Windows: From Marketing to Design Inspiration is Wednesday, May 22, 2013  from 9:00 am – 3:00 pm. We’ll be at the Redtail Country Club, Deven, MA

The Custom Client: Who They Are & How to Deliver a Luxury Window Experience

This highly informative presentation is based on exclusive research on the custom window treatment market, featuring in-depth analysis of custom window treatment purchasing-by region by product style and more, along with the crucial factors that drive purchasing decisions.

Luncheon

Window Fashions: Where Inspiration and Technique Meet

This class will cover design lessons in the elements and principles that make up the vocabulary of design including proportion theory and The Golden Rectangle. – Scale, Balance, Line, color. Finally we’ll show whole round of treatments; showcasing dozens of designs and discussing fabrication details and the finer design points of each. Your camera is a must to build a portfolio and to capture every idea. This class will pump you up with design inspiration.

If you would like more info or have questions email Paula at paulamcilveen@comcast.net 

 Florals

Watercolor florals are a major trend that continues to grow. Pixelated, brushstroked, painterly floral patterns) abound in all shapes and sizes. Some of the pattern’s delicate colorways forecast a move in to a more pastel palette. Moving forward, look for inspiration from exotic botanicals from around the world; moving into flora and fauna combos and new interpretations of the vegetable universe. Complementing these patterns are bold vivid stripes, modern embroidered sheers, and contemporary jacquard designs that create masculine balance to the decided femininity of these florals.

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Pattern Mashups

Now that we have embraced color in all kinds of ways and found that we can’t live without it, we are ready to swath our rooms in dizzy displays of pattern. Pattern mashups that are just around the corner.

Mix it up this season by patching together opposing print styles. Look for collaged  florals with geometrics, engineered pattern repeats,  inlays of  soft filtered photos into hard edged forms for a modern look and  manipulated motifs from across the globe.  Geometrics are the glue that holds it all together, but the lattice and fretworks patterns we covet peaking. The “Neo Geo” looks take their cues from past decorative arts movement like Art Deco and Bauhaus. These patterns look fresh in more angular, packed and smaller scale designs. On the horizon- honeycombs, hexagons or shapes within a shape.

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Stripes

You name it I saw it- vertical, horizontal, broken, brushstrokes, awning and pin stripes. Every manufacturer had at least one in its collection and they appeared in all kinds of color schemes and sizes.

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Shine/ metallic

Bling is a thing of the past for the high-end market. Over the top luxury is not in-your-face anymore; it is about the quality and the story behind the sophistication. That said, it is clear that metallics are on the rise again. If you are looking for materials for wallcoverings, upholstery, window treatments, room dividers, or lighting you can’t go wrong with metallics. Metallics and metals in all forms made their presence known at the shows.  Look for burnished lusters and polished looks- not  the crass bling.  Rose gold and copper are on the upswing. Metallics with colored undertones, mother of pearlescents and highly  lacquered  finishes will be in demand. Shine evolves with opulent textiles such as satin, silk, & velvet using sleek shapes& clean lines.

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Emerald might be the Pantone color of the year but blue was the star at  the European shows. Blue is definitely a key color for 2013, with hues ranging from sapphire to turquoise and good old denim blue making us fell as comfy as we do in our favorite pair jeans. Touches of red echo back to the Americana. Does upstart Teal offer a compromise between blue and green?

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Lace is Back

After this last round of shows; we can confirm it. Lace is back and hotter than ever. But we are not talking about traditional lace that is created by twisting, looping, or knitting thread in patterns. The lace that is popular today is  lace motifs themselves. We are seeing an impressive array of net, tulles, laser cuts and interpretations and reinterpretations of the motif that moves lace out of grandma’s trunk and into the contemporary arena.

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Modern English

Design is still on a high from last summer‘s London Olympics, not to mention gaga for Downton Abbey and we’re seeing no slowing down on the the rebirth of English design. It’s manifesting itself  in several forms from boarding  school looks like crests, plaid, flannels, and herringbones; Tradtional Twists of  updated classic looks like chesterfields, Union Jacks, with inspiration from 60’s Twiggy and  Abbey Road to  English Country- Bloomsbury florals,  soft faded wovens, natural lines, and wools.

