If anything was trending at the Tropical Plant Industry Exhibition (TPIE), held January 17-19 in Fort Lauderdale, FL, it was trends themselves. Keynote speaker Maxwell Luthy from Trendwatching.com kicked off the event with a talk about turning trends into opportunities and many of the show booths highlighted new trends they had come up with for 2018.
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Message Pots
There were lots of pots and plants that spoke for themselves at TPIE. In the ArizonaEast booth, these fun saying pots played off of succulents and cacti.
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Gifting
There were lots of ideas and packaging at TPIE that make it easier than ever to offer plants for gifting. These chalkboard message pots, paired with succulents and foliage plants, would make a great gift for a favorite teacher. Penang Nursery, third-place winner for the Judge's Choice award, displayed them in its booth.
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Several vendors shared plenty of ideas for gifting plants for special occasions such as Halloween, Mother's Day, and Christmas.
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Live Trends featured lots of fun planter options for Easter and spring gift giving or decorating, from bunnies and chicks to eggs.
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Clean Lines
Everywhere you looked, pots and décor with clean, simple lines could be seen on the TPIE showfloor, as seen here in the pots that housed Costa Farms' Lucky Bamboo and aglaonema.
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Geometric Lines
The geometric patterns on these pots from SGI Factory Direct Floral Packaging added an elegant twist to simple black and white pots.
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White
White was making a comeback last year at TPIE, and this year it was out in full force. When combined with clean, simple design lines, the color invokes a feeling of freshness and simplicity. Pottery Pots, 1st-place winner of the 300 feet and Up award, displayed a grouping of simple, white pots that contrasted nicely with greenery.
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Silver Vase took the white pots a step further, adding in some movement to the design for a modern look.
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Here you see the color white and clean, simple lines combined into an overall interior design incorporating foliage plants. The room was part of the designer's showcase at TPIE.
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Glamping
For those who want to live in nature, but do it in style, glamping is a popular vacation trend. Excelsa Gardens, 2nd-place winner of the Judge's Choice award, displayed this treehouse hideaway, complete with drinks and pillows to relax on.
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Acosta Farms' GlamCamp theme invited attendees to enjoy a relaxing, tropical retreat.
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Cement Pots
Pride Garden Products' cement planters, with topographic surfaces in a variegated dark gray finish, would look great paired with indoor plants and succulents. Several variations of faux cement pots and other stone planters could be found in TPIE booths.
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Gray
Perhaps the faux cement pots were a popular display item because the color gray was a popular, classic color choice for pots in tradeshow booths.
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Millennial Pink
A metallic pink, which some show attendees coined Millennial Pink, was another predominant color at the show. This product is part of Silver Vase's Feminine edge line.
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Indigo
Indigo was also a trending color at the show. According to the folks in the ArizonaEast booth, it's another one of the hot new colors with Millennials and goes especially well with terracotta. These pots are part of ArizonaEast's new Whit & Whimsy collection.
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Pantone 2018 Color of the Year: Ultra Violet
Pantone's new color of the Year for 2018, Ultra Violet, influenced several displays at the show, including some of Live Trends' new products.
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A lobby display centered around Pantone's Color of the Year greeted visitors as they entered the tradeshow.
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Herbs
There are terrariums aplenty at TPIE, but it's new to start seeing herbs used at a tropical plants show. However, herbs such as rosemary make great aromatic indoor foliage plants with lots of culinary benefits.
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Miniatures
With the downsizing of gardening space, miniature plants have become more trendy, and they're great for gift giving.
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Hygge
Hygge is the Danish concept of contentment, coziness, and making any and every moment special. The Live Trends display modeled how unplug from media and welcome the natural world inside your home with plants and décor in soft, muted tones
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Industrial Look
Tin pots and decor are still popular items because they go so well with the rustic, industrial look that is trending right now. Avery Imports displayed this simple, less formal in its booth.
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Succulents
ForeMost Co. celebrated its 31st birthday with this fun succulent cake. Succulents are still a popular item, lending themselves well to all types of pots and decorating ideas. It was hard to find a booth at the show that didn't include a succulent somewhere in its display.
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Spiny succulents such as agave and cacti were popular display items, as well.
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In a blast from the past, ArizonaEast displayed these vintage tea-tin succulent planters.
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Fairy Gardening
Fairy gardening is still a favorite with consumers, allowing for lots of creativity. This fairy garden with a vintage camper was found in the FloriDesigns, Inc. booth. FloriDesigns was 2nd place winner of the 10 X 20 Booth Size award.
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Pilea peperomioides
With its coin-shaped foliage, the Chinese money plant or pancake plant, has become a sought-after houseplant with minimalist interior designers. It also has a big social media following, with more than 20,000 followers on Instagram. It's no wonder TPIE vendors were showing off this semi-succulent in their booths.
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Kokedama
These balls of soil covered with moss, natural coconut fibers, and other materials make great hanging planters in any size. The inspiration for kokedama comes from Japanese bonsai techniques for growing plants in moss.
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Seashell Planters
Succulents and foliage went hand-in-hand with many of the seashell planters at the show, giving one the feel of a calming, tropical beach.
For instance, Silver Vase, winner of the Judge’s choice booth award, highlighted four trends for 2018. Keep It Minimal features clean lines, structured shapes, and carefully curated elements for a classic, modern style and feel. Lush Vibes invites the outside in with plants and nature-inspired decor that warm up the home. Feminine Edge is unapologetically feminine pinks with gold and silver touches and undulating shapes that come together for a look that combines soft and bold elements. And finally, Abundant Joy is maximalism coming on strong with bold colors, and layers of textures and patterns that reflect consumers’ individual styles.
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If you’re looking to stay on top of the current trends to stay ahead of the competition and increase value to your clients by helping them stay at the forefront of their industry, check out some of the new products and ideas we saw trending at TPIE this year.