InSight 2023 Trend Index by HomePage News

What is the role of trend in today’s home and housewares industry. (read more)

InSight Trend Index 2023/24 by HomePage News

The first portfolio in the HomePage News 2023/24 InSight™ Trend Index examines The Great Entertainers: The Artist, The Contemporist, The Naturalist, The Postmodernist, The Traditionalist and The Great Gifter. (read more…)

Coping With Uncertainty Using Comforts of The Past

Nearly all consumers are feeling the pinch of inflation, but not everyone is dealing with it the same way. A handful of lucky shoppers notice it, yet they are wealthy enough to ignore it. (read more…)

The Antidote for Boring

The Trend Curve has always held that understanding a trend’s provenance is vital to establishing a comfort level with newness. Sometimes home furnishings trends have their roots in art, for example, a major exhibition. In other cases, media plays a role. (read more…)

INSPIRED - Fall 2022

The Official Publication of THE INSPIRED HOME SHOW (read more…)

What’s Trending: Japanese + Italian Mashups

In a mid-2021 blog post titled Japandi: On Trend and Growing, we explored how the Japandi aesthetic (a blend of Scandinavian and Japanese design traits) was permeating trends in home décor and dining. That movement is still alive and well, with many new products debuting in 2022. (Read more…)

Zeroing in on Gen Z

Is it too soon to think about Gen Z and their furniture buying preferences?

According to a recent Furniture Today Strategic Insights Survey, no. That survey, conducted earlier this year, found that 84% of Gen Z respondents said decorating their home was important to them. In addition, 49% of those consumers polled said they planned to buy an individual piece of furniture within the next 12 months, and 47% planned to buy decorative accessories. (Read more…)

Why licensing is critical to the home industry

Licensing is thriving, and home-related businesses might want to take a fresh look at how the business model can help augment or continue to build their portfolios.

Worldwide, licensed merchandise rang up more than $315.5 billion at retail in 2021, according to Licensing International’s 2022 Global Licensing Industry Study, released this week. This total figure is up 7.7 percent from 2019. In the US/Canada region, licensed merchandise rang up $186.3 billion, an increase of 9.7 percent from 2019. (Read more…)

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Why licensing is critical to the home industry

Licensing is thriving, and home-related businesses might want to take a fresh look at how the business model can help augment or continue to build their portfolios. (Read more…)

Home décor licensees recognized at annual awards program

Several home décor manufacturers took home licensing awards at Licensing International’s recent annual awards program.

Licensing International’s Annual Excellence awards are meant to honor innovation and creativity in the way brands use licensing to further their goals, how licensees develop and bring those products to market, and how retailers creatively spotlight licenses on their shelves. (Read more…)

Fourth of July Influences on Décor and Food

With the Fourth of July at hand, it’s time to look at how popular décor and food trends are being incorporated into Independence Day plans. (Read more…)

Home décor licensees recognized at annual awards program | Home Accents Today

Is it too soon to think about Gen Z and their furniture buying preferences?

According to a recent Furniture Today Strategic Insights Survey, no. That survey, conducted earlier this year, found that 84% of Gen Z respondents said decorating their home was important to them. In addition, 49% of those consumers polled said they planned to buy an individual piece of furniture within the next 12 months, and 47% planned to buy decorative accessories. (Read more…)

Japandi: On-Trend and Growing

The Japandi aesthetic is centered on natural materials and finishes, as well as earthy textiles, a neutral palette, expert craftsmanship and a functional, less-is-more character. (Read more…)

Business Gets PERSONAL at Sweets & Snacks Show

At last month’s Sweets & Snacks Expo 2021, our first in-person food show in over a year, it was impossible to ignore how often the aspect of “personal” arose. The importance of getting personal resonated throughout several merchandising disciplines. Its influence was felt in product creation, … [Read more...]

Cottagecore & Grandmillennial Trends Find a Home in Food

The Specialty Food Association announced its annual sofi™ Award winners last month. A glimpse at the honorees shows how some brand marketers are flaunting their farm heritage. This caught the attention of The Trend Curve team because it connects with a growing consumer interest in living a closer-to-the-land lifestyle—or at least the appearance of it. About ten percent of the Gold, Silver, and New Product sofi™ Award stars bore trademark traits of the Cottagecore craze. This is the “pastoral-life-for-me” trend that swelled dramatically during lockdown. (Read more…)

Retail Energy in Paris

Over the past three years, we have teamed up on a number of seminars and webinars about best practices in retail visual display. If attendance at our June AmericasMart’s Apparel Mart webinar program is any indicator, audiences are appreciating our unique perspective. They are drawn to our combined expertise in trend forecasting, licensing, marketing and retail buying. (Read more…)

Vending to New Heights

Consider the lowly vending machine. Once nothing much more than a modest, self-service supplier of cigarettes, candy and soda pop, this iconic form of retail is getting new life.

Developed in the late 1800s, vending was a common method of delivering stamps, postcards and writing paper in England. The version shown here, made by Harper in England and owned by a lucky friend dispenses cigarettes and has a barometer to help predict the weather. (Read more…)

Party Product Trends: Birmingham Spring Fair

The Trend Curve team has gone from one trade show to another since the year began. Today, Leigh Ann Schwarzkopf is at Spring Fair Birmingham. She is trend-spotting many categories, including party products. I spoke with her this morning about her top party-product trend takeaways: (Read more…)

Toy Fair 2019 Trends

Trends spotted at the 2019 edition of New York Toy Fair included plenty of YouTube and video-game tie-ins. Also making a statement were collectibles at all price points (with music and sports themes on the rise), sparkly and squishy products galore, traditional touches such as DIY woodcrafts and cursive writing aids, and a relative lack of entertainment-based licensed toys. (Read More…)

Party Product Trends: Birmingham Spring Fair

The Trend Curve team has gone from one trade show to another since the year began. Today, Leigh Ann Schwarzkopf is at Spring Fair Birmingham. She is trend-spotting many categories, including party products. I spoke with her this morning about her top party-product trend takeaways: (Read more…)