The Promise of Product – A Springboard Webinar Series Replay

Tom Mirabile
Hello, everyone. My name is Tom Mirabile, the founder of Springboard Futures. And we’re here with you today to have a webinar called Moving Forward Looking Back. The reason that we decided to start to create the webinar the series actually was as a result of what we were seeing sort of out in the public, in the different places that we shop in the places that at the time we were still able to eat. And what we were seeing was that people were really leaning into comfort. They were leaning into comfort foods, you would see shopping carts that were filled with dry goods and canned goods. And right on top of them was an Entemanns cake or something that was really just comfort food, something that I mean, I had my box of Lucky Charms, so I was certainly no exception. But it raised a question for us about the essential nature of moving forward and what role some of these fundamental attributes of our social mobility really are going to have. So when we think of moving forward, that idea of comfort, wellness relationships with partners, family and friends, all of those things have seen some pretty distinct changes during this period. Whether it’s social distancing, or not being able to go out to restaurants, you know, having to spend time at home with people that we love and wondering if we still love them. But all of that sort of running through these like intense situations. So what I wanted to do was to bring you three people who I just love as experts and as people that I feel can bring us some information on what we can expect going forward. The first of those is Patty carpenter. Patty Carpenter is a winning designer and a creative director. She’s the principal of carpenter + company and as the global trend ambassador for Maison objet for Paris and America, and she’s also a consultant for Pantone

Patti Carpenter
Hi Tom, it’s great to be with you all. I’m looking forward to this lively creative conversation.

Tom Mirabile
Yeah, me too. The second is Michelle Lamb, Michelle Lamb is co founder of the TrendCurve which most of you I’m sure know, a trend forecasting company that’s about to celebrate its 33rd anniversary. How does she do it? She started at four years old. That’s how. And so she also consults for companies from startups to fortune 50 companies, and she helps strategize business and strategize assortment. So thank you, Michelle, for joining us.

Michelle Lamb
Thanks for inviting me. This is gonna be fun.

Tom Mirabile
It’s a pleasure. And finally, somebody that’s really new to the fold for us, and that is Leigh Ann Schwarzkopf, she’s certainly not new to the new the industry. She’s a co founder of Project Partners Network. She specializes in licensing and innovation and she’s worked with companies, again, from small startup companies up to the fortune 50. You know, some of these are household names from you know, from in every category from through every channel. So she’s really diverse got a great breadth of knowledge and we wanted wanted to bring her in because we feel there’s a lot of crowd crushing opportunities here. So um, welcome Leanne.

Leigh Ann Schwarzkopf
Hi, thanks for including man, look, I’m honored to be on a panel.

Tom Mirabile
It’s a pleasure. Um, so I’m just going to sort of jump right in. I think that one of the things let me just start with you, Michelle. You know, I think that one of the things that we are looking at is it’s such a it’s such an emotional issue all of this for all of us. So how do you think um, you know, and right now stores are wrapping up seasonal or they’re just placing their seasonal buys. How do you think that all of this emotional brand is this and these new standards for comfort? How is that going to affect seasonal business? What can we expect with you know, with Halloween, with Autumn, Thanksgiving with Christmas, what’s what are we gonna see going forward?

Michelle Lamb
Well, decor choices are always driven by emotions, but I have to say that in all the years that I’ve been forecasting trend, I have only once before seeing emotion So raw, of course that was in the fall of 2001 Today there’s a lot of emotion swirling around trust, because we can’t even trust the air that we breathe. Trust is on our mind with every single breath. So as we go forward for these assortments whether they’re seasonal or every day, trust is going to be crucial. So how to establish that? I think that one way to do that is to look at things that have already stood the test of time. So it doesn’t mean we repeat things exactly. That wouldn’t really work for trend. But it does mean that we use some of those things as anchors. Here’s an example. There’s a Christmas theme out there called Letters to Santa. So that’s something that we saw. It’s been around for at least 100 years. It was a bible in the 20s and 30s. Most recently, it was around in 2011. And I think the time is right for it to come back again. Why is that? It’s because the idea of a simple wish, having a simple wish granted, is something that’s really compelling for consumers today. But I don’t believe that we’ll see so much of the naive scribblings of kids writing their letters to Santa. I think this goes up a notch, for age. I think this is about adults. I think we’re going to see wishes for gin cocktails, not hot cocoa and mani-pedis not toys

Tom Mirabile
like God See, I was thinking world peace and you actually had me like welling up but now we’re just going into gin cocktails so much better with it.

Michelle Lamb
There Right.

Tom Mirabile
Yeah. So that that’s terrific. Well, what other What about Halloween? Like, what’s that going to look like this year?

Michelle Lamb
Well for Halloween, I think we will also be looking at some things that we know from the past but if we’re talking about little kids now Really so scary. For adults we can we can maybe travel into some things that are a little gory or a little bloody or for Halloween, but things that we know, things that have their roots in the past will definitely be on our minds, not just this year, this isn’t something that we’re going to be over in six months or 12 months, this is going to go on, at least through 2021 and maybe into 2022.

Tom Mirabile
know that I think you’re absolutely right. And I love the idea of having something that’s familiar, but it’s updated. We’re not just breaking back the past. We’re saying, you know, I love the idea of taking the letters to send up an age group. It’s really, really interesting to see like to have parents involved and you could see new traditions evolving around that theme. I love it.

Michelle Lamb
I think we’re establishing new traditions right now. So as we approach each one of the seasonal holidays, we’ll start layering in those new behaviors and nutrition. sessions,

Tom Mirabile
you know, I think it’s hard to believe that down the road, we’re going to be looking at these days in it in a very nostalgic way I feel it already, I feel myself referencing in my head, I’m going to miss this next year being here with Bill all day or, you know, whatever. So it’s, it’s, I think, already, I can see the beginnings of something positive out of it. So I’m going to jump over to Leigh Ann really quick, because then we’ve talked about a lot of trends sort of jumping across across the barrier of channels, you know, for example, trends that start in home and now all of a sudden we’re seeing them come to life in grocery or in drug channel. And I want you to talk a little bit about that. Do you see that people are, you know, do you see trends like this? For example, comfort affecting the things that people put in their cart and grocery for example?

