Melbourne-based designer Emily Green creates vibrant necklaces featuring lovely hand-formed beads. Come to think of it, she really creates wearable colour palettes full of whimsy and joy. I love visiting Emily’s online shops to spy the newest colour combinations (love those new wintery combinations on leather cord). I am also a big fan of how she styles her pieces on patterns like graphic black and white and bright watercolours. I’m thinking wearing one of Emily’s colour palettes around your neck could only make a day happier…

(photographs by emily green via her online shops here and here)

Serbian designer Ana Kraš debuted her BonBon Lamps in 2010 and has now updated the handsome devils for 2012. Wire framed lampshades looped manually with cotton thread, the lamps are colourblocked in intriguing palettes and crafted in whimsical shapes. What beautiful, hue-filled glow is created as the light shines through the strings. A modern lantern perhaps? I would love to have a row of BonBon Lamps hanging in an industrial space just as they do in the second photo from the top. Sigh…

(photographs via ana kras except second image from remodelista)

My love affair with how simple, colourful elements of everyday life can come together in extraordinary ways continues to grow. Crafted out of plastic clothespins arranged in rows, Peg Carpet was created by Dutch art collective We Make Carpets and is a feat of layering and precision. I love the bold patterns of these modern tapestries and the beautiful gradients of colour achieved through carefully placed clothespins hues. There really is magic brewing in the laundry room…

(photographs by boudewijn bollmann via we make carpets)

I think The Queen and I share an affection for bright colours which is why I love this colour chart created by Vogue Magazine. Charting her hue and pattern choices in every outfit worn over the last year, Vogue discovered that Her Majesty’s favourite fashion colour is overwhelmingly blue (worn 29 per cent of the time) with floral patterns, green, cream, pink and purple next in popularity. At the bottom of the list is beige with only a 1 per cent showing wardrobe-wise. With that colour fact in mind, I think the Queen and I could totally hang out. (click on the image to zoom in on the chart)

(image via daily mail)

I think music videos have so much potential to be beautiful, stirring, innovative pieces of art. Lately, they feel more like repetitive product placements than statements of art which seems like a waste to me. On the flipside of that trend is the fabulous band OK Go. They make one fantastic music video after another that showcases how an awesome end result does not need a giant budget. This new video for Skyscrapers is lovely in its simplicity – 3 minutes and 45 seconds of gorgeous colur and dance. I love the travels back and forth through rainbow hues including the vibrant costumes and painted background walls. The video was directed and produced by Grammy Award-winning choreographer and director Trish Sie (she’s the dame part of the couple) and also features dancer Moti Buchboot. Proof that a great music video just needs innovation, talent and a big dash of colour…

(information via the always colourful Colossal)

I love seeing the colour trends that emerge annually and considering how bursting with colour 2012 has been thus far, there has been no shortage of inspiration. One of my favourite popular trends has been the sorbet (or sherbet) colour family. Somewhere between soft, traditional pastels and trendy, in-your-face neons is the sorbet family. What I love about the palette is how clear, clean and cool-toned the colours are. While pastels can have noticeable yellow undertones or a vintage element to them, sorbet hues manage to be airy but still saturated. Marrying a vibrancy similar to neons with a softness similar to pastels, there is so much juicy life to sorbet hues. Mint, watermelon, lilac, peach, lemon, melon, coral, powder blue – sorbets are just plain fresh and optimistic. I wrote a post on the sorbet family for Rena Tom’s site where I pondered the palette across retail, branding, products, fashion and other colour groups. Take a look here if you are interested!

(images via creature comforts , ruby pr, tartelette, rick metz, net a la mode , hollywood life, rusted revolution , blonde got blues, take a look, irving & co, mochi things, studio alto and linda & harriett)

As I said on Friday, I am a tad obsessed with colour-focused styling lately. I love these artful and very vibrant compositions on the Urban Outfitters website. My favourite part? The beautiful backgrounds as they transition under the objects from two distinct slices of colour to a lovely gradient of the two hues. Hopefully Urban Outfitters continues creating these colourful groupings as they are rather perfect pieces of eye candy…

(thank you emily!)

Watching the Oscars and its red carpet of fashion has to be a high point of February. What colour trends emerged victorious on Hollywood’s biggest night of the year? I would say winter white was the runaway style choice. Other trends focused on various shades of red, blue, green, neutral and gold. I can’t remember an award show with less black! To be honest, I was a tad disappointed with Oscar 2012′s sartorial showing. I guess I just loved the fashion of last year’s show and wasn’t overly enamoured with many of the dresses selected this time around. That being said, I loved Emma Stone’s raspberry-crimson Giambattista Valli, Michele William’s coral-red Louis Vuitton, Penelope Cruz’s blue-grey Armani Privé, Tina Fey’s deep blue Carolina Herrera, Viola Davis’ emerald Vera Wang, Maya Rudolph’s plum Johanna Jonson, Cameron Diaz’s buff Gucci, Octavia Spencer’s white Tadashi Shoji, Meryl Streep’s golden Lanvin and Milla Jovovich’s sparkling Elie Saab. There were plenty of fashionable gents (and a mini-trend of navy tuxedos) but my very favourite was Christopher Plummer’s dapper midnight blue tuxedo complete with black trimming and a handsome Order of Canada pin. Now that’s true style. What was your favourite?

