“Satisfying our growing desire to rejuvenate and revitalize, Greenery symbolizes the reconnection we seek with nature, one another and a larger purpose.” -Leatrice Eisman, Executive Director, Pantone Color Institute

Reconnecting with Nature

What better place is there to reconnect with the natural world than an actual outdoor space? Greenery is a perfect choice for outdoor furniture and design because, as noted by the Pantone Color Institute, it is “nature’s neutral.”

The vibrant hue is fairly design agnostic—it meshes well with outdoor furniture of nearly every style and material. Wood finishes and all-weather wicker are no-brainers to pair with it, but metals can’t be overlooked either. Use Greenery as your base with solid-color cushions, or as an accent in throw pillows and bolsters. Get more non-traditional with a Greenery-upholstered pouf. It lends itself to a variety of color palettes, livening up pastels and other neutrals while toning down many brighter and even metallic shades.

Green in Color Theory

The color green in general symbolizes growth and prosperity, freshness and healing. It’s upbeat and positive, conveying a sense of wellbeing. It’s a harmonious color, as evidenced by the many different palettes it fits into. It’s also hopeful—and we hope to see a lot of Greenery in your lines this year!

The move offers a number of benefits for the company, our associates and the customers we serve, and is the exciting culmination of an investment that began in early April.

An Investment in Operations

The new facility has 20,000 more square feet than our previous manufacturing facility, giving us the space required to vertically integrate key parts of our supply chain. Additionally, the flow of parts and materials has been designed to eliminate or reduce waste.

An Investment in Corporate Culture

The move helped us to secure major medium- and long-term benefits for our associates. The facility features a dedicated training room that can be used for new employee orientation and a variety of ongoing employee education, health and safety programs.

An Investment in Customer Service

The larger space and upgraded equipment provide value-added elements for our customers, such as reduced lead times and greater responsiveness, and more flexibility to meet your needs.

Easy Way is committed to being the premier provider of high-performance lifestyle furnishings by anticipating and exceeding our customers’ expectations. This new building affords us even more opportunities to do that.

Available in various sizes and constructions, Easy Way’s Eddie Bauer assortment features high-performance Sunbrella® fabrics that were specially selected to complement the iconic outdoor brand. Additionally, Easy Way manufactures each piece using high-quality, weather-resistant fill materials and superior construction methods to ensure comfort, support and durability.

“Eddie Bauer has a long history of quality and innovative design for the outdoor lifestyle,” stated Lisa C. Pruett, EVP Sales for Easy Way Products. “We’re proud to carry on that tradition with each of these pieces.” The two companies share a value of providing customer satisfaction with its superior quality,  value and service. “Easy Way’s commitment to crafting distinctive products and their reputation among outdoor furniture retailers appealed to us,” explained Christina Malone, Senior Product & Account Manager, Licensing for Eddie Bauer.

For More Information

For more information about the Eddie Bauer outdoor assortment, including construction and fabric options, please download our complimentary fact sheet. If you have additional questions about this exclusive line or any of Easy Way’s products, feel free to contact Lisa Pruett at lpruett@easywayproducts.com or (513) 731-5640.

• Comprising 31% of the adult population in America and packing $2.45 trillion in purchasing power, millennials are a buying force to be reckoned with.
• In the past two years, millennials have accounted for 34% of home purchases, and an additional two-thirds of millennials expect to purchase a home within the next two years.
• According to a recent Furniture/Today survey, millennials see outdoor spaces as one of the top five most important features of a home.

So when it comes time to furnish their outdoor spaces, what can you do to make millennials more likely to buy from you?

WHAT MILLENNIALS LOOK FOR IN OUTDOOR RETAILERS

Millennials look for many of the same things in outdoor living retailers (and the products they ultimately buy) that they seek in other aspects of their lives:

• Authenticity—Millennials do not trust unsolicited, outbound forms of marketing. Instead, they want to feel a connection to your brand that goes beyond you trying to sell them a product.
• Simplicity—Make it easy for millennials to do business with you. In store, consider what appeals to the millennial design esthetic (e.g., natural light and a seamless feeling between indoor and outdoor spaces). Digitally, keep interfaces simple and efficient, like the technology they’ve grown up with.
• Environmental responsibility—Millennials are more cause-based in the products they seek to purchase than their older peers.

HOW MILLENNIALS BUY OUTDOOR LIVING PRODUCTS

Millennials are a generation raised on technology. It’s no surprise, then, that technology is a big factor in their buying habits. Take a look at this chart from Marketing Sherpa, which details millennials’ online buying behaviors.

CAPTURING THE MILLENNIAL BUYER

• Among the 50% who research products online before purchasing, chances are good that research is being done on a smartphone—so be sure your website is optimized for mobile (this goes back to the issue of simplicity discussed earlier). Don’t overlook the function of your ecommerce pages, in case they decide to make the leap from research to purchase.
• The social aspect of millennials’ shopping behavior is very important—they are not shy about sharing their opinions and preferences. Additionally, they look to their peers (online and in real life) for opinions, and often shop in groups. Building a presence and interacting with millennials on the social channels they use will help create the sense of authenticity they seek.
• The percentage of millennials shopping online for furniture (including outdoor décor) is higher than the overall figures cited in this chart—closer to 80%, as noted in our e-commerce post from June 2015. Making it easy to buy from you extends beyond your website to the social media channels you use. For example, Pinterest has introduced a “Buy it” button that allows for instant purchase of certain products. Instagram has developed similar buttons to facilitate shopping and other instant actions.

