Loving our “Artisan Blue” Textile Collection at Design Works International. Blessed to work with such a talented group of designers and artists!
Gearing up for a very busy 2016 filled with lots of creative collaboration both here and overseas….more to come!
Follow us @designworksinternational
Posting all week from the High Point Furniture Market in North Carolina! So happy to have spoken on outdoor trends in the marketplace, taken over the #designonhpmkt Instagram and lead a suite spot tour through the suites at market square!
So much to see..so many designers and manufactures to talk to and lots of great product to discover.
Sharing my global greats from Instagram and to view more details on these pics please check out the followingbinstagrams that I have been posting from all week: @nancy_fire @hgtvhome @hgtv
Enjoy!
Hard to recall the last time I felt like a kid for a day…so thank you Kind + Jugend for showcasing some of the best international kids products in Cologne Germany this week!
Great to see such innovative and creative products taking center stage for 2016! The color story was varied from “the softer side” creating a more vintage sensibility to a more “bold and bright” geometric style for a more outgoing sensibility.
Serba displayed knitted 3-D character dolls on an updated scenic printed bed set.
Keoka’s take was more of a mid century modern changing table that had us all at hello…dreaming of how we could use this piece even if our kids were full grown!
Tede from Berlin had the most amazing wooden toy animated bikes in beautiful dye based finishes creating some of the nicest color palettes that we viewed at the show.
Dip Dap from Lativa had a more modern take on a toddler bike made of digitally printed wood with a repeated bear motif.
3 Sprouts from Canada represented by Duux went for a more graphic oversized character approach on home decor fabric storage containers.
Kids 11, a client of mine located in Atlanta debuted many new innovative toy and gear offerings along with their new packaging and logo update.
Tuc Tuc from Spain was truly a trend setter with there newest black and white geometric strollers!
ChildHome had one of the most curated and fresh looking booths at the show for color, style and substrates! Look at this cute fabric tent!
Neo NATO had a fun graffiti wall display outside their booth.
Green Tom had the coolest all organic and green strollers made from post consumer recycled products….so innovative and refreshing!
Camarelo had the most graphic splatter print stroller in black, orange, green with accents of blue.
TwistShake is extremely innovative with there colorful and multi-functional bottles and containers!
More pics and info on the Kind + Jugend Show tomorrow on my Designworksstyle.com blog
@childwoodchildwheels
@greentomworld
@koeka_official
@duux
@twistshakebaby
Serba
Keoka 
Tede
Dip Dap 
3 Sprouts
Kids 11
Tuc Tuc
ChildHome
Neo NATO
Green Tom
Camarelo
TwistShake
What a creative way to start your day at IKEA’s “Moments About Food” in NYC! Honored to be invited to this creative and inspirational event with its focus on food, food sourcing, product introductions, tips on organic farming, canning and urban farming on your own rooftop!
Amazed by IKEA’s newest product introductions that are “Trend Right” and “Eco Savvy” featuring substrates like cork, bamboo, various woods and woven fabrics! Colors are updated and fresh with many combinations to pick from.
IKEA’s newest “Section Kitchen Selection” is brilliant. Each drawer is a personalized space for all your kitchen gadgets as well as food storage, dinnerware, drinkware and utensils. Shown in a fantastic green finish, this kitchen is a vertical masterpiece! No more reaching for items that are too tall to grab..this is a kitchen with maximum bandwidth!
Be sure to check out IKEA’s newest catalog and product in stores and help them celebrate an amazing new introduction of some of the most innovative and clever product ranges I have viewed in a while. From innovative placemats with i-phone pockets to organic new jams, cork outdoor ensembles and beautiful textiles….you will be updating your home in no time!
Oh and a special “shout out” to Katie Lee for sharing some great food tips and yummy treats!
Honored to be a Key Note speaker at Cultivate 2015 held in Columbus Ohio July 12-14. This is NOT a typical trade show it’s a labor of love❤️ and let me tell you why! After spending the past 2 days at Cultivate 2015, the largest horticulture show in North America, I got a “behind the scenes” peek into one of the most passionate industries in the world….breeders, growers, nursery owners, writers, media outposts and people affiliated with the beautification of this planet! I will never look at a flower or plant in the same way…so many talented minds and hands are responsible for creating these specimens…it’s actually mind blowing…honored to have met so many intelligent and dedicated people at Cultivate and look forward to learning more about this amazing industry through my new friends!
