What’s Your Sign? Is Your Birthstone Emerald? Color Me Curious.

December 13, 2012

Lorraine DePasque is a Style/Trends editor for instoremag.com. She has interviewed me many times before and we are often on the same “wavelength” when it comes to spotting trends. This was especially evident when it came to Emerald. I often tell people at my presentations to look to high end jewelry for future influence.

You can say that Lorraine had her (Emerald clad?) finger on the pulse of this one considering that she posted this blog back in April. Click the link below to read Lorraine’s rationale of Emerald in terms of jewelry.

Jewelry’s on the Road to Emerald City.

Pop Goes The Tangerine Tango Shop

May 8, 2012

One of our colleagues and former students, Denise Lampron, is an image consultant, stylist and a color design consultant in Los Angeles. She attended a Pantone/Sephora Tangerine Tango event in the “Pop-up” Shop at the Grove in LA– a fun place to shop for all kinds of goodies. This is the report she sent us….

“The event was attended by the press, stylists and ‘corporate’ from 3-6 pm, and from 6-9 pm by the public. The Pop-up Shop was ideally located in the ‘park area’ of The Grove. It was a warm, sunny day and an ideal backdrop for the happy, bright introduction of Tangerine Tango.”

“The Sephora personnel were knowledgeable, friendly and appeared to be genuinely excited about being at the event. The Pop-up Shop was impeccable. The displays were very high end looking, eye catching, creative and, of course, bright and bold. The Sephora make up artist I spoke with referred to the psychology of TT (she paid attention in your lecture!)”

 

“The catering company did a lovely job of re-creating the TT theme in the food.”

It was a festive opening with lots of interest.

 Thank you, Denise, for sharing.  Especially loved the picture of you (in orange) taking a picture of you taking a picture!!

Chip Fesko 2012

March 21, 2012

We recently received an update from Chip Fesko; a previous contributor to our Blog and an Artist from Newport Beach, California. His prominence as Senior Director of Advertising for the George Lucas Educational Foundation is heavy duty. It is impressive–there must be lots of people vying for that position. He writes well– obviously he got that position at the Lucas Foundation because of his talent. Some of you may remember that he was first featured on our Blog on February 5th, 2010. The color of the year back then was Turquoise and Chip had just completed one of his abstract water colors of painting 10,000 – QUARTER INCH squares of Turquoise.

 

In addition to Chip’s abstract painting, he continues with his watercolors of TROPICAL BIRDS & FLORA and it was his painting of a CATTLE EGRET against a HONEYSUCKLE SKY that reconnected us with Chip again since 2010 … certainly, another nice coincidence for our 2012 chosen COLOR OF THE YEAR – HONEYSUCKLE .

 

He finds inspiration for color on the smallest scale (pixels) to grandest scale (The Big Bang) and pretty much everything in between.

 

His different art styles are unique, yet pleasing, intellectually deep, yet simple. Although he is, as yet, an unknown talent, we appreciate Chip reaching out to us and sharing his work!

 

Below are samples of his TROPICAL BIRDS & FLORA series that were on exhibit at the Newport Beach City Hall for 3 months and also featured in the Australia Art Magazine – ART RUSH.

 

 

CATTLE EGRET – HONEY SUCKLE SKY

 

IF ONE CAN – TOUCAN

 

 

ABSTRACT SERIES OF 10,000 = QUARTER INCH SQUARES PER WATERCOLOR SHEET

 

In addition to his Bird Series, it is Chip’s goal to paint 100,000 quarter inch squares – with 10,000 squares per sheet – and 10 Sheets. Each painting is based on a grand scale, yet represents its subject on the smallest level with each individual square, hand painted but looking like a digital pixel. The most amazing element to his abstract paintings is that they also have a component of 3-D imagery when studied and viewed at length and in person.

 

 

Finally, Chip has earned his first true Art Commission with a National Park. The Lassen Volcanic National Park has been selling his water colors of Wildflowers & Butterflies in their gift stores.

 

 

As Chip likes to say – “COLOR IS LIFE ITSELF” and we couldn’t agree more!

 

The Art Of Dance, Light, And Tangerine Tango.

January 27, 2012

These designers were so inspired by Tangerine Tango that they decided to create a lamp around the color– then decided to produce a video inspired by the name of the color and the art of the dance.

 

 
LightArt by 3form came to life when Ryan Grey Smith and Ahna Holder were commissioned to design an 11 foot chandelier. Ryan knew the sheer scale of the piece demanded an innovative approach.

Armed with a pile of sketches and standard home improvement tools, Ryan set about to create a whole new design concept. Ryan set the oven to preheat, donned a pair of oven mitts, and turned his kitchen into an artistic laboratory. The chandelier quickly came to life as Ryan heat formed pieces of translucent Varia Ecoresin to make them malleable.

The concept that drove LightArt into existence is one of endless creative solutions. This spirit of innovation and passion for excellence drives everything that happens at LightArt. For artisans and designers alike, the excitement lies in pushing the envelope on every custom piece – using a bold array of colors and endless shape possibilities.

“With discerning expertise in architecture, sculpture, color and lighting, we specialize in understanding the vision for a space and use the art of light to accentuate the desired aesthetic.” – Ryan Smith, Co-founder.

As a full service studio, LightArt strives to achieve the most appropriate solution to meet the needs of any lighting challenge.

“From concept to completion, each LightArt piece is manufactured by hand in our Seattle studio. Our team of local artisans work directly with designers to create the most appropriate and compelling solutions for a space.”