Leigh Ann Schwarzkopf
Yeah, I’ve been watching like everyone else, the items that are out of stock and certainly some of it is head scratching. But other items that are out of stock are very interesting and in my mind speak not only to the current crisis, but some pretty big changes going forward. Cooking would be one example you see classes for kids, and adults, everything from basic home Mac to Food Network superstars, all putting content together. I’m hearing shortages of eggs and yeast, my own social media and email inbox are full of people saying, Look what I did. Isn’t this great? I’m so proud of myself. Bill, this all builds on the DIY trend that we’ve been watching for a while and I think it’s going to have a really positive effect on housewares going forward. I think some of the fear of failure will go away and I think people will become more engaged in the kitchen. I think, when people are ready to do less social distancing. They’re going to do it in smaller groups and perhaps entertain at home more. I actually was so intrigued by that idea. I spoke with a family therapist on that topic and she said, you know, families might reengage with other families. First though, they’ll work to groups where Kids share interests think about this the you know, the soccer carpool. So the kids will ease back into playing the parents will ease back into socializing. And then those people that don’t have kids will bring their close circle of friends and celebrate their newfound freedom. And then they’re showcasing their newfound skills

Tom Mirabile
You had a phrase that I want you to share with us. You have to you have to talk to it. Yeah.

Leigh Ann Schwarzkopf
I mean, the context of the conversation yesterday was we were talking about stress, baking and all that you’re reading about that and how therapeutic it is. And I think that’s going to evolve into one of my personal favorite words and personal favorite activities is procrastinating. And that’s where you can start the project until you whip up that pan of brownies or start those chocolate chip cookies. It’s only going to take a couple of minutes and then five minutes to an hour later you’re still doing something and and and the project becomes much more Interesting, but I think our shopping habits are going to reflect some of those behaviors going forward. And I think that’s really going to spill into housewares. In food in food channels, I think it’s going to fill in spilling to other channels too, I think, increased confidence in do DIY Well, we’ll bring people into the crafting channel agreement and housewares channel, etc.

Tom Mirabile
Outstanding. Um, so I’m going to jump over to Patti now. Patti, this is probably the most intimidating question because I’ve been asked this, I always like falter on it. But color is the most, you know, color is the most important, probably thing that we all look for because it’s it spreads so quickly across categories. It is so easy, I think to be wrong. But I wanted to ask you, I mean, you’re probably one of the most you’re a culture vulture when it comes to color. Every time I call you. Every time we speak. You’re coming from something else. You know, the Smithsonian, the Cooper Hewitt did something on color. It’s like okay, so I want to ask you, when you look across the landscape of all these experts and your own opinion included, what, where’s color going? What is going to be the effect of this on color? Is there nostalgia in that too? Or, you know, what are we seeing?

Patti Carpenter
Oh, absolutely, I think nostalgia is going to be very good and very strong. We’re going to have that need at this point. You know, it’s for some of us, it’s quite terrifying being right here in New York in the eye of the storm. You know, there are people who are really, really suffering with how do we how do we navigate this unprecedented time. But it’s also going to be quite transformative at the same time, we can’t all help but be touched by what’s happening. And so this whole idea of sometimes for me, I find that disruption is actually what’s necessary in order to evolve. And as we look at it from the point of view of color, what I’m seeing a lot of is that we’ve been talking about a lot of these types of things for quite some time. But now we’re going to see different parts of those trends take on deeper meaning and some are going to recede in importance. And and what I’ve been really talking about A great deal is that we’ve been talking about the whole idea of we’re going to rethink, we’re going to refocus, we’re going to reflect, we’re going to recharge, we’re going to reboot. And then at the end of all of that we need to restore. Because we do need to get back to business, all of us need to come out of our houses, and we need to get back to business. So we’re starting to see things that really are moving forward, like that bold, optimistic color. We’ve been talking about that sense of that joy of the jolt for the jolt of the joyful, excuse me, that sense of you know, lifting our spirits because we really need that. We’re also talking about the warmer side of the palate that we’ve been talking about for some time. Now, bringing that cozy kind of comfort that we need. It’s now needed more than ever. And so we see these warmed beautiful pinks that have a yellow cast sort of curled undertone, and so sometimes they’re nuanced and sometimes they flare more pink, sometimes they flare more coral, but that sense of that warmth of that cold color we really do see coming through very strongly. We’re also seeing that nuanced group of neutrals where it’s more color in neutrals with a main neutral Coming to the for being the brown range which we’ve been talking about from sand to soil. So those really sort of nature infused type of colors. And then certainly the importance of that range of greens those vegetal and herbal greens really taking their cues from nature are really going to ground us now more than ever. But then you pair those back to those blues. You know Pantone had blue as the color of the year. And what we really look look looking at now is those mid range blues where we’re really talking about the fact that blue calls up for us that sense of comfort, that sense of trust, that sense of grounding, you think of the blue sky over us all the time and then those watery blues that are going to come along with it that flare towards the TEALS towards the turquoise is and then balancing those off against things that are going to give us some some jolts over the metallics we’re seeing lots of colored metallics come to the fore where you get that sense of almost a neat neon kind of a take on a red or a blue or a particular range of mid green that has kind of a digital, if you will kind of

Tom Mirabile
Where is gold going to go in all this because when you and I were in Paris, we saw a lot of gold and a lot of really bright gold. And both of us were like, God, I thought this was over. But if it’s not, is that going to is that going to continue? Is that going to seem to like laying into locks for right now or we’re going to see more burnished? patinated you know, satin finish. Where’s that gonna go?

Patti Carpenter
Well, I for me, I see a couple of things happening. I agree with you. We saw way too much on the shiny side of gold when we were in Paris. I don’t think that’s going to come and I didn’t think it was going to come here strongly and I think even less now. But I do think we’re going to want to touch of those metallics because they’re going to resonate with us for that glimpse, or that sliver that adds light and luster to whatever we’re doing. So I think we will have more of the patina and the brushed kinds of golds and brasses continuing and then there will be some of those Silver’s that come through as well. And certainly there is a little bit of that trend towards max symbolism that’s going to really

Patti Carpenter
be like a part of the printing press that when we go out now, you know, it’s going to want to put some clothes on. And we’re going to want to put on the adornment that goes with that. And so I think we will see some of that and that happening with home in the same way where we want those little touches around because they reflect light, they do lift our spirits at that whole idea of light play, you know, and what’s going on there. So I do think that we will have those metallics, have some importance in certain certain areas.

