BLANK PH NEWS 5-7-9-11-13-15-16-17 NEW.qxp_5/7/8-9/13/15/16-17/19/20 18/01/2019 18:52 Page 16
News Inset: Pantone Color Institute’s Leatrice Eiseman speaking at Chicago’s IH+HS last year and, as typical, wearing the current Colour of the Year.
Pantone Colour of the Year is Living Coral The Pantone Color Institute has declared that Pantone 16-1546 Living Coral is the Colour of the Year for 2019. Describing it as ‘vibrant, yet mellow,’ the colour ‘embraces us with warmth and nourishment to provide comfort and buoyancy in our continually shifting environment.’ With so much exposure to digital technology and social media, consumers are apparently ‘seeking authentic and immersive experiences that enable connection and intimacy’. Pantone describes the colour as ‘nurturing’ and links it to ‘optimism and joyful pursuits.’ It is apparent both in our natural environment and within digital platforms. “Colour is an equalising lens through which we experience our natural and digital realities and this is particularly true for Living Coral,” commented Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute. “With consumers craving human interaction and social connection, the humanising and heartening qualities displayed by the convivial Pantone Living Coral hit a responsive chord.” Pantone acknowledges that Living Coral appeals across ages and genders and has an uplifting influence in the home, where it can add ‘a dramatic pop of colour to any room setting whether in decorative accessories, tabletop, or on the wall.’ Its use in product packaging is said to encourage consumers to reach out and engage. Inset: An image from Pantone’s short video to introduce its Colour of the Year: ‘Living Coral is evocative of how coral reefs provide shelter to a diverse kaleidoscope of colour.’
TOP STORY
Potters Cookshop heads for Chicago Potters Cookshop, Hockley will join 29 other exemplary housewares and home retailers from around the world as the national gia winners gather in Chicago for the gia gala and International Home + Housewares Show (IH+HS). The IHA and IH+HS, gia (Global Innovation Awards) organisers, and global sponsors have announced the 30 national gia winners which also include Jumbled of Australia, Tania Bulhões of Brazil, LivingKitchen of China Bahne of Denmark, Ajmal Bismi Enterprise of India, Arboretum Home and Garden Heaven of Ireland, Abitare Baleri of Italy, Futako Tamagawa of Japan, Liverpool of Mexico, Glediz of Russia, and Kitchen Art Vietnam. The two Above: Tom and Alison received the USA winners are Absolutely Fabulous (gift retaliers) and Artichoke (housewares). gia UK winner certificate from the IHA’s Mark Adkison at the Excellence The national winners will be celebrated at a gia gala on March 2, coinciding with in Housewares Awards last year. the IH+HS (March 2-5). The event will also see the announcement of five global They will be presented with their honorees and winners of the Martin M Pegler and gia Digital Commerce Award. trophy at the gia gala in March. The national winners also are featured in the gia showcase in the IH+HS’ Hall of Global Innovation and on banners in the walkway that connects the Grand Concourse and the Lakeside Centre. Potters’ Tom Carter, director and Alison Hobbs, sales assistant and visual merchandiser will be making the most of their trip to Chicago, with a busy schedule taking in IH+HS and visits to the city’s wide range of housewares retailers. The duo is also travelling to New York to gain further inspiration from NY’s vibrant retail scene. As part of gia’s educational offering, on March 4, the four gia expert jurors (Wolfgang Gruschwitz, Scott Kohno, Henrik Peter Reisby Nielsen and Anne Kong) will present a special session in the IH+HS’ Innovation Theatre: ‘Innovative Retail Trends 2019.’ * PH is the exclusive UK gia sponsor. For more on Potters Cookshop, see pages 58-59. See www.housewares.org/show/gia-retail. For more information on the 2019 IH+HS, visit www.housewares.org.
Smart talk in Chicago Recognising a key trending category, the 2019 IH+HS presents the expanded IHA Smart Home pavilion, with more than 30 exhibitors of smart home brands and connected products presenting the future of housewares. Moreover, The Smart Talks educational stage in the pavilion features presentations, panel discussions and interviews with industry leaders. Visitors will be treated to “a menu of snack-sized information from established experts discussing the rapidly evolving Internet of Things (IoT) technologies and how these developments impact the housewares industry,” explains IHA’s vice president, international Mark Adkison. The Smart Home pavilion also features a display by b8ta, a retail store and platform that helps bring innovative, smart and highly designed products to market in a new retail-as-a-service model. B8ta will provide attendees with the newest ideas in smart-related products for the home, housewares and more. The IH+HS’ world-class educational offerings also includes keynote presentations by colour expert Leatrice (Lee) Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute March 4 and 5 at noon), and consumer lifestyle guru Tom Mirabile, senior vice president, Global Trend & Design, at Lifetime Brands (presenting Top Trends on March 4, 7:30am). Meanwhile, Erika Sirimanne, head of Home & Garden at Euromonitor International, will explore consumer and retail trends worldwide in the keynote seminar, Digital Disruption: Exploring Underlying Consumer Trends Influencing Retailers of Tomorrow (March 3 at noon). Presentations in the Innovation Theatre include Global Home and Interior Trends for 2020 by Naomi Pollard of Trend Bible. Above: The Smart Talks stage at last year’s IH+HS. Visit www.housewares.org
PROGRESSIVE
19
HOUSEWARES