So proud of our HGTV HOME Plant Partners for creating a beautiful plant collection filled with succulents, flowering plants and the best custom mixed “one step style” assortments in the industry!
HGTV HOME SUCCULENT COLLECTION
J BERRY FARMS
HGTV HOME PLANT COLLECTION
ME WITH THE HGTV HOME PLANT PARTNER TEAM
CULTUVATE DISPLAY CREATED BY VOLUNTEERS!
COLORFUL WATERING CAN AT BRAUN IN TREND RIGHT COLORS FOR 2015
HGTV HOME DISPLAY OF CROSS PARTNER PRODUCTS
I AM SPEAKING TO A FULL HOUSE AT CULTIVATE ON CONSUMER TRENDS AND LIFESTYLE
CHANGING THE GAME at CULTIVATE 2015
Trend Alert “She Shed”….call me ol’ fashion but I have been “in vogue” for a while …..my “She Shed” has existed for the past 14 years… Just in the form of my “Potting Shed”!
Who knew that the space we built many years ago to hold my garden tools, miscellaneous containers, books and various garden gadgets would soon be called “She Shed”! Perfect name for a perfect place because that is where I love spending my “free” time…repotting, planting and planning for more pretty and colorful flowers and shrubs…after all, it’s a labor of love so why not give it a “Trend Right” name!
The perfect view…while hiking in Bratten Fleming, a small village in North Devon U.K. I stumbled upon the “perfect view”! Perfect you might ask, how can something actually be this perfect….I will tell you….it’s a moment in time that was not staged for a photo shoot, it’s a moment in time that does not appear on a catalog cover (not yet) but a moment in time that one can appreciate if they just stop and enjoy. It has all the right ingredients: perspective, texture, saturated color and natural charm.
I bet if we started to look at our surroundings a bit more we would learn to appreciate more of these “perfect views”. Take that walk that you have been putting off, enjoy that city block that we were meaning to explore, find that beach during a sunset…because there are so many “perfect views” in our life that do not always come in the form of this photograph…sometimes we just need to create them within ourselves!
Tucked into a 16th century shop in the Medieval town of Dunster, houses a Garden and Home Store with an updated style and sensibility known as the Horse and Crook. Shop owner and curator Abigail Larter has been in business the past 9 years because her style is somewhat unique in this tourist centric town where thousands of people from all over the world come and visit the Dunster Castle and Gardens.
Traveling as I do for my business, shopping trends and style throughout the world it’s refreshing to see a store that is unique to its town…and that is exactly what Abigail has created at the Horse and Crook.
Dunster is a town filled with many eateries and shops that are more tourist centric catering to bus loads of people on excursions to the castle. The Horse and Crook are exactly the opposite as a garden and home store with an updated “rustic glam” style. Abigail seeks out rustic and natural products from many local sources and curators them in an updated fashion. Her terra cotta and cream colored walls really do the trick creating a beautiful backdrop for her carefully curatored products. Succulents displayed in distressed painted pots, rustic frames with hand stamped detailing, hand lettered gift tags and printed textiles are just a few of Abigail’s fun finds at the Horse and Crook.
The Horse and Crook is located at: 18 High Street in Dunster, Somerset. http://www.horseandcrook.co.uk 
First I have to thank my art director at Design Works International, Selina and her husband Pete for inviting us to their wedding in North Devon this coming Saturday…because when that invite arrived a few months back I did not even know this magical part of the country existed! After some quick research and my wonderful husband agreeing to rent a car and drive 4 hours out of London…on the opposite side of the road and a steering wheel flush right…our plans were official! (Kudos to my hubby Neil who drove like a pro…noted from Heathrow..into Central London for a day and 4 hours into the English Countryside)
Arriving into Bratten Fleming via the back roads that emulate glorified bike paths…I knew we were in for a fantastic adventure….you see these back roads are wide enough for a single vehicle no bigger than a Mini Cooper by UK standards…had to back up twice to let oncoming local traffic pass…these roads, or paths really, are flanked by fern and wild hollyhocks in bright magenta I might add! A photographers paradise…begging Neil to take me back on these roads today so I can capture their beauty! As a designer and photographer this part of the country is pure paradise!
We are staying at the lovely Bracken House in Bratten Fleming where I will dedicate a full blog post in a few days…so much to capture here that my brain needs time to comprehend and organize all my thoughts and images…so for now I will just post “moments of brillance” from this Magical Place!
Enjoy❤️
All photos by Nancy Fire
Color, Chaos & Creativity 