Design Trends, Innovation and Customer Experience Panel

At the start of Spring with nearly a quarter of 2021 behind us, Caesarstone is providing another source of inspiration and insights into the latest design trends, innovation and customer experience through three unique perspectives. Caesarstone Vice President of Marketing Elizabeth Margles was recently joined by House Beautiful Editorial Director Jo Saltz and Ishka Design Co-Founder Anishka Clarke to discuss their current views and anticipate what could be coming next.

There were many amazing moments in the conversation, but here are some of the top takeaways:

• Innovation, according to Clarke, is all about the improvement in functionality and substance so her firm is always looking to adapt different materials or use them in different ways, but it can’t just be innovative for innovation’s sake. It still must be functional. (We’re so curious about  the mushroom leather she mentioned in the chat!)
• Innovation also involves listening, in order to forseethe needs of the world before they know what they need. House Beautiful maintains flexibility in its content so the team can continually mold what they are putting out to their audience, and Caesarstone foresaw the trends of clean whites ahead of launching the new Whitelight Collection earlier this year.
• Trends shouldn’t necessarily be a key focus, but natural and textural resources will always be in. Moreover, it’s important to invest in quality materials that can be more of a one-and-done design that just require maintenance over time. To that point, Elizabeth highlighted that Caesarstone is “nature improved,” meaning that the quartz products are from the Earth, but the team can augment the product to increase durability and provide all the design options property owners want and need.
• Open spaces versus peaceful nooks within the home were a contestedtopic between Clarke and Saltz with Clarke advocating for open floor plans and Saltz sharing her insight on cocooning in cozy, safe spaces. More on Margles’ pitch for a Design Debate reality show to come!
• The trio also discussed how to design customer experiences like the new Caesarstone Concept House in Tel Aviv, House Beautiful’s annual Whole Home Concept House and the Black Artists + Designers Guild Obsidian House. Each experience provided a different angle – product, environmental, diversity – that showed homeowners what’s possible in residential spaces.

This is just the top line of all the learnings and inspiration shared during the conversation, watch the full panel on Caesarstone’s YouTube channel and share to social media with your favorite part!