That’s it, I found my dream job… Scouring the planet’s craftiest cities, snapping pics of funky fashion, arresting artwork and areas of untold intrigue, then being flown to conferences and paid vast sums of money to share what I make of it all with a chosen few creatives itching to ride the next big wave. That seems to be what a Trend Hunter does, and the first one I met in person was as riveting and inspiring as one might expect. Her name is Jody Turner. She is CEO and founder of Culture of Future and she first dazzled me at an envisioning session for Avanterra - a new, mixed-use community development in Palm Desert, California I was storytelling for. Her bio includes terms like ‘Ideation’ and ‘future zeitgeist mapping’ (say word!).

Since meeting Jody I’ve developed a whole knew understanding of trends and become fascinated by what they tell us about ourselves, the world we live in and where it’s heading. By this, I don’t mean the weird and gadgety, found on sites like trendhunter.com, but the globally impactful movements - like entire generational trends toward greening, virtual community building and generosity. Jody has a supernatural gift for distilling significant trends down to the essential and true - which is, i realize, the ultimate crux of trend hunting. It’s why she gets flown around the world and paid vast sums of money to relay her findings in under an hour.

But be warned! Jody doesn’t hand-hold, spoonfeed or slow her brain down for anyone! She has a lot to share and little time to spare. My advice is to be prepared to listen with a totally open mind and a ready pen!