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POINT-OF-VIEW: New & Noteworthy

STATE OF INFLATION

The cost of goods keeps rising and there are lots of questions asking why. But the simplest explanation is because of long-term demographic shifts. The U.S., like many other countries, simply doesn’t have enough workers to make and move all the things that people want to buy and companies had to raise wages—and, thus, prices to attract available workers.

There are 11 million job openings in the U.S. economy right now, yet there are only 6.5 million people who are unemployed. And, according to Ron Hetrick, senior economist at Burning Glass, a labor market data and analytics company, the gaps in the supply chain are because people aren’t there to make the goods.

States like Maine, New Hampshire and West Virginia are already “super-aged,” meaning that 20% of the population is 65 or older. The entire U.S. population will be super-aged by 2028, estimates Olu Sonola, head of regional economics at Fitch Ratings.

Economists thought that boomers—those born between 1946 and 1964—would stay in the labor market for longer. But boomers’ homes have gotten more valuable and their stock market portfolios have grown over the last few years, so when the pandemic hit, they decided to retire.

More than half of the 5 million people who dropped out of the labor force since 2020 are 55 or older. And, according to a recent survey from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the average expected likelihood of working beyond age 62 declined to a new low of 49.3%.

The problem with demographic-driven inflation is that it’s not going away anytime soon. Last year, the U.S. population grew at 0.1%, its slowest rate since the nation’s founding, according to the census. And the fertility rate continues to decline. By 2034, older adults will outnumber children for the first time in U.S. history.

Meanwhile, U.S. consumers are spending as if nothing has changed, keeping demand for goods and services high. The most obvious effect of this demographic shift is on their pocketbooks.

ON A HIGH

Since its founding in 2020, High Point x Design (HPxD), a collective of 50 branded showrooms and two shopping districts, is working to reimagine High Point, NC, as a yearround hub for design and creativity. It has recently announced its first managing director, Jane Dagmi. Prior to joining HPxD, Dagmi was editor-inchief of the trade publication Designers Today. She has spent nearly 30 years reporting and collaborating with the home furnishing and interior design industries. Up until now, HPxD flourished as a grassroots organization, but with Dagmi leading the charge, the hope is to move the collective and its efforts forward purposefully. » Hpxd.org

TOURS ON THE TUBE

The new weekly video series Designer Home Tours has debuted on YouTube. It provides viewers with an inside look at the homes of interior designers along with their recent client projects. The series is spearheaded by Laura Bindloss, the founder of the New Yorkbased public relations and social media agency Nylon Consulting. The first video in the series features designer Liz Caan and upcoming episodes will draw attention to the talents of Zoe Feldman, Robert Passal and Bella Mancini. » YouTube.com

AWE IN COSTS

The Professional Awning Manufacturers Association (PAMA) found in a 50-city study that awnings significantly reduce cooling costs in the U.S. Window awnings are shown to reduce solar heat gain by 65% to 77%. The PAMA study also showed that awnings may reduce annual cooling energy by more than 25% compared to homes with completely unshaded windows. This can amount to an energy savings of $200 or more. » Awnings.IFAI.com

HOME SMARTS

According to a recent survey conducted by Designers Today, when it comes to incorporating smart home applications into projects, window coverings topped the lists of both the smart home products in which clients are interested (63.3%) and those actually added to a project in the past year (51.7%). The other smart home products that were among the top five on both lists included thermostats, lighting and security. » DesignersToday.com V

NEW & NOTEWORTHY

There is no color other than white that gets its appeal from making spaces feel lighter and more open. But this also creates a challenge as there is no one shade of white. To make it easier to find the perfect shade of white, Texstyle has compiled its best-selling residential white roller shade fabrics into one easy-to-shop sample deck: Continental Whites. The deck includes warmer whites, cooler whites and all the shades in between, as well as a variety of light-filtering and blackout fabrics in both solid and textured weaves.

» Texstyle.com

Are you aware of a product that’s premiering soon? Do you have a favorite product you’d like to tell others about? Let us know! Email New & Noteworthy submissions to editor@WF-VISION.com. With its effort to focus on its online business and making the purchase process easier, Draperies.com has officially rebranded as Supplyed. It continues to serve as a leading supplier of drapery and shade hardware and window motorization solutions. However, the new name reflects the company’s focus on its ongoing commitment to source raw materials and collaborate with manufacturers to design, extrude and mold its own products.

» Supplyed.com

What started in 1992 in the Netherlands by the Roetgering family is now known as the international window treatment company Coulisse. And for its 10th anniversary in the Americas, the company has marked the occasion with a new Coulisse USA concept showroom and 50,000-square-foot warehouse facility in Miami’s Design District.

Hartmann & Forbes tapped California-based designer Amy Meier for a collaboration that includes seven window treatment textiles with handwoven motifs, including a hand-loomed jacquard, a wabisabi-inspired pattern composed of ramie and bojagi, and a traditional Korean silk patchwork.

Meier said she drew inspiration from a variety of sources, including Japanese minimalism design, the Bauhaus School and ancient Korean cloth tradition. It’s the similarity of these movements—minimalism, functionalism and the use of raw materials—that excited Meier.

» HartmannForbes.com V

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