The New York Spring Tabletop Show, held at 41 Madison and 7 W in April, was a celebration of outdoor living, with fresh looks, lots of color and a mood tempered with caution in the face of market pressures.
Trend-setting interior designer Callie Jenschke kicked off the market with her keynote presentation on outdoor living design trends at 7West. The annual ritual of moving outdoors inspires consumers with a sense of “freedom, limitless possibility and space to dream,” says Jenschke, co-founder of Scout Designs NYC, noting that consumers are “hiving” — embracing home as “command central” for a lifestyle connected with family and friends. Unlike cocooning, hiving translates to home design that opens out to other people, she explains; this means that consumers are driven to personalize their outdoor living spaces.
Industry reports confirm this trend; a patio is one of the top three features sought by new homeowners, according to the building industry. When it comes to the outdoors, consumers want all the comforts of their interior spaces, including fireplaces and dining areas. Outdoor entertaining is “relationship-centered,” Jenschke says, suggesting a continuing need for larger serving pieces and accessories suitable for entertaining a crowd.
“Where fashion design goes, home décor follows,” she notes, tying runway styles with four new color and pattern trends she identified for summer 2011. By the Sea are classic colors and patterns such as patriotic red, white or blue in stripes and geometrics, a style she says translates perfectly whether at the sea or lake shore. Into the Woods are designs inspired by woodsy, earthy or ethnic colors such as olive, burnt sienna and khaki, enhanced with animal prints. Bright is the return of the neon and jewel tones from the 1980s into bright pink, yellow, green, orange and acid-toned housewares. Bold blossoms, stylized flowers and botanical motifs exemplify what she calls the Garden Party motif.
“Color’s not just seasonal,” says Laurie Burns, senior vice president and director of Forty One Madison. “People live in their kitchens with all the stainless. It’s only natural to inject color.”
Although color was a big part of the spring story, white continues to dominate in plain and textured forms. Notable among white tableware introductions at the spring show was Villeroy & Boch’s New Wave line extension, which gives the feeling of “dining out at home,” according to Lisa Mendenhall, company spokesperson. Flowing handles on tasting bowls and larger serving pieces are reminiscent of Japanese barrel forms. Pleasing organic shapes in white tableware also were evident in the imaginative Quake ridged bone china mugs from Design House Stockholm as well as in the amoeba-shaped asymmetrical bone china line from ASA-Selection.
Adding to the refreshing feeling at the market were the newest showrooms. For example, Australia’s Maxwell & Williams opened a 2,250-square-foot showroom, its first in the United States. Sold in more than 50 countries, the company’s products include a comprehensive collection of “aspirational yet affordable” tableware, bakeware and gadget assortments.
When asked why the company chooses to launch here at this time, President & CEO Steve Baram mentions its mantra: “Range is our salvation.”
“The breadth and depth of Maxwell & Williams’ product collections enables us to meet retailer and consumer needs on every possible level,” he says.
Forty One Madison’s Burns also sounds optimistic about ways retailers can work with vendors.
“There is an opportunity for specialty retailers with some established companies,” she notes, adding that vendors are adapting, offering retailers access to their lines, which can be exclusive. “Maybe you can get an exclusive on a colorway not carried by the traditional department store.”
According to Chris Collins, vice president & general manager of 7West, showrooms reported strong show attendance, but “store groups are bringing fewer buyers” than before the recession. Traffic was more appointment-driven, and there was an uptick in buyers for online merchants — “a huge growth area,” he adds. Discussions with showroom management also focused on escalating prices for everything from cotton to gas to plastics.
“Price increases have come and will continue to come,” says Collins, noting that consumers will really see these increases in the fall. “Optimism was high and should not get lost in the fear of price increases.”
Indeed, “Out of recession comes amazing creativity,” asserts Burns, who hopes that the Royal Wedding might give the housewares business a little boost.
For more details about the New York Tabletop Market, see the May issue of The Gourmet Retailer.
