The show team at IMM Cologne just announced a great tour that will introduce English-speaking visitors to some of the off-site “mini design centers” that have sprung up around the city in recent years. The tour is arranged so that in a half-day, you’ll get to see three of the locations, multiple showrooms at each, have lunch and still end up across the street from the main show by mid-afternoon, leaving you plenty of time to explore the vast halls of IMM Cologne for even more design goodies!

The stops on the tour include: Rheinauhafen, Spicherhoefe and ending up at Design Post which is a year-round showroom destination right next to IMM. Some of the many showrooms you’ll be able to visit on this tour include: Boffi, B&B Italia, Moroso, Kvadrat, Nya Nordiska and many others.

For more information on the tour, contact the U.S. office of IMM Cologne.

Hope to see you there!

With the skyrocketing demand for all things green, designers are having to ride the Eco wave whether they like it or not. The market for sustainable products is so fluid; most designers don’t have time to keep up with all the new developments. That coupled with what seems like a daunting task to understand certifications, programs and accreditation we sometimes don’t have a clue where to start or what to choose.

 Here are some basic questions all design pros can ask their suppliers to help them choose wisely.

1. Does your company have an internal environmental policy? If so, what is it?

2. Is the finished product tested or certified by any third-party certifiers or environmental agencies? If so which one(s)?

Recent posts on Window Pro have highlighted the confusion in this area. There are mixed legal opinions and confusing data out there regarding window coverings and what qualifies as energy efficient for  the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act tax credits. Imagine the confusion about sustainability or LEED.

3. What is the product’s life expectancy? Does your company accept items back for recycling or reuse?

4.Does the product contain recycled content? If so is it post-consumer and/or post-industrial?

5. Is the scrap material from the manufacturing process reused or recycled? Does your company have programs in place to reduce other manufacturing waste and pollution?

6. Does the product negatively impact indoor air quality upon installation? Have efforts been taken to reduce toxic emissions in the manufacturing process?

7. How is the product packaged? Is any of the packaging reused and if so, does your company have a system for collection?

AltUse.com recently ran a promotion asking their users to submit alternative uses for packaging materials. The contest included all types of packing materials from boxes, plastic bottles, glass, bubble wrap, etc.

8. How are the product’s orignal materials transported to the factory? How far do they travel? Are you using efficient shipping methods?

9. If the product consumes energy while functioning can you provide its performance stats?

10. Does your company foresee innovations in the product that will lead to a lowering of its environmental impact?

Think metal headrails, parts, fiberglass wands.

Join Susan and I in Europe in January for the first round of design shows. This is the perfect antidote to get out of the blue business funk some of us seem to be in.  For more details visit our sister site.  Check out the basics below:

 Paris in January 2010

Based on your feedback, we have decided on a longer, Paris-Only trip for this main group. We’ve decided to keep this limited to 12 PEOPLE ONLY, to keep the low-key, non-tour-group approach that most of you have requested.*** We felt that adding a few extra days in Paris will allow everyone to both get the most out of the show(s), which are both very large and very engaging, as well as have enough time to really enjoy Paris.

7 days/7 nights in Paris, January 18-January 26, 2010 includes:

*Airfare to/from JFK or Chicago

*Hotel d’ Aubusson, Four-star, double-occupancy in the heart of St. Germain (Super-convenient location and we’ve stayed in this hotel and love it!) Five minute walk to the subway, direct line to the show. Walking distance of the Louvre, Orsay, Notre Dame, Sorbonne; surrounded by art galleries, restaurants and shops.

*Daily Breakfast at the hotel. Value of $140.00

*Airport transfers Value of $80.00

*7 day all zone metro pass Value of $85.00

*Admission to Maison&Objet and Planet Mueble trade shows. Value of $78.00

*Welcome reception at M&O from show management

*Exclusive M&O trend presentation with Q&A opportunity

*As-you-wish meet-ups for cocktails or dinner to review the day, compare notes, share stories, etc.

*Pre-travel web session(s) with Deb and Susan to preview locations, M&O planning, travel details, our Paris faves and more

*Cruise on the river Seine. Value of $80.00

*Free entrance to the Louvre or Orsay. Value of $26.00

* High Tea one afternoon in the Aubusson’s Grand Salon Value of

* All taxes and service included.

DOWNLOAD SEVEN DAY ITINERARY

Price per person, air and land, double occupancy based on exchange rates as of September 15, 2009: $2800.00

Guarantee your reservation with a non refundable $150 deposit.

The balance is due as follows:

$1400.00 due October 15, 2009 and $1250.00 is due December 1, 2009

For more info and reservations- email Deb or Susan

DOWNLOAD REGISTRATION FORM

Tour does NOT include:

*Any meals except breakfast at the hotel as noted

*Any admissions or fees except for the M&O and Meuble Paris shows and museums as noted

*Any additional transportation fees outside of those listed above (i.e., we’re not bussing you to/from the shows at a specific time, you get there when you want and leave when you want, courtesy of those all-zone transit passes)

When the spots are filled, we’ll present a couple of extremely interesting optional tours to choose from if you’re so inclined…

Again, strictly limited to 12 should this be 16? people for this PARIS ONLY option.

