Areaware, a New York based distributor, is my new favorite design company.
I had the pleasure of walking the New York International Gift Fair a few weeks ago and nearly had a heart attack when I stumbled upon the Areaware booth. Familiar with some of their products, like the gilded roller-skate doorstop from Generate Design shop, I felt like I had entered the mecca of meaningful, well-thought out design. Good design stops me in my tracks. Makes me giddy. Makes me crave more, more, more.
The slideshow is a sampling of my favorite Areaware items - the pieces I kept going back to inspect. The items I wanted to slip into my bag and take home with me right then and right there.
Why This Trend Is Growing
- Expressive Home Decor
- Disruptive innovation opportunity: Create home decor products that are not just functional but also meaningful and aesthetically pleasing.
- Design Mecca
- Disruptive innovation opportunity: Establish a design-focused retail destination that showcases well-thought out and unique products.
- Giddy for Good Design
- Disruptive innovation opportunity: Develop a platform or service that curates and showcases the best in meaningful and giddy-inducing design products.
Industries Being Reshaped
- Home Decor
- Disruptive innovation opportunity: Integrate technology and smart features into home decor products, enhancing functionality and personalization.
- Retail
- Disruptive innovation opportunity: Leverage emerging technologies like VR and AR to create immersive retail experiences that showcase unique and innovative design products.
- Curated Design Platforms
- Disruptive innovation opportunity: Build an online platform that connects consumers with curated collections of unique and meaningful design products from various brands and designers.
