Pinterest for Design Professionals

If you haven't caught onto the craze of Pinning, you may be missing out on an important business tool as a professional designer or workroom.  This is no ordinary digital mood board; it is a powerful social platform for sharing ideas, products and photos from around the world.  For those of you familiar with Pinterest and are already in the throws of a late night Pinning addiction, you know about its magnetism.

How It Works
It is free to join and you can request an invite from Pinterest.com.  The "pins" are organized on Boards that you create to show your interests, hobbies, "wants", and anything that inspires you.  You can add a Pin It button to your Bookmarks Bar at the top of your web browser.  Simply click the Pin It button when you run across anything online that inspires you.  The social aspect is that you can also Pin other peoples pins, follow them or their boards.

Use It For Inspiration
Pinterest is a great website to visit for inspiration on any project.  You can search by Topic such as Draperies, Drapery Hardware, Interior Design, Sun Room, etc.  Or, you can search by product, company, website or source.  You can see what people are Pinning about Finestra here.

Create Boards for your Business

Organize business tools around the web, company resources, etc onto a Board.  This is a great bookmark and reference that you can revisit at anytime and access from anywhere with an Internet connection. 

Create a Board for How-To Videos and Webinars.  You can Pin directly from YouTube or Vimeo and choose the ones that are pertinent to your business or ones that you would like to catalog for later viewing.    We have pinned a Rowley video below on Sew-On Tapes.  Click to view a complete list of Rowley Videos, How-To's, and Webinars that you can add to your arsenal of business information.   

When you click on a blog or website such as FinestraDecorativeHardware.blogspot.com, all of the photos will pop up on your screen.  We have chosen to reference the Sales Tools to Go on our Pinterest Board and have added a description to remind us why we pinned it.

Create a Board as a Portfolio

It is important to follow some rules of etiquette when posting on Pinterest.  It is not a site to solely promote your business and spam everyone with only your creations.  This is a community and needs to be respected.  That being said, adding photos and links of your favorite projects or How-To's onto a Board is a great idea to round out your inspirations and Brand Yourself as a professional. 

     

Share Boards with Clients

This is one of the newest tools on Pinterest and one of the most exciting business tools!  

Clients depend on us to translate their emotions and needs into a cohesive design.  You cannot only point a client to look at your Pinterest Boards, but you can also share them.  What if you had your Boards organized into different design genres: Traditional, Eclectic, Mediterranean, Urban Loft, etc?  Or, by color?  Either email your Pinterest link to your client or review the Boards with them.  This may give them a better feel for your design style and help define theirs in the process.

A favorite way to interact with a client is to make them a Contributor.  You can edit an existing Board and add them as a Contributor or create a new one as we have done above.  We have titled it Jan's Garden Room.  Now both the designer and Jan can Pin to the same Board about inspirations that move them.  This is a great way to communicate with clients, define a style quickly and/or involve a hands-on client.

Share Boards with Co-workers or Industry Groups

Boards can also be used in collaboration with other design professionals about a joint project.  This would be a great way to communicate between a designer and a workroom for example.  They could share inspirations and even specific industry techniques that would help them work together to create the best end result.

Industry groups could also share a Board for designing and fabricating group projects for the community or even design ideas about an industry trade show booth.  

Whether you are a Pinterest veteran or an interested on-looker, now is the time to get Pinning!  This platform was made for our industry.  What inspires us, what we create and what our clients are drawn to are larger than words can describe, but a Photo on Pinterest can!

Sales Tools on the Go!

Technology plays an important role in our everyday activities.  We schedule our business meetings, dentist appointments, kid's soccer games, birthday reminders and even store vacation photos on our smart phones, computers and tablets.  All in all, our lives have become accessible and cataloged through the smart devices that we carry.  They also make our lives more transparent around the clock in the way that we interact with people personally and professionally.

Are you using your smart device to the best of its ability?  Are you ready for business on the go?

The key to balancing it all: Organization!

    

Tips

1. Separate your business photos, apps, etc from your personal ones.  Create separate folders on your tablet or smart phone for supplier catalogs, price lists, portfolio renderings, photos, industry publications, social media and design applications like ColorSnap , Color Capture, and myPantone.    
2. Add live web links in a folder for suppliers, designers, workrooms, trade shows, etc that you favor. Obviously, these will only be accessible if you have an Internet connection.
3. The most important!  Download current pdf catalogs, price lists, renderings, etc onto your device.  There are times when you will not have access to an Internet connection or a very slow connection while presenting to a potential client.  Downloading these files will save you time and keep you on top of your game for a fluid and professional presentation.  

Do you have all of the Finestra catalogs downloaded to your tablet or iPad?  Here is a list to add to your organized folders:

Post Live Web Links

Click on the topics below on your tablet which will take you to the link and Add them to your Home Screen.  From there, you can drag them in the appropriate folder.