***If you are looking for a slightly shorter, more structured trip to Paris for M&O this January, don’t worry, we’ve got that covered too! Get in touch with us and we’ll hook you up with that option.

The June edition of Psychological Science published the results from six experiments conducted by psychologists and a marketing professor that tested the power of money in relation to social interaction. In one of the most startling results, they found that merely touching money or thinking about expenses affected participants both physically and emotionally.

In one experiment volunteers were asked to take a “finger-dexterity” test, one group counted stacks of $100 bills, while the other group counted paper. Afterwards both groups were but into a social interaction simulation where they were meant to feel snubbed and isolated. The group that counted out the money before the simulation rated their level of social distress much lower than the group that counted paper.

In another experiment, the same “finger-dexterity” test was taken and then the volunteers were asked to dip a finger in very hot (122 degree) water. Those who counted the money rated their pain as lower than those who counted paper.

The pain test was then repeated but with the volunteers now writing about either their expenses the previous month, or the weather. After the finger dip, those who wrote about spending their money rated their pain as higher than those who wrote about the weather!

“These effects speak to the power of money, even as a symbol, to change perceptions of very real feelings,” like pain, said Kathleen Vohs, a marketing professor at the University of Minnesota and co-author of the study.

What does this mean for the designer? It’s just one more thing to consider when presenting the project costs. Clients need to feel comfortable enough with the potential of your work to transform their lives and their interiors to offset the real and psychological pain of letting go some of their hard-earned money! It’s about making sure the client understands the value–both immediate and long term–of investing in their home décor; so that the experiential satisfaction they get from the process and the results more than offsets the purchasing pain.

See more about this on Live Science. Within that article are also links that discuss the value of “experiential” purchases vs. “product” purchases.

The Paris couture shows for Winter 2010 are taking place right now, inspiring oooohs and aaahs of envy and inspiration for both Deb and myself. But as Deb often mentions, the descriptive phrase “couture” is too often tossed off to describe something without have a true understanding of what separates couture from something well-built, well-made, well-crafted.

Take a look at this video, where a Karl Lagerfeld sketch is transformed into a finished Chanel dress and jacket. Each pattern is made and cut by hand, each sequin hand-sewn, each seam hand-pinned…

Lagerfeld is known for his dedication to the petites mains, the specialty seamstresses, milliners, button-makers and other decorative artisans whose elaborate handiwork transforms a design into a showpiece, this video is a clear example of why they deserve his high praise.

Susan and I have been encouraging pros to get a web presence for some time in our seminars and discussions at IWCE, Showtime and NeoCon. Well, if you don’t think you need one or “you are working with a web designer and we should be up and running by September” – read this.

This study by Marketing to Moms Coalition found that American Moms with kids under 18, log an average of three hours a day on the internet and that their school age kids log only 2 hours. What’s interesting is that women (your target market) spend  nearly half (49%) of their time on the web- that’s 1-1/2 hours a day -researching and comparing prices. So if you’re not on the web they don’t know you exist! 

Run, don’t walk to your computer and do one or all of these things:

Build a blog ( WordPress is our blog platform of choice)

Join LinkedIn

Create your Facebook profile.

You can add content whenever you like without having to know a bit of HTML. You can show your work. You can tell your customers what you’re up to. You can establish you self as the expert pro you are.

 When you get on the web or if you are already; send us your address and we’ll link up.

8. Infinite number of channels today you can own your own channel- whether it’s a blog, podcast, You Tube or Facebook. You need to understand that you need to be where people want to go; not demand them to go where you are.

9. Consumer to Consumer Transactions Sales transactions are cutting out the middle man. Think about sites like threadless.com, Paypal, E bay or KIVA.org. It’s about getting out of way and connecting people to each other.

10. Scarcity + Abundance There has been a flip from what is scarce and what is abundant. What was once scarce is now abundant and what was once abundant is now scarce. What is an example in your industry? How can you capitalize on that opportunity? Smart brands are taking advantage of that flip and figuring out how to take advantage of it

11. Big Ideas used to be advertising ideas and had little to do with the product- Alka Seltzer, Squeeze the Charmin, etc. are examples. Now the big idea is a product idea. Like iphone.

12. Who vs. How Many  What used to be most important was how many people you reached, how many times did you send your message; how many people heard it; how many people bought it. Not anymore it’s about who- who gives permission to open your email or read your postcard; who are they; what are they looking for .

13. The new gatekeepers are bloggers and viral media. It’s about people telling people. We are all looking for a tribe to follow and we are looking for leaders to connect us to a tribe

14. Scarcity vs. Ubiquity- Scarcity is what is rare and worth paying for. Ubiquity is being everywhere (especially with digital products) – the most viewed on YouTube, most downloads. Godin calls it the Seinfeld Curve. You can win by being everywhere or you can win by being rare- especially for digital goods. You just need to decide which direction you want to take. It is happening on either end and the middle falls apart.

