The task seemed simple: drop by the local Target and pick up a few basics. I should be in and out of there in 15 minutes tops. No less than 40 minutes later, I headed for the checkout—somehow my list of “basics” had expanded.

Joining the laundry detergent, shampoo and toothpaste from my shopping list were a photo album with a beautiful black and white Life magazine photograph on the cover, a comfy pair of yoga pants for lounging on the weekend, a retro striped retro composition notebook, and a bag of Target dog gummy candy (couldn’t resist). Someone has made shopping for the mundane a fun, rewarding experience, and that someone is Robyn Waters.

Waters, founder and president of RW Trend and former vice president of Trend, Design and Product Development for Target, is credited with helping the regional discounter become the national fashion and design destination it is today. I am excited to announce that she will also be the keynote speaker at the third annual BrandPackaging’s Packaging that Sells conference, which will be held June 22-23, 2005, at Chicago’s Drake Hotel.

In her presentation, Waters will help dispel the myth that trends can only be spotted early by über-hip Bohemian types who are “ever-so-much cooler” than everyone else. Instead she will offer practical tips, adapted from her soon-to-be-published book, The Trendmaster’s Guide From A to Z, a useful and fun handbook designed to simplify and demystify the art of trend tracking. In it, Eeach letter of the alphabet offers an insight into how to navigate the unknown, paired with a useful suggestion to help prepare for what’s next.

“Recognizing and reacting to trends is a learned skill, and it can be acquired without extensive time spent in the streets of Milan or the high schools of Orange County,” Waters writes. “Have you ever witnessed a trend unfolding and said to yourself, ‘I should have seen this coming?’ That’s because you probably already did and weren’t even aware of it.”

I hope you’ll join us in Chicago to hear this and other valuable, on-trend presentations. To register or to request more details on Packaging that Sells III: Capturing Consumers’ Hearts and Minds Through Packaging, please call 866.852.0999. Program and registration information is also available online at www.stagnito.com/conferences.