Tom Mirabile
I think that what’s what’s great. What’s great in what you’re saying is, these are directions we were headed in anyway, we saw the rays were becoming more important. So it seems like the velocity is moving. You’re you’re pumping, they’re amping up the velocity because of what’s happened with Corona and our experience in that. But it’s not we’re not going off in any sort of like veering left or very right in any direction. It’s just a faster build with certain things and things that like plums and things like that, that were sort of on the periphery, we’re seeing them like we’re not even talking about that right now.

Patti Carpenter
Well, I think they might be A certain a certain level of the purples that lavender range, we were calling it the 10th. And the tinges at one point. I do see some of that being important because let’s have a digital connection as well. And it plays back sometimes to making the softer soothing pastels have more life and make them

Tom Mirabile
It feels great that there’s nothing super unexpected. It’s just the velocity, the speed of things has moved up. But, you know, we’re, we’re in the right direction, we’re not having to make major changes.

Patti Carpenter
I would agree with that completely. Um,

Tom Mirabile
so Michelle, I’m gonna jump back to you for a second. Um, it’s, you know, because of what’s happening this year, at least, you know, family and friends aren’t going to be able to gather together for Easter Passover this year, you know, that’s going to have a, you know, an effect on all of us, but how will that affect seasonal decor going forward? Is there going to be an echo of that next year? You know, and and how do you even see people dealing with this year, you know, are there What are they doing, because they were not going to not celebrate? What should we be doing?

Michelle Lamb
Exactly. Exactly. It’s important to know that the holidays are not that not that at all. In fact, we’re hearing some really optimistic reports about Easter this year. And that may be because a lot of the Easter business is done in grocery and drugstores and those channels are alive and well, it’s where it’s where all of us are going. It’s the only place that we’re going. So we’re hearing that there are sales here. And we’re also hearing in fact, Leanna and I were talking about this just a day or so ago that things as simple as decorating eggs that’s really traditional. So that feeds into what you were talking about before time about nostalgia, that’s there, but at the same time, it gives kids some crafts to do it keeps them busy, it keeps them creative. And so all of that is important. Remember, the holidays are not going away. And in fact, I think that through the end of this year and again a knock on effect into at least the next year and maybe into 2022. We’re going to see seasonal decorating, becoming even more important, meaning even more than it has in the past. And I feel this way in particular, about Halloween. You know, you think about how kids have already started gravitating toward going to shopping malls, having parties, even trunk or treating environments that their parents feel,

Tom Mirabile
what’s what’s trunk or treating it to seem like an idiot. But what is trunk or treating?

Michelle Lamb
Well, you go to a parking lot in your car, and you open up the trunk where you have treats, and the kids in costume parade, from trunk to trunk.

Tom Mirabile
I love that. Yes, love that.

Michelle Lamb
So it’s not new and it’s been gaining for a number of years,

Tom Mirabile
but he won’t get out of the city more. I love that.

Michelle Lamb
Even though those kinds of things seem Sort of being nine. It they may be too risky for parents going forward. So I think we’re going to see a lot more of gathering at home. I loved what Leanne was talking about with gathering with the families you know best, first of all, but yes, I think we will absolutely have more at home and that puts a spotlight on decorations. I think it also puts a spotlight on baking. I think kids will be doing baking with their parents, I think adults will be doing baking on their own. Don’t forget that there’s a fairly significant percentage of millennials who like Halloween better than they like Christmas. So they’ll be doing their parties but with a more curated guest list than before. So again, the decor will be just as curated as the guest list. And kids will be doing their baking, as I said before, silly themes, fun themes, very sweet themes for them, but for The adults I think we can do Gothic gloom. I like that one. We can do psychics,

Tom Mirabile
that you didn’t you just finished a trend report. Right? You just finished it, because I believe that we’re going to be promoting it on Springboard. But you have, did you release it yet? Are you releasing it now?

Michelle Lamb
Yes, one is already released. I’ll have another that I’m releasing actually as a webinar within the next two weeks. So if anybody’s interested in that, they can just ping you or ping me. And it will go ahead and give a little plug. Give your give your site address. I don’t mind that. Before we leave this topic, I just want to say one other thing. I think there’s a motif that’s going to be the scariest motif of all this year. Next year, too. I think it’s the bats. And whether you feel like the bat got a bum rap out of this whole Covid19 thing or not, it doesn’t matter. It’s still gonna be there. So get your bats ready.

Tom Mirabile
Well, ironically, bats are a symbol of longevity. So I’m Next week, yeah, no, no, no. So much, but there. So I think that, um, let me let me just back over to Leanne for a minute because we are, we’re moving through the time so fast. But, um, Leanne we had, you wouldn’t talk about people nesting and self quarantining and social distinct distancing in our, you know, in our sort of daily lives. What is that doing to the types of products that I mean, you know, a friend of mine was having a meeting with L’Oreal Paris last week, and are in Paris and, you know, when he came back with was, okay, increased concentration on on AI products, face products, you know, because we’re being similar on screen and you know, that’s the upshot about that book, what are we seeing in other categories, you know, be it food or anything else that we need to know in gifts in the home, and that may translate over to that?

Leigh Ann Schwarzkopf
Oh, well, one of the things I think we’re going to see is related to an area that I practice just said, is licensing and I think a lot of the brands that you’re used to seeing on shelf and in the media and whatever, are really providing consumers with that reassurance that they want and they’re looking for and brands. And I think a lot of the companies are really stepping up to the plate in there and they can think consumers are going to remember that. I read somewhere I think why, why pulse that nearly 90% of consumers are expecting brands and companies to help during your crisis. And I really think we’re seeing that now. And in the licensing area in particular than studios, artists, authors, they’re all in are providing content manufacturers are realigning whether it’s toy companies or cosmetics, when I think consumers will remember that and that’s going to bring them into new categories and new relationships with brands and products across a variety of channels. I think authenticity is really important, whether it’s the efforts that the retailers the manufacturers are making I think that’s going to also have an impact on licensed products and other products that we see going forward, they’ll have to have a reason for being, they’ll have to fit in with, you know, with the trends that are happening, whether it’s color as Patty talked about, or, or themes that Michelle talked about, but consumers are looking for ways to put the puzzles together. Right. And I think their minds will be broadened as they get back out into retail and get back out with people. And I think that’s going to bring so

Tom Mirabile
let me just make sure to start you’re saying so if we have if we have licenses? Like if licenses aren’t a part of your sermon already. What you’re saying is make them a part of your assortment or you know that there’s a halo effect of licenses.