• Quick Ship Program 
• Quick Ship Interactive Flip Catalog
• Aria Metal Hardware Program: 
• Aria Interactive Flip catalog
• Videos
• Blog
• Webinars
• Installation Instructions: This is an invaluable resource to have on your device.  You can use it on the job site or email while on the go to your installers.
• Order Forms
• Finishes:  This is a fantastic interactive finish chart!  Click on the finish to expand and see true to life colors.

Download Catalogs

Click on the topics below which link to the pdf files.  Either save the pdf file onto your computer and email or sync it to your device/saving it to your iBooks, or use a downloading tool like DropBox.com.

• Quick Ship Catalog
• Quick Ship Retail Price List
• Aria Metal Hardware Catalog
• Aria Price Retail List
• Installation Instructions for Aria Fixed Poles
• Installation Instructions for 9200 Decorative Traverse Rod
• Installation Instructions for 4003 Decorative Traverse Rod: 

By using some of these easy tips, your tablet or smart device will become your most valuable sales tool on the job, not to mention a fabulous personal assistant.  With measurements, catalogs, renderings, web links, price lists and even color swatches, you will be one step closer to having all of your business resources at your fingertips and on to the eyes of potential clients.  

Awaken your Window Designs

Trend dictates much of the way we design our spaces and window treatments. Our clients look to us for a"current" vision and a cohesive pattern in design.  In keeping current with today's trend, Finestra has developed 7 new distinct finishes to add modern pizazz to your next project.

Harvest Gold creates an element of subtle glamour and lustrous matte gold detail.  It's deep gold leaf base is antiqued with a light gray wash to create a matte finish and define the hand carved detail within the pieces.

Linen combines an off-white base with textural accents in ochre and buff.  It adds a light textural layer to any window design.

Matte Black is a contemporary classic with clean lines and a low luster.  It is a wonderful companion to rod iron architectural accents and lighting as well as bold graphic prints.

Rustic Taupe features a natural taupe with pearl gray overtones and subtle highlights of platinum to give depth to the smallest of carved details.  This finish combines two of the hottest trends in color: tone on tone and the color gray.

Urban Bronze is a metropolitan mixture of deep russet tones, sunset gold and antique bronze.  This metallic finish blends with both rustic and refined environments.

Weathered Wood features a walnut wood tone with a gray antique wash.  It is naturally distressed to show its timeworn character and compliments both heirloom and modern-day decor.

Walnut is a classic wood stain applied by hand to give depth and texture to any window treatment.  Its chocolate colored attributes make it a delicious accent to pull wood tones, leathers and browns out of fabric and furniture alike.


In addition to these 7 trend setting new colors, Finestra has 18 more hand finishes in its repertoire.  Which finish will you choose for your next design project?


Sources in photos: Greenhouse Fabrics, Fabricut, Restoration Hardware, Trina Turk Fabrics, Schumacher, High Point Furniture Market

Snapshots on Trend: High Point Furniture Market

 

Color, texture, and pattern is an ever changing palette for designers. Keeping a pulse on industry trends is an important part of being a creative professional.  We attended the recent High Point Furniture Market and it provided us with inspiration, new color palettes, and creative techniques to bring back to our workroom and design center.

The two predominant background colors exhibited were variations of gray and taupe with pops of accent colors in plum, lavender, orange, aqua, and green.  We even saw the resurgence of avocado green, rust, and mustard yellow!

 

 Nail heads either decorative or rustic were exposed and on many of the upholstered pieces.  Some were used in practical applications and others such as the diamond head upholstery nails above were used to create shiny accents and motifs within the furniture design itself.

One unique design tip we noticed was the textural accent that was created with the button forms sewn on the corner of the lavender pillow shown above.  What a wonderful way to add dimension and depth to a tonal accent!

  

 The handmade look has become infused in the design of pillows, drapery panels, lampshades and other home accents.  This look also gives depth and dimension to a visually smooth surface.  At market, drapery panels donned appliques and hand sewn cutouts.  Pillows had felting and layers of fringe or ribbon tacked their surfaces.

The tactile experience continued with burlap and linen fabrics on everything from draperies and lampshades to bedding and floor coverings.  Weaving and layering these textures in and out of designs was very popular.  The juxtaposition of tailored and traditional techniques like smocking on time worn burlap created intrigue and drama in what is usually a simple accent. 

 Contemporary graphic prints on fabrics and floor coverings were abundant in mod hues of gray and taupe with the interesting high gloss additions of patent leather and shiny sequins and stones.  Paired with these eye-catching accents were matte furniture finishes of driftwood and weathered patinas.

