Inspiration Magazine

What Shapes the Trends for 2015?

Trend Bible is a home and interiors-dedicated forecasting agency working with leading international brands to help them understand the future of their market. They forecast future trends in the behavior of consumers in a two-five year timeframe and analyze how this will impact the home environment. The Trend Bible seasonal forecasts for the home and interior industry are…

Inside Discover Design: black + blum

Based in London, black+blum is an Anglo-Swiss design partnership who joined forces in 1998. The black+blum designs have won numerous awards, including a gia Global Honoree award for the best product design in 2011, and are sold through selected stores all over the world. IHA: Where do you find inspiration when designing new products? DB: We get inspired by everything and…

From the World of Design And Fashion – Tom Mirabile

Tom Mirabile is a lover of color, art, design and fashion, a trend forecaster and analyst, and an inspiration to many. Listening to Tom Mirabile talk about style, trends, color and retail is truly inspiring. And taking on some of his advice could set you on your way to becoming a retail success, and an inspiration to others. Mirabile is always at the forefront of what’s…

Francly Stylish

“Effortless style” is a term often bandied about in the fashion world, and it’s something that most of us would like to think we could pull off. It is about having a unique style that shines through everything you do and something that others would like to emulate. Francfranc certainly has an effortless style and edge, and a confident stride to boot – always remaining chic and…

Unearthing Your Customers’ Inner Designer

Unearthing your customers style will keep them shopping with you! If you encourage your customers to find their own style rather then telling them what to buy every time they walk in your door, then you are building a life-long relationship that is meaningful. This not only brings you satisfaction but also keeps your customers coming back! At a time when customers have…

Oasis of Style

Not many people could set up a homewares and lifestyle store in a barn, in a field “in the middle of nowhere,” and make an ongoing success of it. But inside the welcoming, stone facade of a 110-year old barn in Rusko, Finland, there is a retail store to which people from far and wide are drawn. Loviisan Aitta has been so successful that the owner Helena Aho recently opened a…

A PICTURE WORTH A FEW HUNDRED WORDS

Have you thought about adding some drama and excitement to your shop? Some surprises? How about some showmanship? Well, how about creating one focal wall in your shop—preferably one visible through your windows or illuminated so that it steps out when a shopper steps in to the store? What would make that focal feature wall so unique and provide that sense of theater that is so…

The P.O.S.H. Approach

Is it an antique shop? No, it isn’t. Is it a tabletop shop? No, it’s not really that either. Is it a gift shop? Perish the thought (even though you’ll find a thousand and more gift ideas here). So what is P.O.S.H.? P.O.S.H. is a remarkable retail store that was born from a marriage of wanderlust and an idea that the shopping experience could be something different than it…

THE C GENERATION

Have you heard of the X and Y Generations? Have you figured out yet who they are, what they are and if they are who your customers are—and if they are, how do you treat them? Well, forget the X and the Y and any other letter in the alphabet except for the letter C. According to some of the retail sages and solons, today’s shoppers are all part of the great new C Generation, and…