Leigh Ann Schwarzkopf
Yeah, exactly.

Tom Mirabile
on other products.

Leigh Ann Schwarzkopf
Yeah, Thanks for clarifying it. There is a halo effect with licensed products. And I’m not I’m not advocating everybody run out and switch over your assortment to licensing but I think it should be something that you consider in your mix going forward. Whether it’s whether you’re a manufacturer or a retailer, it’s like Where can you benefit from what the activities are that these companies have been doing? And how can you How can you get farther faster? How can you reengage in business and reignite the passion that consumers have with your product? And sometimes it’s it’s through through relationships.

Tom Mirabile
I mean, licenses are still there. They’re sort of, they’re the comfort food product, right?

Leigh Ann Schwarzkopf
Yeah, they are. And I think sometimes people think licensing and they immediately go to an entertainment property, but we’re seeing when you look at the space that huge objects in and brands that are around you know, puzzles and games and toys, and in reading, publishing properties or going through the moon and when parents are spending all this quality time I use the word quality in quotes, sometimes a lot of means going around about about the homeschooling benefits. But I think I think there’s going to be something very visceral with the brands that help you engage with your family and friends,

Tom Mirabile
let me just make an aside here real quick. We see, I do see people raising their hands and we’re going to give you a chance to talk we’re going to sort of try to, you know, hit a spot at the end, we just want one thing I promise we’ll take your questions. as scary as that always is to me, because I’m always afraid someone’s gonna ask a question I can’t answer. So, but Okay, so, um, let’s get back to Patti for a second. Um, so Patti, you’ve addressed the color thing. Um, I think that I’m going to ask it to get a little bit off products and a little bit more emotional only because with color people, you guys always seem to like, you’re like the Barbara Walters of the trend world. You’re always going for the cry, you know. So it’s like, a you have this. I don’t know. I think that when, when people talk about color, they talk about emotion. They talk about how, you know, it’s like, we need to do this. So what’s the what’s the overall sentiment We’re hearing now inside color circles is it heal? Is it excite? What is it you know, when

Patti Carpenter
There’s several that I’m hearing, as I sort of engage with my community, there’s some that are talking about using this time, this fear that we’re all kind of sitting inside as fuel for the next level. They’re definitely everyone is talking about the idea of nostalgia, those touchstone kinds of things that we’re going to need in order to heal as a human family. I personally have been very surprised and delighted by a lot of the things that friends and family have been doing to get through this. And I think those connections that we’re making, even though they’re virtual, often and digital, that those kinds of connections certainly aren’t just going to fade away when we’re able to go back outside. So this whole idea of even how we’re using zoom, you know, this whole idea of using it to have a DJ party, using it to sing to dance to joke, you know, to do all of these things that we’ve been doing more tik tok than I’ve ever seen, you know, great means all of those things. So that connection that way is going to be interesting. We have just kind of reconnected in some ways to our communities that we had. And those communities have often also broaden. So they’re not just our family and our friends. But now because we can only do work this way. We really have a new family of work, you know, those people that we are with every day that way. We know those people that share our vocation, even with us today. That whole idea of this freedom that we’re going to have that we’re going to feel when we are able to go outside is going to give us this disability. Well,

Tom Mirabile
you know, it’s interesting, two things that you said that I have to comment on. One is the whole thing about Tic Tok and memes. And it’s, it’s really interesting. I usually in tragic situations, or in situations that have so much potential for just devastation. And we have new figures today that didn’t make it any better, certainly, but this is different for me because we’ve jumped into Umer Well, before you know there was this whole 911 it was like you would be what comedians would say too soon. And now we need that comfort of being able to laugh right away if you guys will notice.

Patti Carpenter
Oh, yeah. Have to laugh. laughter is the best medicine I think it’s been for me, it’s been the crux of it and doing things that you might not normally do this past weekend, a group of us to your point of being a culture vulture took a virtual tour of Versailles, you know, four of us in different places sitting on our computers, reading things, one of the others is that we’re seeing more and more people recreate, you know, modern masters themselves at home. I think those kinds of things are going to continue and and engages your kids and engages your family, you know, in culture and art, even if you’re not able to be out in it. So yeah, absolutely. I think this is calling on us to be better. and dare I say it to be best. No, and

Tom Mirabile
I don’t know what the what the rules are. Not sure that there’s some etiquette rules about plugging your own your own site, but I don’t really know the rules so I can’t be breaking them. But a work Patti is works with Springboard. And so one of the things that she’s gonna be doing for us is telling us some of the tours that she’s taking some of the virtual life that she’s living as we go through this, because as we talk every day, I’m like, I want to go to Versailles. Why don’t you invite me which Why didn’t you? But um, so we’ll you know, we’ll we’ll move forward with that. But I think that it’s, it’s, it’s just interesting. See how we’ve, we’ve been so quick. It seems like in prior years, we’ve been just very slow to kind of come out of it. We’re peeking out of it. But here, we’re like hitting it head on. I really liked that. Leon, are you seeing that as well?

Leigh Ann Schwarzkopf
Yeah, I think I think we were headed that way. I think you saw a lot more edgy, edgy humor, whether it was novelty socks, or mugs that say things like I’m silently correcting your grammar or, or, or even even crossing a line. Exactly. Or even crossing a line into something that might be a little off color or something like that. I think. I think we were headed in that direction. I think that that the comic relief is as you said, it’s necessary. And I think but I think people aren’t art you know, they’re not crossing the line and They’re not joking about the devastation that is happening, but they’re doing other things that they can that can have a release some stress and relieve some of the pressure of your day to day life

Tom Mirabile
. I think I think one of the things that I love about this and this is the other thing Patti hit on is, like Michelle and I talk and Patti and I talk and you and I have talked and but it’s like, right now, we’ve just said, you know, people need to hear some of the things that are going on out there. And it’s, it’s, we would never have come together, it would have taken four months to get us all together and make some sort of something and it was just like, fuck this, we’re just all going to get together and we’re going to say what, you know, we’re going to tell people what we think can help. So with that in mind, I’m going to go back to you for a second and just say, wellness. Okay, so wellness has obviously come into the spotlight right and it was in the spotlight to begin with, but now you know, straight to the top. So how is that going to really show up in in multiple channels or what’s going to happen to that trend? what’s what’s what are you hearing, you know, Because you, you’re in with somebody, the big people first, what’s what’s moving forward and wellness? What’s taking a backseat, maybe? What can we expect out of that industry?

