“We are ecstatic at the world-wide positive response to our products that transform living space within interior and exterior environments,” says Jesse Villarreal, Jr., president and CEO of Bella Fleur. “We made the decision to rename our Solid-Core architectural glass because the word enso means strength, elegance and enlightenment. Enso literally means circle, and reflects when the mind is free to let the body and spirit create, allowing an expression of the moment.”

NeoCon, if you’ve never been, is not like any other trade show. You can walk aisles and aisles, floors and floors, checking out anything and everything that’s new for interiors, from furniture to fabrics.

I’ve had the opportunity to attend the event a couple of times, and have spent some time lately talking with some companies in the decorative glass market. Based on those discussions, here’s my very own personal take on what will be some trends you can expect to see in decorative glass at NeoCon.

Color. Experts agree that adding color is a great way to achieve an aesthetically pleasing look. Backpainted glass is one way to achieve this intent.

Images. From logos to photographs, you can put anything you want on glass—what’s more custom than that?

Floors. Yes even the floor can be made of glass. Technologies are used to create anti-slip surfaces for everything from walkways to stairs to dance floors.

Write on it. This concept emerged a few years ago and it’s been one I’ve seen more and more. Think about a dry-erase board; now think of it made of glass. Add in magnetic capabilities and you could have an entire magnetic glass wall that you can write on and wipe clean. (I’m seriously thinking I will need this for my son’s playroom!)

Glass is really a substrate with a lot to offer. What do you see as the big decorative trends? Post your comments below and let us know how you, too, are using glass in your work.

Using elements of light, water and trees, the memorial plaza features six triangles/prisms of light, representing each of the lost individuals; a waterfall cascades from the roof of the memorial flowing onto six steps and into the lake; a bas relief map of Haiti including the story of the Journey of Hope; a royal palm, the national tree of Haiti; and benches for students and other guests to reflect, study and visit.

Gerrits Construction Inc. of Boca Raton, Fla., was the general contractor.

Tampa, Fla.-based Custom Components Co., through its engineered services brand, consulted with the design architect, Luis Sousa, and provided a complete engineered product solution for this one-off glass application. As a contribution to the Remembrance Plaza, the company supplied its engineering and design services at no cost.

In addition to final product design, structural engineering was provided to ensure full building code compliance. The glass prisms are made from nearly a quarter million dollars of Narima dichroic color effect glass from Schott North America, which produces dazzling variable color effects. TriView Glass Industries LLC in City of Industry, Calif., did the lettering, fabrication, laminating and tempering of the glass. Faour Glass of Tampa, Fla., provided installation services in the placement of the glass prisms.

The 48- x 96-inch high glass prisms consist of two layers of glass sandwiched around the Narima interlayer with a matching top. Each prism contains a printed memorial statement about each of the students and professors. The six prisms have accent lights and sit on a concrete base that appears to float in the middle of a reflective pool. Each glass panel in the prisms is retained by custom stainless steel point mount connectors.

“It is very gratifying to be able to take the vision of an architect and translate it into a group of materials that can be manufactured and ultimately create a finished product that represents that vision,” says Jim Ellsworth, president of Custom Components. “Being part of a very emotional inspired project makes us feel that our contribution is one that can be shared each day with those who find inspiration when visiting this memorial for six very generous and outgoing individuals who gave their lives trying to do their part to better mankind.”

For Housberg, whose glass art can be found in hotels, corporate offices, healthcare facilities and civic buildings across the country, this project brought a welcome return to Texas. Previously, he had created a vibrant installation for Three Sugar Creek Center in Sugarland.

Housberg’s colorful installation is composed of 215 tiles, each created from eight to ten individually cut pieces of glass. Amid its intense blues, hints of rust and grey echo the stone surrounding the installation.

“A work of public art succeeds when it draws people in, making them pause for a moment, and causing them to feel more connected to their surroundings,” says Housberg. “Each of us responds deeply to color, texture and pattern; these three elements drive my work.”

CLICK HERE  to view a time lapse video of the art installation.

High Point Market was founded in 1909 in High Point, N.C., and was originally named the Southern Furniture Market. The market was formed to provide the region’s furniture makers and retailers with a convenient venue to conduct business. The Market has grown to encompass more than 10 million square feet of exhibit space located in 108 buildings and serves an average of 80,000 attendees each spring and fall. High Point Market will make your feet hurt.

What makes all the foot blisters and tired legs worth it? High Point Market provides an opportunity to see what home furnishing manufacturers are making and what home furnishing retailers will be buying. Walking through the miles and miles of temporary and permanent showrooms you start to get a feel for what’s trendy. Colors start repeating. You begin to see similar fabric texture and patterns. Styles begin to emerge. Accessories begin to have a familiarity about them.

