Inspirational

Purple Power in Products at Heimtex in Frankfurt Germany.

| Design Works International

We often talk about trend and what is happening in the future, but today I like to review what is happening on the product end of design regarding print, pattern and color at Heimtex.

Heimtex is the largest international textile show with manufacturers, designers and mills from 68 countries. The fair is a 4 day event located in Frankfurt Germany and takes place at the Messe Exhibition Hall.

Products ranges are tabletop, wallpaper, upholstery, bedding and fabric for both the residential as well as contract industries.

This show I found purple and tones of purple to be the universal color connector through many product ranges. Purple, plum, wine and eggplant were prevalent as main colors or accent tones alongside neutral grounds.

  Casamance-Abstract geometric patterns in large scale repeats with imperfect edges.  Lokser Textiles-Hand painted naive styled damasks.

 Brewster-Organic floral patterns with geometric accents.
  Pichler-Purple as a solid color statement.

Design Works International-Fun hand painted florals and medallions with textural accents.

 Trend Hall Fabric-Artisan techniques like ombré, shibori and tie dye.

Pantone Rose Quartz Trending at Heimtex in Germany

| Design Works International

Posting from Heimtex, the largest international textile show, in Frankfurt Germany this week. Great to get an overview of art and product from around the globe in one location that focuses on all interior soft-home trends in textiles, wallpaper, upholstery and tabletop..just to name a few categories.

Happy to confirm that Pantone Rose Quartz 13-1520, paired with gray or taupe for a more unisersal look is trending at Heimtex. Shown here from Almeida and Pichler with updated faux fur and fun textures!

IKEA “Moments About Food” NYC Rooftop Event!

| Design Works International

 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!

  
    
    
   

Cultivate 2015 “A Labor of Love”

| Design Works International

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

Global Greats…North Devon U.K. 

| Design Works International

  

Wanted to share a few “Global Greats” from our trip this past week to the English Countryside! These pics are from Dunster, Barnstaple, Braunton and Wiltshire. I will be posting images over the next week on this blog as well as Instagram @nancy_fire

Our amazing week in Devon was reflective of the people, places and experiences that we had! An adventure that was truly aspirational and eye opening….

Tomorrow’s post will include lodging and favorite food picks.

Jet lag is setting in….good nite all! 

Nancy

Naturally Inspiring

| Design Works International

 

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!

Global Greats…North Devon U.K. 

| Design Works International

Wanted to share a few “Global Greats” from our trip this past week to the English Countryside! These pics are from Dunster, Barnstaple, Braunton and Wiltshire. I will be posting images over the next week on this blog as well as Instagram @nancy_fire

Our amazing week in Devon was reflective of the people, places and experiences that we had! An adventure that was truly aspirational and eye opening….

Tomorrow’s post will include lodging and favorite food picks.

Jet lag is setting in….good nite all!

Nancy

The Gardens of North Devon

| Design Works International

Traveling through the English countryside around North Devon this past week has reconfirmed my love for gardens that have a “rustic” touch. In America I call this style “rustic glam” when beauty meets a more unfinished sensibility…still beautiful but in a rustic way!

Personally as an avid gardener I  have never liked my gardens perfect and manicured. I have always preferred them a bit “rough around the edges” paired with substrates like old stone walls, distressed wood and in groupings of tonal colors that define my borders in a more color centric way…..well my friends after a week in North Devon I am heading back to the U.S. in awe of these magical gardens with more ways to keep my “rustic glam” garden trend more authentic!

Take note of some of my inspiration….and do note that the English Rose gives off a scent that is even more overwhelming than its beauty!

               

     

From this Magical Place…Bratten Fleming, North Devon U.K. 

| Design Works International

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