Tooolbox at the EMC Go Live

Future Trends

with trend presenters and stylists Janine Borduin and Dianne Braafhart

Decisions you make today should reflect the vision of tomorrow's trends. What are the new developments in the world and how can these be converted within your business and your design. Companies such as Tooolbox specialise in answering that question and many more, picking up new trends, creative work and advising businesses on how to use trends to their benefit.

Janine Borduin and Dianne Braafhart are two of the co-funders of Tooolbox, a creative concept that focuses on the translation of trends. Developing new trend themes, offering new designs and commercial presentation of their clients collection is their specialty. With great experience behind them, they each contribute with their knowledge and creative flair to the company. 

Dianne Braafhart brings her creative mind and visual thinking skills to the team at Tooolbox. With an education in styling & design and visual merchandise, she is experienced in photo styling, visual merchandising, teaching, international booth/showroom styling, being also a product developer for seasonal products in Europe and Asia, and a trend presenter. 

With a background in Science of Arts, and a Teacher degree in Fashion & Textile, Janine Borduin is a product developer, a designer for textile and seasonal products in Europe and Asia, a trend presenter and a concept designer. She creates unique patterns and surfaces, translating trends and inspiring others with her talent.

Together they have many years experience as stylists and designers in the world of home decoration, gift, floral and lifestyle industry, making from Toolbox a creative gathering, as they call it, in which ’’Cooperation is the key word for a successful collection!’’

How to best assess today's reality in order to better create the future? How do you envision future strategies in today’s realities?

If you ask around, everyone wants to live in a healthy environment. But what do we do about it ourselves? We are more and more aware of the air that we breathe and what we do with our planet. In trends we see this awareness about natural materials, sustainable productions and technology, appreciation for nature, local handicrafts.

Another reality of the day is social awareness. We are all on social media a lot, sometimes hearing and seeing more than is good for us. We get information from all sides and the phone's algorithm affects us more than we think. 

We demand transparency and adjustments from companies and politics. This is also the reality of the day. In trends this is reflected in a rebellious design, as we want to show an hear ourselves. Bright colors and unexpected combinations in shape and color are used.

We've learned not to take anything for granted. You have to play the rules of the game, but also be flexible when they change them all the time. You have to bend and stretch constantly. As a creative, I think you are in advantage. Thinking ‘’out of the box’’ is necessary, and for creative people this is easier, we believe.

How do you approach challenges in your business and what are the most important ones you have had to overcome after the pandemic has literally stopped the world?

For us, as a Trend and Styling Agency, traveling, foreign fairs and a lot of the work literally stopped. Both for inspiration and for our assignments for styling work. We miss the hectic life, traveling, visiting cities. But I think this is the case for everyone in this profession. We yearn for new input and inspiration to work with. The result of this is that you will look more in your own environment. You stay local. That is different, but certainly not less... You get inspiration from everywhere and everything. In terms of styling work, we have switched more from trade fairs to garden centres, more local work.

Of course, you had fear for your loved ones, also you fear for your company and how to proceed. There was a lot of insecurity.  We went into a silent-mode for a while. A kind of 'reset'. Then adjusted and moved on. Creativity never stops, it's in your DNA. So yes, the world slowed down for a while, but it certainly didn't stop.

How is it possible to turn a negative experience, such as was the one of Covid, into a positive outcome?

We took some things for granted, such as family and our environment. In the hectic world you kept turning, and sometimes you forgot to pause to take a good look around you. Something like: driving down a road in a car or taking the same road on foot. You see completely different things. Macro or micro. As mentioned earlier, this counts for everyone, so a lot of people will probably experience it the same way.  Like we are looking into a magnifying glass. Localism, sustainability and honesty will be more appreciated.

How can we increase the positive impact of floral creativity in the post-covid world?

We are getting more and more respect for nature. Something that is or is becoming scarce always gets more attention and appreciation. We are (out of necessity) increasingly aware of our planet and what we do with it. The nature around us has given us a lot of security, distraction and wonder during the Covid period. As for floral creativity, we take this with us and honour nature more than ever. We look with different ‘new’ eyes at its purity and beauty. We see a lot of 'unique’ styles and free hand in flower arrangements. Not according to the techniques learned, but '’out of the box’', or simply because we think it is so beautiful. The uniqueness lies in the flower itself, hence wild bouquets and colorful creations as a result.

How do you think that the perspective of the importance and use of trends has changed in the recent years?

We see a clear shift from ‘just’ adopting new colors and trends, to more personal preference. We are looking for the unique, for ‘’what suits me’’. In which environment, with which things do I feel safe and familiar? This can go in all directions. From rebelliously colourful to minimalist achromatic. Covid forced us to buy online, resulting in "surfing" your own way on the web. A completely different experience than entering a store where the trends have already been set for you.

The appreciation for what surrounds us, the local, the original craft, the handicraft, the pure is also increasing. The pandemic has made this more important for us.

What inspires you? Share with us what are your main sources of inspiration and why they resonate with you.

 Inspiration comes from everywhere. Your environment, society, nature, people around you, what you read and see and what you talk about with friends or family. You absorb it like a sponge and it influences what you make. Consciously or unconsciously. The more you open up to this, the more you absorb. Be open to discussion, to love, to your environment. Openness and open minded is important to feed your creativity.

How do you see INTEGRATION as a concept influencing the future of the creative floral industry?

With flowers you complete the trends. Those are the finishing touches. Flowers and plants create and enhance the atmosphere. They complete the picture. Without plants and flowers there is no ambiance in the house. The atmosphere of a flower arrangement partly determines the mood you want to create, trend and floral design we see as one.

Flowers and plants are our oxygen that we need and without which we cannot live.

If you could have given one piece of advice to the person you were before the pandemic started, what would have been the most valuable?

Believe in yourself, take care of yourself, of your friends, family and the environment in which you live. Dare to stand up for yourself. What we were looking for from far turns out to be closer than we thought. Carpe Diem

^{interview by Ana Maria Grigoras} 

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Designing with flowers is the art and business of communicating emotions. The design displays elements of inspiration from so many other forms of art, it encompasses trends; it challenges us technically, just as it excites the client visually. This is why we believe that all florists who want to expand their creativity, especially if working int he wedding industry, need to experience the Infinite Creative Effect (ICE)! A floral design has to speak of a broader picture then selling the flower itself. It actually speaks of concepts, such as integration and conscious creativity, as the way into the future of design.

This 2-day virtual event offers florists and designers together the opportunity to learn and connect. Exploring the future in this fast-changing world with a conscious creative mindset is vital and a goal for us all.

Don't miss it. Bring your creativity into action!

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