Leigh Ann Schwarzkopf
Well, I think the clean label and all that kind of stuff is still going to have an impact on the food side, I think so transparency mean, transparency and ingredients and stuff like that. But there’s a, you know, forever trend. There’s a counter trend, as Michelle often says, and at the same time, you’re also seeing an increased desire for convenience. And so I know some of the big food companies are seeing tremendous sales like in cereal and stuff like that. So I think so I think the whole walnut but I think people will be looking at labels again and trying to figure out where they can find that happy medium. I think the other channels that we’ll see that will be everything from the the cosmetics you use and the clothes you use and where it’s sourced and whether there’s that authenticity that I spoke about before is available. But they will also be looking at how can I make it myself? Where did it come from? So I think the wellness is going to be, there’s going to be a spiritual kind of piece to it, but they’ll also be a very practical piece to it. And I can’t speak to the spiritual pieces as much as I can to the practical.

Tom Mirabile
I’m gonna, I’m going to ask Michelle because you always have an answer for everything kind of unplanned question. Like, so what’s gonna happen with us in terms of I know, this is awful, but I have to admit it. I go around these days, I’m just thinking like, chest up, you know? So what, what? What does that mean for you? Like, what is it the way that you’re communicating? Now, the way that we’re, you know, the way that we’re all communicating? What is that? Is that going to change permanently? Or do you think that’s going to just be like, okay, we’re gonna go back to face to face and or, or will digital communication just never be the same? You know, I mean,

Michelle Lamb
I’ve really been thinking about that because our son works in an industry that is highly secretive. And even that industry has had to send equipment out for people to work at home. We, those of us who aren’t our son, he came home during this crisis, we had to sign MBAs to keep to keep everything private. Now, I suspect that people are on a learning curve. And companies are on a learning curve. And they’re going to figure out that we don’t need as much personal contact. And we don’t all need to be clustered together in buildings or some other site as we thought we did. But for us for our sense of humanity. I want to be clustered with people. I long for my friends, I want to be able to reach out and give someone a hug, without worrying that I’m going to die as a consequence, right. So so I think that there’s going to be a little bit of a tussle between between profitability and personal fulfillment as we go forward,

Tom Mirabile
it’s gonna be interesting. And this is a topic for that we’re gonna be talking about next week. It’s gonna be, actually next week, Thursday of next week, we’re doing a webinar about this topic, but about markets. I think it’s gonna be I’d love to hear from each of you as to what do you think this is gonna affect it’s gonna have on markets, because, of course, you know, I mean, for me, I can’t imagine not going to a market you could talk about you can talk about digital markets, and, you know, and sort of virtual reality, showrooms and all of that, to me, and I know Patty’s, I can’t wait to hear when you go off on this, but it’s like, for me, I cannot imagine going to market and not touching and not feeling a picture will never be enough. You know, but maybe that’s where I live, you know, but is this my question is this how do you think it’s gonna affect markets and the way we see trade shows, how do you think it’s going to affect selling Are we going to become more comfortable with, you know, with buying things without seeing or touching them? Or will that’ll Be a part of things, you know, what’s coming your way?

Patti Carpenter
Well, if I can, I’ll jump in first. And I agree with you. They have to continue. There. I don’t think we’re moving away from markets as a whole, I definitely believe that we were already moving in the direction. And I’d love to hear Michelle’s thoughts on this as well, with regard to the idea that there were so many markets, and they went on for so long. And I think that we may see a shift in the length of time that markets go on and that we may see a shift to the number of markets that are out there in the number of markets that are out there, but I definitely believe that we need it, especially in our industries, and even now more than ever, with texture and tactility. Being Top of Mind, those are trends that we do see, coming, moving more forward and not receiving that sense of engagement because we are humans, we want that. The emotion is what is tied to any product that we want to get and get to become engaged with and to touch with Materials now we’re going to be calling to engage us, we’re going to need that tactility. We want those velvets. We want those plush hands. We want those rough, raw, kind of almost handmade structures. We want those bonded and poofy and soft structures. There’s all kinds of new materials that are coming to the fore that are fluffy and warming and comfortable and comforting. And I think you have to engage with those in order to really fully appreciate them. So yes, we’ve gotten kind of educated as to looking at things online and as a picture on our on any screen that we happen to be in front of. But I don’t see that we’re going to go completely away from having those engagements and also just that shared community that happens at markets that you don’t get with people, you know, who that are sitting in far corners of the of the world. So for us, that would be my take on it. Michelle, what do you think context

Tom Mirabile
also context is everything

Patti Carpenter
Absolutely.

Tom Mirabile
Looking for a B or C but when you go to a market, you the context of What you see, and how you relate pieces to each other, and how you envision your consumers being different, you know, and the feedback you get, but just by watching people, you know, somebody asked me like, what do you what do you? Where do you go at market and I’m like, I always follow the crowd, like, I looked at anywhere where there’s a ton of people and I want to see what they’re looking at, you know, so you don’t get that when you’re just sort of, you know, it’s just who’s the best sales pitch you know, so

Patti Carpenter
and also the brand, it’s really the only time that the brand you know, in their showroom is the only time that they really can show you their thinking around what the product is because then it gets picked and chosen and selected and placed in other types of, of you know, with other types of products and created differently when it gets to retail or into someone’s home. But this is the way that the brand can put forward their philosophies, their thinking their ideas, their you know who their DNA what their DNA is.

Tom Mirabile
Michelle, your thoughts?