After two long days and who knows how many miles on foot, here’s my analysis of decorative glass trends at High Point Market.

Antique mirror was the most prominent decorative glass shown. Both dark antique and bronze antique mirror was found in practically every showroom I visited. Antique mirror was spotted on furniture, walls, and lighting. It was universal in traditional and contemporary settings. The majority of the clear mirror shown was cut and reassembled into decorative wall art pieces. Visualize puzzle pieces and you’ve got the idea.

Here’s something you haven’t heard in a long time – flaws are a good thing! To be more specific, glass that appears to be crafted by hand, whether blown, cast, or fused. Buyers want decorative glass that looks handmade and one-of-a-kind when it comes to decorative glass accessories.

As for color, many shades of blue were dominant, followed closely by orange and green. Bold, graphic colors filled the showrooms. Large geometric, interlocking patterns were very popular for fabrics.

Most encouraging was the overall popularity of decorative glass in the home furnishings market. Regrets? Having only two days at High Point Spring Market. Maybe for Fall Market I will splurge and stay the whole week. By the way, if you need me I’ll be out shopping for a good pair of shoes.

I’m old enough to remember life before HGTV and the Internet. Back then it took longer for design trends to emerge. We relied on magazines, newspapers, and retail stores to show us what was in style. Keeping up with what was trending took time and money. Today there are many places on the Internet to view beautiful interiors within seconds. The amount of content that is uploaded daily is staggering.

Two very good Internet sources to view current design trends are Houzz and Pinterest.

The popular website, Houzz, is a site where design professionals showcase their portfolios, sharing their work with a community dedicated to home and landscape design. Homeowners collect their favorite photos and save to ideabooks, find design professionals in their areas, upload photos of their homes and gardens, and swap tips and questions with other members. At the time I am writing this blog post, Houzz boasts more than 391,000 photos and more than 162,000 products available to view. In addition to just looking at photos, you can create a Houzz account for your decorative glass business for free and upload photos from your portfolio. Did the mention of free marketing get your attention? How about local sales leads? Houzz has more than 1,200,000 home improvement professionals registered and will allow you to search by location to find businesses in your area.

The second site that makes keeping up with design trends easy is Pinterest. While Houzz is a database website specific to home interior design and landscape, Pinterest is a social services site that allows you to “pin” photos of anything you like onto boards to share with others. Pinterest is one of the fastest growing social websites in the world.

This is how Pinterest works. After creating an account, users create their own pinboards or “boards” in various categories such as Architecture and Home Décor. Once users create a board they can then “pin” photos they like to their boards. If they like a pin on another user’s board they can “repin” to their board. Boards can then be followed by other users. For example, on my Pinterest account, I have a board that I named “Glass.” When I see a photo of glass that I like, I pin that photo to my Glass board. I currently have 181 pins with 174 people following my Glass board. Pinterest also allows for “likes” and comments, but I won’t go into those details now. Knowing about pinning and repining is enough to get you started.

The big difference between the two sites is the content. Houzz is strictly for home interior and garden design content, whereas Pinterest is open to any content. If it’s commercial interiors you are looking for, Pinterest would be a better choice. Be warned that you are just as likely to see a food recipe or wedding photos on Pinterest as you are decorative glass. Don’t panic, over time you can create useful boards and follow other boards that will help narrow what you see.

In addition to design spotting and free marketing, both sites can be a useful tool when working with clients. I’ve talked to a number of interior designers who are using both sites with their clients to help define what the client wants for a project. These designers created and shared Houzz ideabooks and Pinterest boards with their clients to share project and product ideas.

Not too long ago, we used to cut or photocopy our favorite design ideas from magazines to share and to keep. These days we can find and save photos from our phone or tablet device (both Houzz and Pinterest have free mobile apps). Houzz and Pinterest websites make keeping up with design trends, marketing our businesses, and working with clients faster and easier than any other time in history.

The new website, www.glassrecycled.com,  features product descriptions, specifications documents, LEED assessments, a designer showcase, multiple image galleries and a complete ecommerce system that accepts orders 24 hours a day seven days a week.

“The Glass Recycled web portal gives designers and homeowners a chic, eco-friendly option for kitchen countertops, flooring, tabletops and more,” says Christopher Oliver, the Dallas website designer.

Customers now have the ability to place orders for any of the company’s sample materials as well as create a custom sample by choosing an epoxy color and then choosing the colors and sizes from a variety of recycled glass aggregates. All of the interaction takes place on the website in the ecommerce store.

