Marica and I sneaked out of the office to attend the recent the Trend Talks 2013, being hosted jointly by Plascon and InHouse Brand Architects. Pity we have not done so before. If memory serves me right, this initiative was conceptualised and started by Lauren Shantall in 2012. Joining her is Lacia Gess as MC and it seems that this event is fast becoming a “must do” on the calendar of the local design trade. Plus, plus, plus – local design-mined charity Rock Girl is the beneficiary of each event’s proceeds, while creating more awareness around safe places for vulnerable women, young girls and boys alike.
The theme of the topics under discussion was “Reflections on the Future”, with a view to looking at some design trends going forward what with 2014 becoming more of a reality with each passing day. The three speakers were Laurence Brick, Co Founder of retail outlet, Loads of Living (one of my personal favourite décor shops); Cara Siegers from InHouse Brand Architects and Lianne Burton, a past editor of Elle Decoration, now an “accidental curator of words, images and ideas”, – her own definition.
Today we look at what Laurence Brick and Cara Siegers had to say…
What was interesting for both Marica and I, looking back post the event, was that each speaker presented a very different angle of design (largely related to architecture and interiors) – so repetition was not the order of the day.
I am not going to go into hectic detail about the content of each speaker’s presentation. But will just highlight that which stayed with us and impressed us most. Neither of us here at The Design Tabloid professes to be Trend Gurus. We will leave that for the likes of Mr Dave Nemeth. But because we spend so much time on the social media platforms, especially Pinterest, we have noticed that we’re managing to stay pretty clued up when it comes to trends.
Laurence Brick spoke of many trends that have already made their mark locally and abroad, particularly – once again – on Pinterest. Elements of interiors such as the Industrial style, its related and complimentary elements – lighting, seating, furniture and those gorgeous warm metals that we have written about before. He touched on neons, which by the looks of things has no intentions of going away any time soon, as it morphs to take on different shapes and applications. The other design elements that seems here to stay are geometric patterns such as those triangular shapes that are so cleverly produced onto fabric, jewellery, wall textures etc. Yes, I do think that those little geos are going to gain momentum and we can expect to see far more coming out into the retail space.
Moving on to the point that really made my eyes stretch in wonder, was the fact that the patterned floors are once again gaining a place of prominence. Seemingly in kitchens and bathrooms. Probably patios as well. Mosaic patterned floor tiles with that strong Moroccan flavour. But not restricted to those areas or patterns. I have noticed it around the Pinterest-sphere but now am intrigued and fascinated by it. Would love an opportunity to install it into one of our interior projects. And let’s not forget that pattern on the floor has been coming across strongly in rugs as well. And no, I am not referring here to the traditional rug and kilim patterns. Rather there is a great deal of modern kilims on the market. As well as those gorgeous re-loaded vintage flavoured Persian rugs that has been faded by a particular washing technique. The patchwork rugs are the yummiest of this genre. Note to self: Must write about that some time soon.
What stayed with me most coming out of Cara Siegers presentation was the growing trend of 3D printing. Okay – so I have heard of it, but true to my form, when it sounds too technical for me, I don’t give it the time of day. Net result was that up until now, it has just stayed out of the reach of my mental grasp. Confession – even during her presentation, I was still not too clear on it. Afterwards Marica and I had one of our oh-so many discussions and the light slowly began to dawn. Later we popped over to research it a bit further – AND – it became an AH-HA moment. I am quite excited about it and I guess now that I understand it a bit more, I will probably find it coming across my path more frequently. Thank you Cara Siegers for sharing your insights!
Next blog we take a look at what Lianne Burton had to present.
Cheers for now.
The Design Tabloid 
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