GlobalShop 2013 kicks off in just under three weeks, and the Chute Gerdeman team is looking forward to taking part in our industry’s premier event for store design, visual merchandising and at-retail marketing. We’ll be on the ground in Chicago from beginning to end, April 16–18, walking the show, meeting with clients, partners and friends, and keeping up on the latest happenings in retail trends and technologies.

CG takes the stage
Two of Chute Gerdeman’s creative directors will be on the podium for an exciting session that’s sure to be a hit. Join us and see how the consumer trend for healthier living is a leading influence on retail across a variety of channels.

“Healthy Lifestyles = Healthy Stores”
Wednesday, April 17 at 1:30pm

Chute Gerdeman Presenters:
Joanna Felder, VP, Intelligence & Brand Strategy
Bess Liscio, VP, Visual Strategy

Explore the cultural and personal dynamics that are making glowing skin and a healthy lifestyle the new must haves. Active apparel is becoming mainstream fashion—with high-style options that go from the gym to high street—and surprising new players are turning healthy fare into on-the-go fuel. We’ll explore how this trend is shaping retail from apparel to footwear to c-store innovation, and the consumer dynamics behind the movement. Join us as we highlight retailers who are shaping the trend right now.

CG at the Design Inspiration Showcase
In addition to Joanna and Bess, several other Chute Gerdeman senior leaders will be on hand in the Design Inspiration Showcase, including Denny Gerdeman, Elle Chute, Brian Shafley and George Nauman. We’ll be on the Expo floor throughout the week, sharing CG’s unique capabilities and industry expertise. While you’re at the show be sure to visit us in booth number 3030-I in the Design Inspiration Showcase.

Stay connected via CG!
We’ll be live-blogging from the show, with some on-the-fly observations and retail reporting from the Windy City! Be sure to check back to the Gerdeblog as well as follow us on Facebook and Twitter before, during and after GlobalShop. We look forward to hearing from you or catching up at the show.

Image property of Chute Gerdeman

Happy Holidays from all of us at Chute Gerdeman.

We’ll be taking a hiatus from blogging over the next week, but we look forward to bringing you more trends, inspiration and observations after the new year.

Images property of Chute Gerdeman

The Chute Gerdeman team had the distinct privilege of contributing to this year’s Veterans Day parade here in Columbus. We were selected to design and install new banners that honor all branches of our military service at Franklin County’s Veterans Memorial. Any day is the perfect day to honor our servicemen and women, and Friday was a particularly beautiful day for a parade! Thank you to all our veterans!

Image property of Chute Gerdeman

Image via Chute Gerdeman

As CG’s resident Materials and Trend Specialist, one of my key duties is keeping our studio’s materials library up-to-date. With a focus on what’s new, there are items that inevitably get pulled off our library shelves. I’ve been hanging onto unwanted items, waiting for an opportunity to recycle them, rather than dumping everything into the trash. As it turns out, there are others outside of our industry who find value in my unused porcelain tile samples or a discontinued wallcovering binder. And IIDA has created a program to bring us together and reduce the waste.

ZeroLandfill™ is a wonderful event, hosted by IIDA in various chapter cities, where designers and architects can donate old library samples, binders and other items that are taking up valuable real estate in a materials library. This reuse program offers discarded materials to local artists, teachers, DIYers or anyone else who might be able to repurpose these products.

Read more…

Ever notice how some people have oodles of really cool stuff on their desk? Katie Clements, a Materials Specialist Designer, is one of those people. Here’s a snapshot and a few words from our “material girl.”

1.  I meet with vendors frequently to stay updated on the latest and greatest materials, so my old-school rolodex is literally bursting at the seams. I have a one-in, one-out policy to keep it manageable.

2. My sister lives in Miami, FL, and the Clevelander at South Beach is always our first stop when I visit. I try to make the trip at least twice a year, and this Clevelander coaster is always a great reminder of our time together.

3. My favorite trade show is NeoCon at the Merchandise Mart in Chicago. I went this year in June and saw so many great new products and trends! [See Katie's favorites from NeoCon 2012 here.]

4. OMG, I love everything Kate Spade, and this advertisement makes me feel like taking a fantastic road trip. I also proudly display Kate Spade’s Live Colorfully campaign, which introduces a different color theme, with merchandise to match, each month.

5. I work closely with great vendors and sometimes they surprise me with fun gifts: a brush man to clean my keyboard, a vintage cage lamp and cork puzzle pieces!

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And here’s a little bit about the lady behind this desk…

As Chute Gerdeman’s Material and Trend Specialist, Katie is involved in all projects providing design support as a materials and color expert. She utilizes her vast knowledge and extensive library to present clients with well-considered selections for fabric, carpet, tile, wallcovering, lighting, furniture and any other special feature.

To read more from Katie, visit The Gist to check out her Top 5 Summer Trends.