Additionally, custom countertops, flooring and tabletops can be ordered in the same manner. Online ordering is also available for the company’s GlassScape products, as customers can select up to five aggregate options. There are also a variety of size options that depending on the color selected.

In addition, the website features several interactive photo galleries that showcase the products installed in a variety of locations.

“By building several image galleries it allows customers and designers to see the product in a variety of real world settings,” says Oliver. “The more information available the better customers can imagine the possibilities for their own projects.”

Show organizers have this year lined up what they are calling four incredible and informative keynote speakers. These include Richard M. Daley, former Mayor of the City of Chicago, Primo Orpilla, principal of Studio O+A, Gary Lee, principal of Gary Lee Partners, and Ian Schrager of Ian Schrager Company.

The longest-serving mayor in Chicago’s history, Richard M. Daley earned an international reputation as a leading innovator in urban development, fiscal policy and government stewardship. According to show organizers, as the former mayor, Daley enhanced Chicago’s quality of life, improved the public school system and infrastructure, strengthened the economy, reduced crime, improved transportation, and made Chicago one of the most environmentally friendly cities in the world. His keynote will take place on Monday, June 11 at 8 a.m.

Primo Orpilla co-founded Studio O+A in 1991 with his partner (and wife) Verda Alexander because they recognized the need for a design firm in the Bay Area with the ability to respond to dynamic changes in the local tech-based economy. Since that time, Orpilla has directed design and construction for millions of square feet of space throughout the United States. His diverse client roster includes technology and communications firms, financial institutions, government agencies, developers, non-profit entities, and multi-national corporations. His keynote will take place on Tuesday, June 12 at 8 a.m.

Gary Lee is an interior design visionary. According to show organizers, he has an innate ability to communicate a vision for projects, beginning the design process with a sense of how the environment will function for the client’s business, how the space will feel, and in planning that considers rhythm and volume before style. His keynote will take place on Tuesday, June 12 at 1 p.m.

Ian Schrager, creator of the boutique hotel concept, has achieved international recognition for concepts that have revolutionized both the entertainment and hospitality industries. His passionate commitment to the modern lifestyle has been expressed through a series of pioneering concepts: The hotel as home away from home, the hotel as a theater, “cheap chic,” “lobby socializing,” the indoor/outdoor lobby, the urban resort, and the urban spa. He is currently working on launching two new hotel brands in various 24-hour gateway cities around the world. His keynote will take place on Wednesday, June 13 at Noon.

Visit the show website  for a complete listing of tours, association forums and special events.

By day, the piece is designed to exploit the natural light afforded by the 2-story windows that frame it on two sides in the triangular space. By night, the glass becomes alive with color, an effect achieved by taking real-time video camera images of people moving in the space, transferring them into colored impressions and projecting them on to the suspended glass tubes.

The impetus for the installation came about through Sheridan College’s decision to base its new facility on the creative campus concept. Students from the Crafts and Design program were invited to submit design proposals to create works for permanent installation in the new campus. The “Aurora Borealis” team came together from all three years of the Glass program, along with select faculty, as construction on the building was getting underway. After viewing architectural drawings, the group collectively developed the concept for the installation.

Preparation for the installation took months of work by the team members, who tackled the project in addition to their own academic and studio work.

Koen Vanderstukken, the Glass Studio head and an accomplished glass artist, says the finished product is “the culmination of a unique learning experience and a fantastic team effort. Through the combination of research, skill, creativity and lots of dedication, students and staff succeeded in creating an installation that speaks to everybody’s imagination.”

The glass tubes were donated by Gerresheimer, a company specializing in advanced glass and plastic products, while the frame for the installation was sponsored by George Whitney and Armo Tool.

“We’re not quite ready to start writing a GIB, but I think we’re a lot closer,” he said. Meeting participants held a lengthy

The GANA Decorative Division discussed glass recycling during its annual conference.

discussion on the variety of glass recycling options that could be available for architectural glass, but agreed in some cases information is scarce in this area.

“The companies that are doing anything with recycling decorative glass maybe aren’t releasing a lot of information about it out there yet,” suggested Mandy Marxen of Gardner Glass Products.

Dancause proposed the division launch a task group to explore what the province of Manitoba is doing, processing and recycling its own glass. “They crunch it and they use it for their own businesses,” he said. “It’s not even a company doing this, it’s a government.”

Marxen agreed to participate in this research effort, to determine if anything similar is occurring in the United States.

“The question here is–does [the province of Manitoba] use architectural glass, and are there any other provinces that do the same?”