Finally, I will leave you with a question from Seth: Are you looking for consumers for your products or products for consumers?

Marketing is in the midst of a C change. The old marketing model was to broadcast ideas and the message in hopes that your target customer was listening and would act on it. It’s TV thinking mentality- where the power of marketing was seen in the maxim that the more dollars you spent the further your message spread. It didn’t matter when or where or how the message was received. It was OK to interrupt anyone; anytime. Not so anymore. The system is broken. It was hurt by all the clutter and too many choices. The shift in power is to what experts are calling permission marketing. It’s a power shift away from the marketer to the gatekeeper-the consumer . The internet has brought all this about. TV, radio and direct mail are the traditional channels of communication invented by marketers for markets. They exist to sell ads. The internet doesn’t care. Marketers are no longer in charge. They can’t control the customer anymore- what they see, read or especially what they say.
So what will the future bring for marketing? Seth Godin recently looked in his crystal ball to identify these  fourteen future marketing trends:
1. Direct communication between the people who make it and people who buy it. Create a community of your customers and engage them, cutting out the middle man in the relationship. Be prepared to take the bumps and bruises that might come along with it.
2. Amplification of the consumer Every person is a designer or reviewer and has the power to reach others. They are the new gatekeepers; embrace them and invest in their experience. Seth says instead of selling stuff; spend your days creating joy.
3. Authentic stories mean people do not buy facts; so you must sell the story. Is it about the location; is it about being green; is it about ownership, is it about why and how we make it? Facts are not important; it’s about creating opportunity. So craft a story that resonates with your view of the world and then live the story. You must do both- the customer can always spot if you are telling the truth or not.
4. Speed or let’s be honest- hyper speed. It’s about no waiting, it’s about reorganizing your business and building your processes around speed.
5. Longtail has proven that if you give people a choice they will take it. Over half of books that Amazon carries aren’t available in book stores. Offer your customer a chance to have a choice. Look for the small profitable niche.
6. Outsourcing products and services that were inconceivable five years ago .
 Google has diced the world into bytes. Social media and the internet are now the marketing platform. Your website needs to be friendly to the visitor. But you also need to realize that they are treat searches have become sophisticated; they are landing deep into you site more often than on your home page.

Check back tomorrow for the the rest of trend list

One of the new talents that Susan and I met at imm Cologne d3 Talents was Caroline Musgrove a successful British Knitwear Designer who is expanding into bespoke knitted and embroidered textiles for the home.

Her work is inspired by traditional designs and techniques which she teams with contemporary materials. She softens the hard edges of Perspex( Plexiglass) with delicate hand surface decoration.  Each hand knitted and embroidered piece is individual and unique from screens, panels, lights to curtains, cushions and scarves.

Knitted curtain inspired by damask patterns

 We had a chance to chat with Caroline about her introductions, inspirations and what’s she’s working on next at her stand in Design Talents.

6

IMM Cologne is not much of fabric show, but what I did find there was absolutely stunning. Création Baumann, the highly regarded Swiss textile company, introduced several amazing new products, utilizing innovative print techniques and the latest in fiber and fabric technology. Here are just a few of my favorites.

SuperHero Fabrics  Silver and Steel are two collections developed primarily for the contract sector, but I would love to use them in my own enormous windows. Silver features a thin aluminum backing in fabrics that range from opaque to sheer. Steel uses vacuum cathodic evaporation to adhere micro particles of steel to fabrics. The advantage of these new technologies is that the fabrics are washable and that the coating can be applied to a much larger range of fabrics and is less subject to the creasing of the metallic film.

Creation Baumann Silver & Steel fabrics

Print Masters Providing an almost trompe l’oeil effect, Eplis features narrow ribbons of color transfer printed on a pleated fabric. It’s a fascinating combination of techniques that draws you in to explore it better. Another collection that merited a second look was a small group of digital prints on sheers that could be either cheesily retro or amazingly au courant depending on what section you looked at, as each of prints had detailed photorealistic sections intermixed with areas of blurring, overlay or other distortions.

Creation Baumann: Eplis & Garden

Seductive Layers  Incredibly adaptable, the sophisticated Coco would look stunning in a loft environment or a traditional setting. The open star motif applies antique lace-making techniques in a thoroughly modern manner; a tulle flourish at the bottom is just another reason to love this fabric. Indiva is a two-layered sheer that shifts slightly during the printing process, resulting in a unique, slightly blurred effect that gives the look of fabric swaying in the breeze, even when it’s still.

Creation Baumann: Coco & Indiva

Shrunken [Trail] Blazers  Using a special paint that affects the shrink rate of the fabric and produces a crisp, dry hand,  Création Baumann experimented with a tremendous range of looks. Violetta features layered blooms for a technical/traditional mix, a similar motif to that used on Coco; while Filippa also applies a burnout for additional dimensional and light layering effects.

Creation Baumann: Violetta & Filippa

Crushed  Fashion inspired and truly stunning in person, Saphir Crash is a sheer crush pleated offering while Yves is the opaque version, a blend of silk and metal.

Creation Baumann: Saphir Crash & Yves