Michelle Lamb
Yeah, I think it’s never again going to be the same and I don’t think it’s an either or I think it’s a yes and, and if I were a buyer and I did sit in the buyers chair at time And that ruined board for a number of years. If I were a buyer, I’d be mixing these two things, the virtual and the physical in a completely different way, probably more virtual as we recover from this and then more personal as we go on because this whole thing about stay away from each other this is, this is so deep in our psyche. Now, this is not going away in a moment, a month or a year. But I also think for me personally, when you go to someone’s stand at a trade show, they want to show you what’s been the most popular thing. That’s nice to know for me, but it’s not the need to know I want to find that one little obscure thing that only one other person cared about, because that could be the one directional thing that tells me not about this year in this season, or even the one after that. But one, two years, three years, five years from now. That’s what I’m looking for. And I don’t think anybody’s going to put that together for me. In order your thing

Tom Mirabile
is that the virtual environment, you run the risk of being more a victim of the push, then you know, it’s what they want to push it you rather than then having the opportunity to explore and find something for yourself. That is the next, you know, the next exciting things.

Michelle Lamb
Yes, it’s an attitude. And I’d rather add it for myself. What about you, Leigh Ann?

Leigh Ann Schwarzkopf
Yeah, I was just gonna jump in and say I think there’s an energy that you would see at trade shows and, and markets that you can’t get virtually I do believe there’ll be a balance. I think many of the things that are staples that you will be buying all the time, you will continue to buy that way. But I also think that you know, I think probably for all of you I know for me kind of meandering, meandering, the halls meandering, the aisles, you see things you start connecting the dots, you have that context that I think is, is so critical, and one of the things I always caution my clients in colleagues about as you can’t pick one data point and assume that is the data point. And that’s the defining thing you need to put it in, in place in time in, in, in, you know, how it fits in the world as a whole. And that’s really where you can, you can develop your trends and your design and your, your point of view. And I agree completely with what Patti said it like as a former brand person, I used to work for General Mills, when we were able to bring all of our licensees together and showcase. This is what you know, Betty Crocker stands for in the kitchen and this is how she can help, how she can help be your friend. Right? That’s something that you can’t replicate when it’s a guy selling a pan. Well, very different.

Tom Mirabile
You know, a lot of the industries that you work with food for example, drug channel, they are in a rarefied if not more threatening position right now, because they’ve been allowed to keep their doors open. They have to, so um, are they Are they using that to an advantage? Are they? Are they using it to solidify relationships with consumers? Are they like, what are they doing with that? Or are they just concentrating on getting to the end of the road with this? And, you know, I’m just trying to see like, what of the people who are watching today? What can we learn from these people who are, you know, in this situation and dealing with it very differently from most of the rest of us?

Leigh Ann Schwarzkopf
I think they’re doing both I mean, a, you see people that are demonstrating a care for their employees and care for their consumers, by the way, they’re interacting and even things like I don’t know if it’s in all of your markets, but here the whole idea of we’re going to open the stores for certain hours a day for those people are at high risk. Again, people don’t forget that. I mean, it’s in that whole thinking about someone else starts with the retailer, and even the manufacturer and then the content providing is the same thing. It’s like, you know, don’t just be Buy your meat, here’s how you can prepare it. And I just I see that connection is something that they’re doing well and I think that connection is something that we can all take that to heart and in how do you in your business connect with your end consumer or your customer? In some cases, your manufacturer customers, the retailer, but how do you make their life easier? How do you provide a solution and I think that people are doing a good job of that there’s certainly a lot of I just got in last night I went to a store and there’s still no toilet paper, still no Kleenex or tissue, there’s still no whatever. But I know they’re working hard. I believe they’re working hard because they’re showing me in other ways that they care about me and they’re trying to get it done. So I just think being genuine authentic and putting your best foot forward or somebody

Tom Mirabile
actually Okay, so I’m going to say something now that it’s gonna sound corny, but what you’re talking about is, you know, I mean all Three of you. And I want to thank you like before, I have one more question, but I want to thank you while it’s in context, you all have donated so much of your time and so much of your care to just getting this together offering to talk whenever we needed to talk because you know that springboard is committed to really pushing out information during this time for free, give it away or trend reports and all of that but I really want to thank you because you’ve made so much time to make this happen. And to make future things happen and you’ve been such amazing contributors to the trend share project, which you can find out about on springboard comm springboard futures calm but I want to thank you for that. Um, the so as a last question before we start taking any questions that might be out there. I’m going to start with you, Michelle. Um, if you had to give a piece of advice. I feel badly because I’m hitting all the questions I didn’t ask before but Screw it. If you had to get a piece of advice to retailers and manufacturers, what to think what to be what not to do right now. Anything. You get it? What would you say to them? What’s that in the country? thinks that moving forward because that’s this is about moving forward. Okay. First before anything else, what’s the bet? What’s the best way in your opinion to move forward? What piece of advice would you like to give?

Michelle Lamb
Can I give two pieces of advice?

Michelle Lamb
The first one is in the near term, please avoid exclamation points. Nobody wants too much excitement right now. Just be comforting. That’s the first thing. The second thing is that we have always talked about trend as its own entity. You have a core assortment, you have a trend assortment and they talk to each other, but they’re not the same thing. And they have different margin requirements. They have different roles in the store, we use different visual display for them. So my advice would be as we move out of this, think about the role of trend if you haven’t already defined a percentage of your assortment that should be devoted to trend or you might say risk. Start thinking about that now because then What’s gonna drive consumers in, when they don’t have to just buy the basics anymore, they’re coming for the trend. So be sure that you have allocated a percentage of your assortment to that. If it’s 15% of your assortment, think about nudging it up to 20. If you’re at 25, you’re probably at the peak of what you want. But focus on trend, the basics may take care of themselves for a little while.

Tom Mirabile
Cool. Good message. Patti.

