Charles Luck Perspectives

Trends evolve on a continuum. They originate from a macro view of our world and reflect zeitgeist, or “the spirit of our times.” Trends follow our direction of thought, expressing the mood of the present and the style of the future.

Beginning with color forecasting, fashion trends emerge from the textile industry and eventually trickle down to all aspects of design. It is a fact that new trends in interior design often come from fashion and that is quite natural – we want to have the latest and the most interesting from the catwalks on our sofas and walls and curtains.  From there, the trends are filtered through hard goods, accessories, outdoor living environments, and eventually architecture.

We have a lot of readers on our Facebook page that often question why a stone company keeps posting images of fashion. And what in the world is a stone company doing making design forecasts?  Why are we traveling the world to observe holistic shifts in culture, social context, economies, fashion, color, and design preferences? Why do we seek to understand what is likely to continue, what is likely to change, and what is novel?

Because understanding trends helps us understand natural stone’s place in the larger world of design.  It helps us distill our point of view and manage our product portfolio. And understanding trends allows us to anticipate our customers needs before they do. Sharing our perspective means offering the design community a forum that will inform their design. It means better design and better business for us all.

There is a methodology to our approach.  We have a long list of shows we attend, publications we read, websites and blogs we visit, customers we talk to. Its part research, part blue-sky thinking. Its enthusiasm tempered with experience, creative flair grounded in commercial realism, pragmatic thinking supported by longer-term brand awareness.

But what it is really about is being willing to formulate ideas by observing what is around us.  Having faith in our own intuitive responses to the world.  Looking not just with our eyes but also with our heart.  The truth is that style and taste and what’s in vogue are all relative.  We speak to things that connect with us. That makes sense to our product lines.  That will resonate with our customers and their clients. Through Perspectives, (our 2012/2013 forecast is due out in May) we hope to inspire and inform. Our approach is to present creative ideas that work now and build value tomorrow – we passionately believe that one can’t work without the other. We also know that success is built upon genuine insight into people and their triggers; getting the story right will motivate people into action, promising valuable returns all around.

So the next time you see a fashion image on our Facebook page, or read about our upcoming partnership with Virginia Commonwealth University’s Department of Fashion Design and Merchandising, know that there is a specific intent behind these postings beyond mere inspiration.