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12 OUTDOOR DÉCOR KITCHENWARE NEWS & HOUSEWARES REVIEW Outdoor Décor Takes A Fashionable Turn BY DONNA BOYLE SCHWARTZ Call it "dining al fresco" or cooking "au natural," but however you put it, consumers are moving their guests and entertaining into the great outdoors. More and more, the lines are blurring between indoor and outdoor decorating, as suppliers experiment with chic and trendy fashions for the patio, deck or backyard. Nowhere is the trend toward outdoor entertaining more evident than in tabletop fashions. Once considered slightly juvenile and downscale, acrylic and melamine tableware and serveware has become smart and stylish. "Consumers are embracing the outdoors, especially in areas where the summer season is short," points out Ingerid Mohn, President, Sagaform Inc. "We are finding that consumers are creating an extension of their house outside by bringing out pretty and colorful tableware and decorating with beautiful planters and textiles. Our colorful glassware lines are doing well. In the past it has been the Juicy line, and in 2014 we are introducing the Fantasy line with bright patterns, offered in three sizes of glasses and one decanter in two colorways. In addition, we are doing well with our bird feeder and the wasp trap. Both items designed to improve the typical designs." Sagaform also is introducing a gift set featuring an outdoor cooler bag with racket holder. "This cooler bag is perfect for the beach," Mohn notes. "Fill it with your favorite food and drinks to keep cool, and after lunch break out the racket set for some fun in the sun." Zak Designs is taking a mix-and-match approach to its colorful outdoor designs, including a new Fresh palette of orange, kiwi, yellow and red in solids and dots. "Retailers and consumers are embracing the concept of creating a more decorated outside space which is inspired by the trend of entertaining at home," comments Lisa Egger, Director of Marketing, Lifestyle. "As more people entertain at home, guests n FEBRUARY 2014 migrate out to the patios and backyards to grill and hang out. Bringing the style or creating a new style that reflects the inside of the house on the outside is a natural progression with consumers. You see this trend with comfortable furnishings, candles, overhead lighting, TVs, place settings and even décor moving out onto the deck. "Carrying drinks and foods out to the table becomes essential, so trays are becoming part of the tabletop selection." Egger continues. "Serving chips, salads, and other foods to complement what is cooking on the grill is a common practice, and bowls are a necessary part of the serving story. Zak Designs, has colors that mix and match with trays and bowls, to make a strong color and/or shape statement for every outdoor experience." Outdoor furniture fabrics and related decorative accessories also are taking a design cue from interior furnishings. "There has been a huge growth in the past two to three years in the so-called 'indoor/outdoor' fabrics directly related to outdoor living," relates Neil Zuber, Executive Vice President for Home Fashions International (HFI.) "HFI, through our American Decorative Fabrics division, n www.kitchenwarenews.com (ADF), has enjoyed great success, making indoor/outdoor fabrics and finished products for more than four years under the 'Out n' About' label." In terms of finished products, the company has been successful with decorative pillows in embroidered, woven and printed styles, all embellished with coconut buttons, as well as oversized chair pads designed specifically for wicker chairs and love seats. Based on the success of the category, HFI/ADF is introducing a new outdoor fabric line under the brand name Suntastic. "The fabric line is massive and offers a fabulous collection of coordinated woven and printed fabrics, including many jacquard weave constructions of stripes, ikats, chain links, tweeds, flame stitches, florals, and herringbones, in addition to solids, embroideries and prints," Zuber asserts. "This line is designed and intended for the patio furniture cushion replacement business, and targets major retailers including Wal-mart, Lowe's, Home Depot, Menard's, Garden Ridge, Target and others. This line is creating huge excitement within the industry." Companies Earn Accolades at NY NOW for Environmental Sustainability SCULPTURAL SHAPES ADD CREATIVE ACCENTS TO GARDENS The Phillips Collection's new Roger Thomas Collection was shown at the Las Vegas Market this year. As a leader in hospitality design, Roger Thomas is best known for his iconic interiors at the Bellagio, Wynn Las Vegas, Encore at Wynn Las Vegas, Wynn Macau and Encore Macau. Cast in resin-stone composite, White Stone, these stackable shapes work outdoors as a creative garden sculpture that you can move around and create your own look. Each shape is sold separately. The entire collection includes, in addition to these extraordinary sculptural forms, wall décor, vessels and containers, and accessories for indoor and outdoor settings. The Philiips Collection 877.PHILLIPS www.phillipscollection.com NATIVECAST: CONCRETE WARES FOR CREATIVE LIVING NativeCast brings you the finest home and garden accents made from environmentally responsible, lightweight and durable green concrete. The natural materials used in our custom mix are native to the mid-Atlantic region, and each original design is individually hand cast and made in the USA. Add beauty and character to your outdoor spaces with a uniquely creative sculptural work of art from NativeCast studios. NativeCast offers the finest in sustainable stone decor for your indoor and outdoor living. NativeCast 302.438.3404 www.nativecast.com Three companies – aMano Fair Trade, Delight London and Shupaca Alpaca Clothing & Accessories – are winners of the ninth semi-annual Eco Choice Awards for Most Sellable, Most Innovative and Most Sensitive Use of Materials, respectively, for products featured at the winter 2014 edition of NY NOW™, the Market for Home + Lifestyle. Winners of the Eco Choice Awards, which are co-sponsored by NY NOW and GREENRetailer magazine, are determined through online balloting. "From an impressive field of nominees, these products most strongly resonated with voters for their blend of style and sustainability," said Christian Falkenberg, NY NOW director and GLM Senior Vice President. "These award-winning products were among nearly 200 carefullycurated 'green' home and lifestyle products featured in NY NOW's winter 2014 SustainAbility: design for a better world® display." The winners and finalists of the winter 2014 Eco Choice Awards are: Most Innovative: WINNER: Delight London (London, United Kingdom) for its Ruffle necklace from designer Ros Weaver's line of rubber band jewelry handmade in Britain from biodegradable natural rubber. FINALIST: The Green Glass Company (Weston, Wisc.) for its (Re)Bottled Oversized Glass from reclaimed wine bottles. FINALIST: Zak-Designs (Spokane, Wash.) for its Moso line of biodegradable dinnerware. Most Sensitive WINNER: Use of Materials: Shupaca Alpaca Clothing & Accessories (San Diego, Calif.) for its collection of blankets and throws handmade in Ecuador from hypo-allergenic alpaca. FINALIST: MUJUS (Brooklyn, N.Y.) for its Samuel Cufflinks in Monaco Blue made from Tagua seeds. FINALIST: 2b design home LLC (Cambridge, Mass.) for its swan candelabra-repurposed from a 1910 wrought iron gate. Most Sellable: WINNER: aMano Fair Trade (San Diego, Calif.) for its Coffee Bag Computer Case made by hand in Guatemala. FINALIST: LUprints (Pemberton, B.C., Canada) for its Horizon Birchwood Coasters made from FSCcertified wood. FINALIST:Cognitive Surplus (New York, N.Y.) for its Fish+Bones Soap made from organic essential oils.