Patti Carpenter
Same question. I like that. Michelle, that was, especially point two. Because what I was one of the things that I’ve been thinking about is even what basic has been, there’s going to be a shift in what we have called basic before, because I don’t think as as consumers, we’re going to have the same mindset. I think we’re going to be in a less less and more kind of conversation, but it’s very different. I think we’re going to want less than waste less and buy less and use less. But I think we’re going to want more in in a larger context. So things that offer us the ability to have community, things that bring comfort, things that bring connection. And so in and looking at what those products will be, they will be about, about how they, they touch us in ways that have a longer lasting benefit. And those benefits, I think, the shift in what those benefits we’re looking for are going to happen. So fast fashion is not going to be the way that things are going to move forward and fast fashion and any and when I say that, I don’t just mean in clothing, I mean in any any product category. It’s that idea of looking for things that that have longevity that are creating, we’re talking a great deal about updated classics, those things are going to stay with us that will layer on to that we’re not just going to get rid of we’re going to be very different I think when we emerge Yesterday we kind of had the beginning of a conversation about cocooning versus butterflying. That happened after 911. And I’m thinking that we’re in a very similar yet strongly different kind of place, sort of the yes and kind of place that you talked about Michelle, whereas that was kind of something we chose to do in a different way this has been forced upon us. And so how we emerged from this, I think, is going to be different because we had this amount of time to care and to self heal and to work within our family structures or our social structures, etc. and and the way that we’re going to emerge, I don’t think it’s fully formed yet. But I think that it’s definitely going to be more mindful and and about buying mindfully purchasing mindfully in terms of what we go back out into the world

Tom Mirabile
Leigh Ann?

Leigh Ann Schwarzkopf
Building on what I agree 100% with what Patti and Michelle are saying building on that, I think one of the things that can Sooners are going to expect going forward is that their retailers and manufacturers will will understand me and my concern. So if you know some of us can, some of us can harken back to the the I’m going to say the good old days in quotes with you know, the regional department stores where they they had assortments that were that were applicable to whether it was Indianapolis or Houston or, you know, another, another market. And I think that we’re going to see consumers looking for more things that are relevant to me or my location or my situation. The building on that whole personalization thing finding striking a nice balance there. One example would be at the Nike neighborhood store where even though it’s a nationally globally known brand with stores all over the world, they’re their neighborhood store and Melrose was is curated by the local population to think to create meaningful assortments and drive sales and I think consumers are going to be looking for that. I think the bar is the bar is being said in a great way and I think it’s up to rise to that challenge,

Tom Mirabile
do you think retailers are going to be, that maybe this is a big expectation? But do you think that a part of the successful retailer going forward is helping us do more with less, you know, helping us because everything’s gonna be strained budgets are gonna be strained? And it’s not just about promotional periods anymore? I mean, do you? Do you feel like the like the bigger channels are going to be trying to help us or that they should help us do more with less as opposed to just selling these lower prices or whatever, but treating us more holistically like people who are financially strapped, as opposed to the haves and the have nots, you know what I mean?

Leigh Ann Schwarzkopf
Yeah, that’s a hard question.

Tom Mirabile
Sorry.

Patti Carpenter
It is a big concept, but I agree with the direction in which you’re taking, you know, in which I think I don’t think that we can move forward in the way that we have with business as usual. Usual has gone out, you know, and it hasn’t just changed. The thing that’s so so interesting to me about this time is it hasn’t just changed here. It changed all over the world. Everybody is going through this and we have not witnessed this

Tom Mirabile
yesterday and For my part, you know, I think that I think that one of the things that we can’t miss is that this is a completely unique experience. It’s not unique Actually, it’s exactly the opposite. But we have never before had something that we all experienced together. You know, I mean, in a war we you know, you have the people who are you have kids who experience war in a very different way than adults do, and a very different way than soldiers do. You know, and, and, but this is a uniquely and I use that word very deliberately. It is a uniquely unifying experience because we’re all experiencing we’re all literally under the same roof. I mean, that the fear, the anxiety, the stress, the claustrophobia, that the hope the, you know, the looking forward, it’s something that it’s been never in my lifetime or I think in my parents lifetime did did multiple generations experience a single thing the same way. And I think that it’s part of our responsibility is to respond to that and to, to sort of foster the foster and continue the unification that that’s caused, you know, I mean, it’s, I think it’s, it’s a, I think it’s great, I think, but it’s a new way of talking to people because we’re so used to segmenting I mean, it’s Millennials are this and boomers have that and I’m guilty more guilty than anybody else. That’s my expertise. But it’s you know, I think it’s it’s very it’s very exciting. You know, I think the other thing is just the home as a mean for me, I think about the home has been so many things, it’s done so many transitions and Patti you and I talked about that land you and I talked about that last night to the home has been you know, the homeless cocoon and the home is you know, Haven and the home is the entrepreneurs Home Office and the home is the home is the the genesis of or rather the incarnation of everything we become we want to become so for me, it’s like the next phase is the homeless shelters. We were talking last night I’ll admit, I said the homeless fortress and and pat again The big beat down and said,

Tom Mirabile
No, no walls, you know, so

Patti Carpenter
something that I think is what exactly what we don’t want. I think this idea.

Tom Mirabile
That’s why I’m saying home is shelter, we’re going to be figuring out how we can you know, if this happens again, how do we make sure that, you know, the home is sheltered, you know, at for all of us for all of us together. So, um, you know, I’m really Okay, so I’m gonna see if I can find out okay, Kimberly experiment. Can we prepare Mr. Han? I love Kim. We haven’t spoken in years, but I’m gonna like let her talk and hope that she doesn’t say anything nasty.

Tom Mirabile
Kim,you they’re an excellent from you. So I apologize. Oh,

Kim – guest question
can you hear me? Okay, I’m sorry. My dog is barking in the background. I’m in my bedroom. So yeah. Okay, I should have done that. Um, my question is, as a teacher Top designer whose business has gone way down because of the millennials because nobody wants decorative dinnerware or high end flatware or, I mean, everybody I worked for went into chapter 11, basically. So I’ve been redefining myself and looking at doing more surface design or doing more things like Commission’s of paintings and stuff. But I think this is going to really dramatically change the impact on people’s choices and dinnerware. And I wonder what you think about that?

