There's only two months to go 'til we get our hands on the latest designer craft fabric collections from the US and Europe, and I for one can't wait to see and play with them.
1. The love affair with nature and natural elements is set to continue - more oatmeals, browns, greens, taupe, soft pinks, greys and stone, with a focus on patterns and images of nature like florals, botanticals, seeds, water bubbles, insects, animals, birds, pebbles.
2. But the coming year will progress to include colours that boldly clash and contrast with nature
or intensify natural colours - particularly purple, orange and vivid blues. In fact Pantone says 'turquoise' is the colour of the year for 2010! Purples and navy feature strongly in the 'coming soon' fabric collections.
Translating this into children's textile trends, we seem to be looking at lots of purple, navy, soft pinks, taupes and greens coming through; lots more animals and birds (more owls in particular); word and alphabet fabrics; spots, stripes and military; and timeless treasures themes - fairy tales, ballerinas, castles, toy soldiers, babushka dolls.
Thirdly, looks like I can have some fun with my pinboards, which are natural 'timeless treasure' hording places. I'm thinking something to do with military or naval for boys and I absolutely MUST have some of the Rapunzel fabric that's pictured above. I'm thinking of using a whole lot of yellow old fashioned zig-zag corded ribbon...plaiting it into a long rope like Rapunzel's hair...and winding it around the board with pegs and rubber bands... glorious.
The previews look divine, but as every textile lover knows, there's nothing like receiving metres and metres of to-die-for-fabric in the post. My mind is already boggling with ideas.
Sept/October is a busy time, with the US Spring/Summer collections of our favourite craft and home decor designers like Amy Butler, Joel Dewberry, Robert Kauffman and Heather Bailey becoming available at the same time as the third designer textile show Printsource, the bi-annual interiors trade show High Point and the new colour trends reports from colour forecasters like Pantone. 
Last week I attended a staff information evening at my new retailer Bay Bee Cino, and as part of the talk about my lily pad products, gave the staff a two second summary of a) what the press releases for High Point and Pantone are predicting and b) what the 'coming soon' section of my US fabric supplier is showing.
Last week I attended a staff information evening at my new retailer Bay Bee Cino, and as part of the talk about my lily pad products, gave the staff a two second summary of a) what the press releases for High Point and Pantone are predicting and b) what the 'coming soon' section of my US fabric supplier is showing. Here's the jiist of the trends:
1. The love affair with nature and natural elements is set to continue - more oatmeals, browns, greens, taupe, soft pinks, greys and stone, with a focus on patterns and images of nature like florals, botanticals, seeds, water bubbles, insects, animals, birds, pebbles.
2. But the coming year will progress to include colours that boldly clash and contrast with nature
or intensify natural colours - particularly purple, orange and vivid blues. In fact Pantone says 'turquoise' is the colour of the year for 2010! Purples and navy feature strongly in the 'coming soon' fabric collections.3. In parallel with the 'getting back to nature' trend is one of harking back to traditional prints - so we'll see more vintage; tapestry; damask; baroque; and a new take on Moroccan; Indian; and far eastern traditional prints. Black, white and red are still around to add drama. It's not so much about luxe: but more about finding comfort in stable cultures and times, and their creativity.
4. We'll see a new interest in typography - letter writing - again looking at the old arts and tradition (and perhaps feeding off the rise in blogging!!!).
SO WHAT ABOUT THE KIDS?
Translating this into children's textile trends, we seem to be looking at lots of purple, navy, soft pinks, taupes and greens coming through; lots more animals and birds (more owls in particular); word and alphabet fabrics; spots, stripes and military; and timeless treasures themes - fairy tales, ballerinas, castles, toy soldiers, babushka dolls.
These trends are exciting news for us here at OTLP. Firstly, I'm excited about navy making a comeback. It was only a few months ago that my wholesale fabric suppliers couldn't find hide nor hair of a navy print for my lily pads. I really needed one to go with all the navy prams and strollers out there. I finally found my French Filigree pattern, but now it looks like I'll have plenty to choose from. Greta will also be excited because we both think navy looks gorgeous on little girls, especially on personalised t-shirts (see her post below).
Secondly, it's exciting to see the focus on typography - good news for fashionable Topography! Obviously the fashion editor at Woman's Day is onto this one!
Thirdly, looks like I can have some fun with my pinboards, which are natural 'timeless treasure' hording places. I'm thinking something to do with military or naval for boys and I absolutely MUST have some of the Rapunzel fabric that's pictured above. I'm thinking of using a whole lot of yellow old fashioned zig-zag corded ribbon...plaiting it into a long rope like Rapunzel's hair...and winding it around the board with pegs and rubber bands... glorious.And while I'm excited...don't forget to enter my giveaway this month - see the post below.
