HAPPY NEW YEAR!
While it may be a bit premature to extend the traditional Happy New Year Greetings, it does seem that everyone has their eye on the upcoming 2011 for many different reasons. Whether it is for a financial reason or trying to predict what personal decisions to look forward to set those goals for personal and professional growth, the New Year seems to imply a new beginning. One other reason that people are always curios what the future or New Year will bring. Believe it or not, Florabundance already knows what the New Year will bring as related to trends in color. Florabundance recently partnered with Flowers& magazine to present the 2011 collection of colors that our customers buying habits will be influences by.
The fashion industry is a very powerful group of designers who have a great deal of influence on not only what we wear, but more importantly on how we decorate our living environment. We tend to decorate our homes with colors that we wear. This is actually a two year cycle. This year’s interior colors are greatly influenced by last year’s fashion choices. Like anything else, we will see color harmonies that are embraced by all areas of the country such as citric green for example. You cannot travel anywhere in the country that bright green cannot be found. Other colors and color harmonies often have regional influences. This is where it is important to “know your customer” and their likes and dislikes. While you may think your customer base may not embrace a particular color trend, be aware of the mindset that”Mrs. Jones always buys red”.While it may be true she does indeed enjoy red, people do get tired of the some repetitive diet, whether it be food or flowers. She may not be aware that those flowers she enjoys also come in other colors because you only send her red. Another red flag to avoid is personal predijice. Just because you personally do like a certain color does not mean that your customers will not embrace the color harmony. When working with daring colors or trendy colors, it is often a good idea to ‘test the waters’ with your customer to measure their response. Set up a display in an area of your shop to get the temperature on customer reactions to different color harmonies. Remember on those colors that are not a part of nature’s natural color, vases, ribbons and accessories are a good way to introduce odd colors. Aquamarine is a good example of this.
So what are we going to be seeing for 2011 you ask? Here is a brief overview of the trend colors:
Flora and Fauna – field and forest influence this collection. Lots of wonderful earthy colors spiked with splashes of interest colors such as gold, rust and pumpkin. Tobacco browns and yellow greens are the driving colors. While very much analogous colors, it still maintains a deep level of interest.
Modern Luxury – rich royal colors and abundant use of materials are found in this look. Tassels, cording and touches of gold complete the look. While many consider this a look of ‘Old Word’, a modern twist can be added with playful wire spheres and vibrant cocoa sticks.
Garden Reverie – very much influenced with a romantic vision of soft garden colors and flowers. Cream, butter yellow, peach, cherry and warm pink all combine to give a softer side for interior enjoyment. While not as soft as ‘Victorian’ once was, Garden Reverie is a flowing combination of chiffon, gauze, and soft cotton combined with garden flowers in soft pallets of colors.
