Stylus Media, a London-based consumer trends data intelligence firm with offices in New York and El Segundo, has a major new backer. This week, it was announced that Hearst Corporation has purchased a 20% share of the company.

Launched in September 2010, Stylus has quickly grown to over 100 staff and 200 major corporate subscribers. Their very slick website features client testimonials like this one from HGTV:

“We’ve only been using Stylus for a few months and have already tapped into it as an excellent resource for researching design trends and creative inspiration. It’s a great way to stay connected and see what great creative minds are up to around the world.”

Stylus was founded by Marc Worth. In the late 1990s, he created a similar fashion industry trends forecasting service, the Worth Global Style Network (WGSN), with his brother. That company was sold in 2005 to Emap.