces. From felt to knits, to glass and ceramics, there is a plethora of creations that warrant a look.