From the origins of neon, through a contemporary shop layout, Neon: The Next Generation covers it all: gas, electrical and air supplies, gas burners, vacuum pumps, manifolds, bombarders, bending, pumping, ...
Sustainability and new market opportunities are opening up revenue streams after this long dry spell.
By Editor, Mary Scoviak
It's not just products but processes that are getting green. UK-based Brintons unveiled its Axminster Modeling Program (AMP) provides customers with finely detailed, computer-generated paper simulations of samples rather than traditional woven strike-offs--a first among Axminster providers. Not having to do small runs reduces the company's overall footprint and cuts delivery time for clients, says Scott Ivins, marketing specialist for Brintons. But, then again, Brintons always had ties to the natural world. As one of the world's largest commercial Axminster suppliers, its production capacity accounts for the wool shorn from one in every eight sheep in the UK. Wool from 17 different breeds is required to create Brintons' signature depth of color.
* New products for new markets. Crossovers into wellness are opening up new revenue streams on both the supply and design side. Jonathan Douglas, managing principal of Orlando-based VOA, is exploring a proposal for a medical destination tourism site in the Middle East. The complex would include not only medical facilities for people looking for a range of options from acute care for cancer and life-threatening diseases to plastic surgery, but accommodations for patients' families. "We're also looking at mixed use components such as restaurants and retail," says Douglas. How big could this be? It's open-ended, says Douglas. "The client sees this as a medical tourism destination, but also as destination tourism," he says.
Robert Glass, president, Medallion outdoor furniture, Miami, is looking to tap a different part of the hospitality market. He's rolling out a new line of outdoor furnishings designed for the handicapped traveler. What makes it new is that the design doesn't distinguish the new products from other Medallion furnishings; it's just the functionality -- like arms better positioned to take the weight of someone who's pressing up to get out of the chair and back adjustments to make getting up easier. "No one wants to be singled out as the person who needs a chair that looks like a hospital chair," he says.
Martha Wadsworth, vice president health care services for American of Martinsville, Martinsville, Va., sees senior living complexes moving upmarket and requiring design to do the same. "We're seeing a higher mix of foodservice offers--perhaps a bistro along with a restaurant and a cafe, or a common area that's much more like the community centers you'd find in residential developments," she says. Although this sector has upside for vendors and designers, she cautions that falling home prices are making some Baby Boomers think twice about selling up and moving into seniors-only campuses.
* Hitting all the price points. Five years ago, LG's flat panel TVs were suite-only items. Now, they're showing up in competitive properties catering to road warriors and families. That's creating a lot of upside, says Michael Kosla, director of sales--lodging division, LG Electronics U.S.A., Lincolnshire, Ill. If Marriott and other chains hold to current standards that franchisees of many of their brands will be required to install flat panels by the end of next year as part of renovation work, it could mean good times ahead for manufacturers and designers. And when the talk turns to value engineering, it's not just about cost-cutting. It's about re-inventing products that will last but still fit the price range.
*Social responsibility. Some businesses bunkered down. The ones that didn't are really thinking outside the box for new approaches to product development and production. Maya Romanoff's Meditations Collection uses Lokta paper crafted by artisans in the Himalayas. Aid to Artisans, which creates opportunities for artisan groups worldwide, provided the introduction,. says Jocelyn Gerard, manager, showroom relations for the Skokie, Ill.-based surfacing manufacturer. Using chopsticks, the craftsman hand-form patterns while the pulp is wet. The result has been a win-win that is taking the line in new directions.
A supporter of both GoodWeave (RugMark International's certification that the carpet was not made using child labor) and Aid to Aristans, carpet designer Malene B backpacked through Southeast Asia and participated in cultural exchange programs before she launched her own line of hand-knotted wool and silk and wool-only carpets made by Himalayan and Southeast Asian artisans.
So, while there's still a lot of half-empty glasses out there during the pool party tête-à-têtes and on the show floor, actions speak a lot louder. And the message from Miami is that the survivors are gearing up for better times ahead.