“With a technical community that continues to innovate, it is sometimes difficult to differentiate which innovations create real value in terms of performance and customer experience and which are just enhanced marketing.”

FOAM VS. FIBER

“When finally comparing polyurethane foam versus polyester fiber applications, particularly for outdoor use, note that it is possible to create a high-performing and durable product using either.”

Both fill materials have their pros and cons when it comes to outdoor use. Our white paper gives each its figurative day in the sun—we discuss:

• Key parameters in choosing polyurethane foam
• Common foam types, including standard, high resiliency, reticulated and viscoelastic memory
• New foam trends, such as cool touch and eco foams
• Key parameters in choosing polyester fiber
• Common fiber finishes, including blown polyester and thermal bonded batted polyester

DECIDING BETWEEN FOAM AND FIBER

“Understanding the market, environment and customer expectations is critical to wading through the plethora of options available.”

Even seasoned outdoor furniture manufacturers can find it difficult to choose between foam and fiber for their furniture lines. Our white paper includes a fill material decision matrix to help our customers weigh factors such as moisture and microbial resistance, durability and cost. And of course, we’re always available to work with you to select the ideal fill material for a given application. Don’t hesitate to contact us with your questions!

GET THE WHITE PAPER

Click here or on the image to download your complimentary “Foam or Fill” white paper today!

USING THE COLORS OF THE YEAR IN YOUR OUTDOOR FURNITURE LINES

Pantone’s color mavens suggest several color pairings to increase this sense of balance, all of which work well as cushions, pillows and accessories with today’s outdoor living trends.

This palette’s natural hues are the perfect complements to the two sky-inspired colors of the year:

The earthy colors in this palette serve as a foundation for the more ethereal Rose Quartz and Serenity:

The consistent value and muted tones of this palette makes it a versatile and utilitarian choice for outdoor decorating:

The purple, gray and other blue tones of this palette further emphasize the warm and cool duality of this year’s colors:

This neutral-heavy palette makes the pink and blue combo pop:

The warmer tones of this palette mix with Serenity and Rose Quartz to create a rich, on-trend color scheme (note the cameo appearance of Marsala, the 2015 color of the year!):

This soft palette is simple and clean, showing how this year’s colors can play a role in today’s modern furniture trend:

This rainbow of a palette creates a pleasing harmony that offers a little something for everyone:

Incorporating any of these palettes into pillows, cushions and other items to accompany your outdoor furniture collections will allow buyers to continue enjoying their outdoor living spaces from sunup until well past sunset.

Photo by Bill Abbott [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Of all the customization services we offer, none imparts a more personal touch than monogramming.

CUSTOMIZE WITH MONOGRAMS

Monogramming originated in ancient Greece, where it was used on coins—two-letter marks pressed into the coins identified the cities that issued them. In the many centuries since then, monograms have been used as signatures by artists, as a mark of the aristocracy, and simply as a practical way of identifying one’s belongings. Today, monogramming could be described as personal branding—the ultimate method of customization.

Our custom monogramming services help lend your outdoor furniture collections a unique feel by allowing your customers to lend their own personal “brand” to the items they purchase. And we don’t just offer traditional initial-style monograms—we can also personalize with short text or custom embroidered icons. Our monogramming is done in line, a method that reduces lead time, cost and complexity. And as with all our services, our expert design assistance ensures a marketable end product—plus, we can monogram almost every product we offer, with countless typefaces and a range of styles to choose from.

Want to know more about Easy Way’s monogramming capabilities? Download our monogramming information sheet.

THE EXHIBIT FLOOR

There seems to be a booth for just about anything you could imagine, and outdoor furniture is especially well represented. This year’s attendance was higher than in recent years, and we definitely noticed the increase in activity on the show floor.

With so much to see, the show can be overwhelming to attendees. We wanted to give people a chance to escape for a few minutes by giving our booth the feeling of a beach cabana. To make our space more welcoming and relaxing, we framed beach images with our drapes, and added plenty of seating featuring our cushions and pillows in a beachy color palette. We also brought along a sample of one of our custom furniture covers, which generated a ton of interest. The clean, open look of our booth was well-received, and gave us an inviting space to chat with many current and potential customers.

OUTDOOR FURNITURE TRENDS

One of our favorite aspect of this show is how much we learn each year—inspiration is everywhere. We use what we see to improve and enhance our outdoor furniture product offerings so that we can be a better business partner to our customers each year.

Some of the outdoor furnishings trends we noticed this year were:

• Minimalist looks that are simple but sophisticated
• Fully upholstered outdoor furniture
• Organic shapes
• No-maintenance furniture made from composite wood alternatives in a variety of colors
• Hammocks, in a variety of styles and materials
• Fire pits and grills galore

If you are a buyer in the Casual Furniture industry, Casual Market Chicago is an event you can’t pass up. We hope to see you there next year!