Tom Mirabile
I want to answer first real quickly, if you don’t mind cuz I have such a long history in tabletop. I think that I think modularity is going to become really important. I think people being allowed to buy, you know, we’ve been pushing either play settings or 16 piece sets, people have been very uncomfortable with open stock because of the the Jeopardy that it puts them in in terms of, you know, in stock position and a lot of that, and I think we’re going to be seeing more. There’s a particular company that I just love today. And they’re doing like they’re doing modular generating rectangles and it looks great for entertaining. And it, Patty, you and I were there with their names drive me crazy. Where are we? We were in Paris, and of the aisle. But anyway and Kim, I’ll send you I’ll send you their name, but they had a lot of mix and match to what was actually being done by mercy in Paris. It was a license from mercy to this company who is escaping me. But I think what the future for dinner, if you’re looking to engage millennials is to stop trying to sell them things they don’t want, and they don’t need like a salad plate. A salad plate. Salad is a meal to millennials. So it’s, it can’t be an eight inch salad plate, you know, on the, you know, bowls have to be deeper have to be friendlier to take it to the couch. You know, I met with some people from all last year and they’re, they’re in a room of about 20 people. I said, How many of you have dinner with your family at the table? And the answer, one person raised their hand and it’s only in the living room. So why are we still pretending that people eat places they don’t and they Kids don’t take their dinner into their room. So I think it’s I think, honestly, Kim, it’s it’s about being realistic to me. I think

Michelle Lamb
I completely agree. And I’d like to emphasize the importance of bowls you talked about a bowl has to be deeper, does it? Maybe it has to be smaller. Maybe it has to be wider. Yes, the answer is yes to everything. bowls, bowls, bowls, OpenStack bowls, bowls by the set, doesn’t matter. Just do them.

Patti Carpenter
I would agree. In fact, if you think of all of the different kinds of meals that are top of, you know, top of the list now for millennials, they’re all things that have come in a bowl, you know, so is the things that you eat in a bowl. So why would you not take advantage of that but the other thing I will add to this is a thought that I’ve had for a while is certainly one of the things that happens and especially if we sort of addressed what Leanne said earlier about entertaining at home, I think that there will be a call for interesting pieces that can do double duty or triple duty that have the ability to to to nest and add and transform, and that you can that you can utilize for different types of, of and uses. I think those kinds of things are going to be important. I look at somebody like a breed out of Paris, who did that first ball with the plane that created this wonderful sculptural piece when it wasn’t in use, and how Rosenthal has now come out with several versions of it. And, yeah, I mean, it’s a really beautiful idea about how one focuses on on things for tabletop. So I would agree that you thinking out of the box, you’re thinking about how are people really eating? And then those

Tom Mirabile
I’ve asked the Joe Derek Chesky, from NPD to speak at the next tabletop show with me and you. And one of the things we’re going to talk about Kimberly was It’s been so long since anybody spent any money or time on see how do people really eat now, we have no consumer information. I mean, we know everything about things that mean nothing, and yet we haven’t. We haven’t explored the American eating experience in decades. And so we need data. We need information so people like you can move forward and not have to pay $10,000 for a survey, but just get to the industry and say you want to move forward. This is what you need to know how many people how many people actually eat at the dinner table? How often? What, what what pieces they use most often what pieces don’t they have enough up, you know, so that somebody can get out there like you and be bold and say, You know what, I’m gonna do a 60 piece set it’s all bolts right down to the mug. You know, so you don’t I mean,

Unknown Speaker
yeah, isn’t it?

Michelle Lamb
Oh, absolutely.

Leigh Ann Schwarzkopf
It’s gonna be interesting to see what again, this what we’re dealing with now and what kind of impact it has because Excuse me. I know that many of the people I work with and deal with they’re actually celebrating having meals together with their family sitting around the table. And I think it’s it’s a novelty, no, they’re really fun to see how much of that I agree that people are. We’re nomads and we’re all around the house and we you know, we do all this kind of stuff. I think there’s just an interesting dynamic at play here. Literally fun to see how it plays out.

Kim – guest question
Do you think that people will be attracted to decorating dinnerware or I mean the whole trend of just doing all white or just very plain colors or matte glazes and not doing anything decorative, you know, decoration gonna come back I get

Patti Carpenter
that from ambient a decoration is here Look,

Kim – guest question
I’m glad you let me know that

Tom Mirabile
well and but see keep in mind decoration is huge at every show because it’s beautiful to look at. But over the years and we’ve seen some gorgeous things come across over the years and I’m just speaking from my experience you know with lifetime which is false craft and the costs and all that white is 80% of the business. I mean it is personal. So what I would say is build versatility You know, every everything that you do everything that you do design wise is one more hurdle towards towards making things easily accessible. So you know, I mean, all whites maybe may be boring but you can create great texture like that. Paddy was talking about great textual advances inside of whites that have as much personality as as something bold, but maybe it’s a textural pattern and a mix and match that way. Because the thing is, it’s we have to remember, we live in a rarefied position. The average consumer doesn’t have in their DNA. It’s not an insult. They come to us because they want us to create solutions. They want us to create the foolproof and as long as you create a line that can mix and match easily, and that people can’t screw up. The closer you are to being successful, I think, you know, so. Thank you. I think I have to tell everybody,

Leigh Ann Schwarzkopf
I was just going to build on what you were saying, Tom, about the research, I think, and the generations and because I do believe there are some differences if you think about not just generations but life stage. I mean, my son is about to start his first apartment and you know, needs to know what to buy. And working with the National confectionery Association. I know they’ve done some research and start Oddly enough, there are groups of people that are in the younger generations that don’t love chocolate. I know what’s crazy. So thinking about those preferences with color and flavor and things like that, I’m sure they translated to

Tom Mirabile
kale.

Tom Mirabile
Listen, I, we have to sort of wrap wrap here. We have two more sessions coming up in the next week, one where we approach, you know, we will have experts in from the trades, from trade journals and other editorial, Warren Schauberger be there Warren. He’s always got an opinion. And then we’ll have the major trades are talking about what the industry thinks, what they’re hearing, you know, ears to the ground all the time. We want to bring you expose people and people who really know what they’re talking about. So I think we’ve done a good job of that today. I can and then the week after that is the markets are going to come and talk about how the markets are going to change and adapt to this. Thank you so much. All of you for spending so much time with a say it’s just been a joy and Thanks and we hopefully you know, if you like this, it’ll be it’ll be recorded so you’ll be able to pass it on. Come visit us at springboard futures COMM And there’s a lot of free information, a lot of great blog posts. We’re really excited and we’re, those become like a thing to say we’re definitely here for you. So if you need anything, give us a yell. And thank thank you to all the participants. I really appreciate your help. You’ve been wonderful fun.

Patti Carpenter
Thanks, guys. Good luck. Thank you.

Leigh Ann Schwarzkopf
Bye