| Careful consumption is here to stay |
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Posted: Thursday, November 19, 2009 11:19 am
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By Nicola Wilkes, Wales at Home
As ever, the Autumn Fair show was a hub of activity and innovation. Spotting the latest and future trends is imperative to a successful industry and Nicola Wilkes, editor of online interiors directory Wales at Home, was on hand to talk visitors through the key changes to be embraced. Here she re-caps and expands on why the movement towards all things environmentally and ethically conscious is here to stay.
'Eco-friendly', 'environmentally sound' and 'ethically produced' are all terms that have become common place in a climate where it's all about saving the world from the amounting chaos that mass consumption and production has left. A plethora of adjectives are now used to describe new designers, catwalk collections, shops and hotels alike, as they seek to find validity and longevity in the interior design world. Like it or not, we work within a trend-led industry that relies upon a constantly evolving palette of fashions, but it's with forward-thinking and innovation that we are proving this need not add to waste or gluttonous consumption but rather show just what we are; a creative industry that can respond and rise to modern day design challenges and environmental restraints, and the results are exciting. This change in attitude has resulted in a number of interiors trends.
In the mood
Rather than interiors collections that follow the widespread downturn, all things home have taken on a new lease of life and it seems a good dose of colour is what the doctor has ordered. Out with the drab and dreary and in with the turquoises, reds, pinks and yellows; it's all about picking ourselves up, dusting ourselves off and creating a feeling of warmth in interiors. For the home this means it's all about where the heart is.
Eco-awareness doesn't just have to mean signing up to an organic only range of linens or recycled glass products, although retailers such as Biome Lifestyle, Nigel's Eco Store and Oliver Heath's Ecocentric are proving that style is available without the guilty conscience and enjoying the benefits of a more responsible consumer. It can also be about looking inward rather than out as we readdress the balance of what is important to us. Top design magazines are now admitting that interiors has become all about what is important to us, whether that's a treasured heirloom or quirky piece of furniture that serves a purpose and you just can't bear to throw out. We are suddenly looking at our possessions with fresh, rose-tinted glasses and in turn, cutting down on waste.
 Homespun feel
Abandoning a historically fashion-led path to take a more homely and personal approach to creating interiors, domestic interior design is all about warm, welcoming and 'keeping it real' this season. Suddenly there is a resurgence of tea cosies, cake stands and pretty crockery. Pieces to collect and keep have become the staple additions to any contemporary kitchen. No longer bound by what is deemed acceptable, any stylish home that now graces a glossy interiors publication can legitimately present a well designed piece of IKEA or Habitat furniture alongside six dining chairs salvaged from a closing down school (as I recently saw,) or a hand-knitted blanket draped over the arm of a design classic armchair. Homespun is officially the new minimal.
'Make do and mend'
The now famous phrase, 'Make Do And Mend', published in the UK in 1943 by the Ministry of Information, has seen a resurgence in recent months, gracing the pages of magazines from Vogue to Elle Decoration, as we all seek to re-address our priorities and spending habit. Angela Gidden, MBE, is one such designer who looked inwards rather than outwards three years ago when she set up a new division of her furniture empire and fully embraced the theory of reusing and recycling. Having designed Habitat's best-ever selling sofa - the Pacino - and receiving an MBE last year for services to Welsh furniture industry, Angela had a desire to 'give something back' to the industry that had provided her with a successful career. Nomad and Nest re-uses and recycles off-cuts of fabric and leather that the Attic 2 furniture brand has kept in their studio for ten years. Refashioned to make a unique range of upholstery, pieces of leather that don't conform to standard shapes, sizes or hides are turned into new covers for upholstery, as well as making cushions and a designer-led range of bags.
Innovative design pushes the boundaries
Even international design shows are seeing a marked move towards companies following and producing products based on a new design remit. 100% Design 2008 was awash with eco-innovations from carpet tiles made from nettles to nature as a general inspiration, from products made from wood to knitted, woollen cushions. As far back as 2005 Swedish furniture brand Lammhults used Milan as a launch pad for Johannes Foersom & Peter Hiort-Lorenzen's Imprint chair, a shell made from Cellupress™ (compressed plant fibre matts), proving their eco-aware design objectives are amongst the best known in the furniture industry, “Increased environmental adaptation gives increased quality of life. Our ambition is to meet the market demands of tomorrow,' they say.
Close to home
Welsh slant of small eco-minded companies blossoming
But it's often the smallest actions that make the biggest difference. Simply by 'shopping locally' and supporting businesses on our doorsteps we can do our bit for the environment by creating a more focused British interiors industry, all the while saving a few air miles. Wales has seen it's interiors industry blossom in recent years with the likes of Welsh woollen mill, Melin Tregwynt, giving a whole new meaning to the words 'Made in Wales' and a delightful antidote to mass market consumption of decades gone by. Having designed for the likes of Commes des Garçons, Muji and most recently, Birkenstock's, whilst keeping production small scale in its Welsh woollen mill located on the idyllic Pembrokeshire coast, this is interiors shopping that appeals to all the senses as well as the die-hard design aficionados amongst us. Elanbach are another Welsh brand famous the world over and producing fabrics for a range of international brands. Recognising the capacity for production within the UK is our chance to make an interiors industry flourish, create a stronghold in the interior design marketplace and a testament to a forward-thinking design industry.
The internet provides us with a wealth of information meaning we can forcefully contribute to an environmentally sound shopping ethos by supporting brands within the UK. It's about admitting and taking responsibility, and acknowledging that for those of us within the industry that are experiencing an economic downturn for the first time, the challenge of tackling uncharted territory doesn't have to mean design restrictions. The wider social mood may not fill us with the excitement and warmth that our homes can do at the end of a day, but it does mean is that a global economic downturn has created a massive shift in interiors trends; buying less but better and turning to brands we associate with longevity, and for those that fear it's not all positive, think again.
For more information visit www.walesathome.co.uk |
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