My Interview In The New York Times

January 5, 2012

Bare with me as I toot my own horn. It is always a wonderful treat to be interviewed for the New York Times. I am especially pleased with this one article and thought that it would be nice to share. I really enjoyed speaking with Penelope Green, I love her last name and she doesn’t miss a beat.

Here is an excerpt from the Q & A and a link to the full article.

The color of the year is a bit of an assist to the fashion, cosmetics and home furnishings industries, and product and graphic design, all of which can use it as an organizing principle and marketing tool.

Kevin P. Casey for The New York Times

Will orange become ubiquitous? Probably not, Ms. Eiseman said. “What we’re trying to do is get the feeling of the zeitgeist, to use an overused word,” she said, speaking by phone from her home on Bainbridge Island in Washington. “What are people talking about they feel they need, that color can help to answer? For us, the color of the year is not necessarily the hot fashion color, but an expression of a mood, an attitude, on the part of the consumers.”

Q&A — Leatrice Eiseman of the Pantone Color Institute – NYTimes.com.

What Do You Think About Tangerine Tango?

December 9, 2011 

The following is an excerpt from an article by Aylin Zafar for TIME.com followed by a little background on the selection process. Every year I spend a great deal of time perusing all of the issues and happenings that might influence color directions in the future. Ever since the color of the year has been named I have been intimately involved in the process, as I am the Director of the Pantone Color Institute and their lead forecaster in all industries mentioned below.

The world is about to look a lot more vivid: the Pantone Color Institute has named “Tangerine Tango,” a radiant red-orange, as the top color of 2012. The color experts have been amping up their selections each year, with the serene and calming turquoise in 2010 giving way to 2011’s honeysuckle, a warm, reddish-pink color meant to lift spirits and instill confidence.

But the current economic climate and frustrations call for something bolder this coming year. Pantone has turned to the “spirited reddish-orange” hue to “provide the energy boost we need to recharge and move forward.” Orange signals not only vitality, but also urgency and strength—associations that should resonate in a year where many are hoping to finally start seeing changes. “There’s the element of encouragement with orange”.

The color of the year selection is a very thoughtful process. To arrive at the selection, Pantone quite literally combs the world looking for color influences. This can include the entertainment industry and films that are in production, traveling art collections, hot new artists, popular travel destinations and other socio-economic conditions. Influences may also stem from technology, availability of new textures and effects that impact color, and even upcoming sports events that capture worldwide attention.

For more than a decade, Pantone’s Color of the Year has influenced product development and purchasing decisions in multiple industries, including fashion, home and industrial design, as well as product packaging and graphic design.

‘Tangerine Tango’: The Bright, Encouraging Color of 2012 | NewsFeed | TIME.com.

Something Old, Something New

July 1, 2011

One of my friends and a colleague, Judi Noble, is head colorist for Fiesta Dinnerware. She is also an artist who loves whimsy and color.

In celebration of its 75th anniversary, Fiesta has issued a series of pieces in an exciting new anniversary color-Marigold. Available for only 75 weeks, Marigold comes in the complete dinnerware collection, as well as a limited edition numbered Soup Tureen.

My contribution to the 2011 release was “The color of comfort (and many comfort foods), Fiesta Dinnerware’s Marigold reminds us of vibrant florals and cheering sunshine-guaranteed to coax a smile and provide the perfect background for edibles (and drinkables).”

Making My Way To IHA

February 22, 2011

We are quickly approaching the 2011 International Home Housewares Show in Chicago, Illinois. The show starts Sunday March 06 and goes through March 08. If you will be in the area and are interested in attending click the image for more information.

You don’t want to miss out on this because Lee will be sharing Pantone’s 2012 View Home forecast for the first time.

Trends For Him For Her Now For Home

January 16, 2011

We are having so much fun finding all things Honeysuckle in magazines and online. January’s issue of HFN (Home Furnishings News) has a beautiful spread boasting Pantone’s Honeysuckle as a “step in the bright direction for 2011″. Very clever! Do you think they meant to rhyme? I thought it would be fun to surf the web and see what other fancy gems I could find that showcase other ways that one could Honeysuckle the home.

Can I say Honeysuckle one more time or how about three?

HFN | Product Gallery.

Honeysuckle focal point.

Honeysuckle accents.

“With so much stainless steel and neutral tones dominating kitchen decor, for example, a bright hue can be a real statement color. Honeysuckle ‘offers a real vibrancy…it doesn’t shrink into the background.”–Richard Joseph

Honeysuckle prowess!

Do you feel inspired by the use of this flirty hue? Will you be adding some touches of Pantone’s color of the year for 2011?

Honeysuckle and Three Flavors of Honey

December 17, 2010

In light of the announcement that Honeysuckle 18-2120 is to be the color of the year for 2011, I put together a set of fun things from my favorite “make believe” online closet Polyvore.

I am calling this one Honeysuckle and three flavors of Honey as a hot color cameo for spring. I did a fashion compilation to showcase how the colors can be used together. Honeysuckle as the focal point with accents in the three shades of Honey.

I couldn’t decide which pair of shoes I would prefer with this outfit, so I put both in. I think I am leaning toward the Corso Como hidden platform with the Swarovski crystal heel. What do you think?

Also, I know that a few of the honey accents do look a little yellow but they were as close to honey as I could find and honey does have many different shades in real life depending on the flower that is used to make it.

The Pantone colors I used as inspiration for this set are…

Honeysuckle 18-2020

Honey Yellow 16-1143

Honey Gold 15-1142

Honey 16-0946

What Colortime would this ensemble look best on?

* These colors may look different from screen to screen. Click the fashion collage to find out more about Polyvore.