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Examples of Michelle's writing, editing and publishing.
The Trend Curve™
Industry Publications
Trend Reports
Color Forecasts
Select Blog Posts by Michelle
Earthy Hues at Guimarães Home Fashion Week
The first-ever Guimarães Home Fashion Week took place in Guimarães, Portugal in late June. It featured home-textiles products from 29 manufacturers that call this region home. Every company exhibiting at this event exuded a passion for textiles. They talked about the high quality towels, bathmats, robes, throws, curtails, kitchen towels, table linens, aprons quilts, sheets and…
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I’ve Got a Thing for Lambs
OK, I’ll admit it. With a last name like Lamb I’ve had a predisposition to loving these soft, wooly creatures all of my life—I’ve got a thing for lambs. But you don’t have to be one of my siblings or cousins to recognize that there are more lamb and sheep in the market now than there…
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The New Look of Red
Reds are getting a new look for 2017 and 2018. So says textile maker Sunbury Textile Mills. At the recent Showtime upholstery textiles market, this company revealed their forecast that future reds will trend toward their orange side. The Trend Curve agrees. Why? Because the foundation that drives everything in the world of color—neutrals—has already begun a…
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Pucker Up!
Dimensional weaves were an important part of the 3-D story at the Showtime upholstery-textiles market. As related in the August 2016 issue of The Trend Curve, that included high/low weaves and cut-velvet looks. It also included incoming matelassé and other puckered constructions. These dimensional weaves are expected to build. They will not only add more…
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Bath Towel Update: Border Treatments at Guimarães Home Fashion Week
Pousada Santa Marinha, a restored 12th century Augustinian monastery, transformed into a luxury hotel, served as the trade-show venue for Guimarães Home Fashion Week. A group of 29 Portuguese manufacturing companies based near Guimarães showed their newest and best textiles there for more than 50 international buyers from around the globe. No matter the category—whether…
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Stone-Washed Textures at Guimarães Home Fashion Week
Guimarães Home Fashion Week took place in Guimarães, Portugal in late June. It provided opportunities to see some of the newest and the best products from some 29 home-textiles manufacturers, who participated in this first-ever event and exposition. One Trend revealed in Guimarães was a stone-washed look. It came in colors like dark navy and…
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Yarn To Towel: A Story in Pictures
How does a towel go from yarn to finished product? Editors from Germany, Egypt, South Korea, Greece, Japan and the U.S. were invited in June to Guimarães, the most-important area of Portugal for household-textiles production, to see for themselves. It was all a part of Guimarães Home Fashion Week, a first-ever event dedicated to showcasing…
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From Utility to Creativity
Many of us have similar ideas of what a paint store looks like. A sea of color cards greets you at the door. Gallon cans of paint line utilitarian shelves. Brushes hang from pegs in good/better/best assortments. Whether you’re painting interior walls, changing the color on the shutters or giving an old dresser new life,…
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Feeling Bookish at H.D. Buttercup
Real books are making a comeback. Why? Because it turns out that people like the experience of holding a book in their hands. And lots of people perceive that there is less stress on their eyes when they read ink on paper, vs. on a screen. Now the preference for books is beginning to impact…
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Pompoms are On-Trend
Call them craft-inspired or Boho Chic. Either way, pompoms are getting lots of attention lately. The Trend Curve believes they are poised to get even more. Pompoms have already appeared as details on apparel, shoes and handbags. Now they are popping up on baskets, throws and cushions. They have appeared on products at the High Point…
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