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These innovations could have a profound effect on the world, but the 3D printing industry does have at least one drawback — price. Smaller printers, designed for printing toys and other small gadgets, can be as little as $1,000, but the larger, more professional models can cost anywhere from $14,900 to $59,000. And the really advanced, heavy duty models? Those can set you back more than $600,000. Other cons include the controversies of 3D-printed guns and the threat of copyright infringement.Nonetheless, there’s currently a huge market for 3D printing — $1.7 billion to be exact. And that number is expected to reach $3.7 billion by 2015.

What is 3D Printing?

Additive manufacturing or 3D printing is a process of making three dimensional solid objects from a digital model. 3D printing is achieved using additive processes, where an object is created by laying down successive layers of material. 3D printing is considered distinct from traditional machining techniques which are subtractive-  relying on the removal of material by drilling, cutting etc. 3D printing is usually performed by a materials printer using digital technology.

Could 3D printing eventually change the world and even make mass manufacturing obsolete? Who knows. But if  3D printing isn’t on your radar; check out what been going on and  where it is popping up . We might be designing interiors with Makerbots 5 years from now.

3 D Printing Popping Up- The 3D Printer Experience pop-up opens April 15^th in Chicago where it will house a live streaming production studio dedicated to 3D printing. Visitors can also register for 3D printing workshops such as Introduction to 3D Scanning or Build Your Own Printer.

PSFK recently predicted that we’ll be 3D printing our clothes at home by 2050

Dita Von Teese walks the runway in a 3 D printed gown.

Nike Debuts First 3D-Printed Football Cleat

If vending machines can dispense beer, pizza and movies, why not 3D-printed objects? Combining the hyper-local convenience of Redbox with cutting edge technology, Dreambox is a vending machine invented by Berkley students that aims to fuel the 3D-printing revolution from the bottom up. Gotta love the younger generation.

LASER CUT BY OKSANA

KNOLL STRIPED SHEER

MANDALA

Window fashion stylings also appear lighter; even when layered and have volume created by good bone structures. Stationery panels are still popular but are moving toward full blown traversing draperies to control light, sound and shut out the world when you want. Look for Ripplefolds mounted at the ceiling, layered looks and more interest and structure at top, bottom and edges of panels. 

Color is bigger than ever followed closely by pattern. Look for color blocked panels, bold awning stripes or alternating colors that create rhythm at the window.

COLORBLOCKS BY PASSAYA

Lace is back, and we’ll see an impressive array of net, tulles, laser cuts and interpretations of the motif that moves lace out of grandma’s trunk and into the contemporary arena.

OPHELIA – JAKOB SCHLEAPFER

ALICIA -NYA NORDISKA

Drapery hardware also gets sleeker and more elegant. Smaller diameters are replacing tired looking overscaled wood poles. Round poles gave way to rail systems and now they are being joined by other geometric forms like octagons Stainless steel and chrome finishes add refinement to the looks. On the horizon- Brass- unlacquered, lacquered, antiqued and warmed up with interesting undertones.  Many collections include rods with inner profiles for sliders, plexi poles or transparent mounts, giving them the appearance of floating freely within the room.

ECLIPSE- BRADLEY COLLECTION

WALCOT HOUSE

NEON BYRON & BYRON

Trimmings can be obtained in countless colors, shapes and sizes with woven tapes leading the way.

SAMUEL AND SONS

Double roller blinds comprised of two panels with alternating opaque and transparent striped segments moving one behind the other are the up-and-comers this season. These blinds make it possible to vary both the view and the amount of light let through as desired. Roller shades continue to grow in popularity now offered in an array of colors and patterns for the fashion forward.

WOOL APPLIQUED SHEER PANEL TRACK

LASER CUT ROMAN SHADE BY OKSANA

SUN FABRICS

COULISSE

 The Way to Personal Branding created by SeStyle helps you get started and gives you a great layman’s tour to your personal brand strategy outlined in these 9 steps:

 •Who are you?

 •How are you perceived?

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Check out the infographic for details.