The take-aways from High Point were in the details!  The base for much of our design as far as colorway (gray and taupe) has stayed the same over the past couple of years, but the embellishments have increased and are being used in new and different ways.  Texture is the #1 take-away from the market.  How you choose to use it is up to you.  It can be achieved by playing with gloss and matte finishes, weaving and layering, hand-sewing appliques, and eye-catching accents like diamond head upholstery nails.

What inspired you at market?

The Art of Layering Patterns

Patterns play an important role in interior design.  Patterns add color, depth, dimension and texture to any room or window treatment.  The scale of pattern may be small, medium or large in size and any patterns used in the same space must relate to each other in order to create a cohesive design.

When used properly, pattern can ground a design that shows two distinctly different shapes, scale and proportion.  The large bold orange striped draperies in this room anchor the small scale pattern in the floor coverings.  It allows the eye to see the design, color and texture as a whole and not as different distinct parts.

Designer Linda Allen

Believe it or not, pattern in design also signifies the shape of furnishings, lighting and accessories.  This particular design is very tonal with a pop of lime in the furnishings to ground the eye away from the multi-pattern ceiling treatment.  Take note of the chair back designs; they repeat the shapes in the mirrors, lighting, floor covering and the ceiling design.  This is a perfect reflection of using the shapes throughout a design to create an elegant and harmonious feel within the space.

Texture is created with pattern by directional movement and contrast.  These two designs use directional movement and distinct contrast in the black and white patterns.  Look closely at the Chevron design on the right.  Not only is it directional, it has a pattern within the pattern of a Greek Key design.  This adds depth and texture.

Think about how you use pattern in your designs.  How does it affect your design style?  Experiment with different scales, proportions, and colors to find the right balance for your next project and signature look.

Dressing your Studio with Hardware

Sudio by Lauren Liess, Pure Style Home
Fabrics samples hung on drapery rods



Everyone loves an organized workspace!  These are the places whether inside or outside of our homes that we meet with clients and create beautiful spaces for a living.  It is a place where we draw inspiration from color, texture and pattern.  Out of these elements, fabric is a large part of this process and displaying it in an organized and visually pleasing manor facilitates creativity.

So, why not feature two important design elements in your studio for organization and inspiration?!


Aria Metal Hardware and Fabric

Create your Own Display
There are several ways...

1.  Install a French Rod made out of Aria Metal Hardware on your wall in desired length and use clip-on rings (FM201/) to hold your fabric.  This will allow easy access to your fabrics with a quick release of the clip-on ring.  This version works well with light to medium weight fabric samples.

2.  Install an Aria Metal Hardware pole with brackets, decorative finials, and clip-on rings to hold your fabric.

3.  Install an Aria Metal Hardware pole either like a French Rod or with decorative finials.  Place a small grommet (GR2/) on the corner of your fabric sample.  Next place shower curtain rings (ST18 or ST19) on the rod and open the clasp.  This will allow you to easily slip the grommet on the fabric swatch over the curtain ring and then snap in place.  When you want to remove it, unhook the shower curtain ring clasp and pull fabric sample off the ring.  This is a more secure way to hang your fabric and will support light to heavy weight draperies.

Organize and create inspiration in your studio today!

New C Ring Traverse Rod Hardware

We are so excited about our new traverse system with C rings!  It has significant improvements over traditional C ring systems.  The system is offered in cord draw or baton draw in Brown or White track and all components are ball bearing. 

Finestra can assemble and paint your traverse systems in one of our 36 custom hand finishes.  Or, you can purchase components individually and assemble and paint your own system. 

Easy to Install

1.  After installing the bracket securely to the wall, attach the wood fascia to bracket using one screw per bracket. Short screws are provided. The wood fascia is decorative and holds no weight.

2.  Traverse track will be held in place with the support notch or “tooth” at the end of the bracket (Figure 1) and the camlock on the bracket that locks the track in place (Figure 2). When the track is in place inside the tooth of the bracket, turn the camlock with a flat head screwdriver to hold the track into place (Figure 2,3).

3.  Attach the C Rings to the carriers and master carriers. Place the C rings with the prong facing downward in the square hole of the carriers. These are the top holes in the carriers. Position the rings up over the wood fascia with the prong facing the top hole in the carrier. For ease of installation, tilt the rings to the side at an angle and push into the square hole to lock into place.  This will lock the ring into place and will not move or sag back down to the pole.

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Easy to Order

Checklist

1.  Length of Pole/Track

2.  Fluted or Smooth

3.  Center, Left or Right Draw

4.  Cord Left or Right

5.  Length of cord drop (Standard is 72")

6.  3" or 6" return brackets

7.  Brown or White Track/Cord/Tension pulley

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If you have any questions about our new C ring traverse system, feel free to give us a call!

1-888-443-8182