(photographs via harper’s bazaar, elle, the province and instyle)

Pops of colour are a timeless and always enticing cornerstone of style. Many have declared 2012 “the year of colour” as hues from dreamy pastels to saturated tropicals have dominated every avenue of design. Does colour ever really go out of style though? No! From classic strong selling colours to the trendiest short-lived shade, splashes of colour will always be highly coveted and ripe for evolution. I wrote a post for Rena Tom’s site about how these pops can be applied to branding, shops and product design (or perhaps your next chic outfit and interior design project). Take a look here if you are interested in happy-making splashes of hue…

(photographs via km graphique, dingbat press, the dieline, yellows photography, teaching literacy, weekday carnival, best made, tetino-tete and seesaw)

The Farfelle Bowtie by Japanese design studio Microworks might just be the perfect accessory for your next dinner out. Crafted out of shrunken acrylic and available in many bright colours, the clip-on bowtie is a stylish take on farfelle pasta (Italian for “butterfly”). Pasta and fashion together at last…

(spotted on jeannie jeannie)

Artist Lee Baker used 10 thousand metres (or 32,808 feet) of colourful yarn to create his fascinating work ‘Refractive Monolith’. Commissioned by The Future Tense for its SPECTRA I exhibition, the piece utilizes the corner of the gallery to showcase vibrant acrylic strands pulling across a grey gradient pyramid and stylized graffiti-like clouds. A three dimensional reaction to his paintings, Baker explains the installation as the quest to use “vivid colour and extreme perspectives to ‘build’ fantastical meta-cities against a stormy backdrop of ashen clouds and pending darkness”. I love the up-close images of piles of yarn and how the strings intertwine to create different palettes from different perspectives. I imagine “Refractive Monolith” is one of those works of art that you see something new in upon each and every viewing. I would love to see Lee take this idea to the street and bring his grey illustration/bright yarn combination to urban art installation…

(thank you tabara!)
(images via lee baker and ma cup of t)

Today is a bit like the Academy Awards for colour as Pantone announced their Colour of the Year for 2012. Who took home the top prize? Meet ‘Tangerine Tango‘ otherwise known as PANTONE 17-1463. An exotic and provocative reddish-orange with what feels like a pink undertone, this hue is anything but subtle. The inspiration for Pantone’s Colour of the Year is found across every avenue of design, technology, style, sport and world events. The economic and world uncertainty was captured in a series of more dark and muted colours over the last decade but in 2009, more optimistic hues took the spotlight as consumers looked for positivity and encouragement in products and clothing. Last year the colour was a summery coral-pink named ‘Honeysuckle’ that “encouraged us to face everyday troubles with verve and vigor” and this year’s Tangerine Tango continues the trend of warm, uplifting hues with a tropical soul that is meant to “provide the energy boost we need to recharge and move forward”.

Orange in general has grown wildly in popularity and the Spring 2012 Fashion Weeks demonstrated that trend as it was a focal point in many collections. Orange seems to be all over furniture, branding, retail design and homewares as well. I’ve never met a boring person who’s favourite colour is orange. They have been, without exception, the most creative and intriguing individuals you could ever come across. Do a short ‘favourite colour’ survey at your upcoming holiday parties – I guarantee the orange-lover will be the most interesting! My grandmother had a completely Tangerine Tango apartment and I thought it was the most magical place ever. According to colour theory, orange is the hue of creativity and stimulates creative thought. That might explain why so many innovators and creative types love it so much (and why I could have sat and coloured in my grandmother’s apartment for days on end). It looks like she was about 20 years ahead of her time with her obsession with Tangerine Tango!

Oops – I digress from the Pantone Colour of the Year. I think Tangerine Tango is a bold choice and a great one. It is not a safe pick as orange is a pretty polarizing hue – you either love it or hate it. But I think it captures the recent trend and love affair with orange perfectly. It truly has been ubiquitous and it looks like that will continue far into summer. It is undeniably uplifting and positive. I love how designers have mixed the colour with neutrals, neons, and bold dashes of jewel tones. I also love the Tangerine Tango seems to have a pink element undertone to it. It can easily be softened into a sherbet colour or kept bold and neon-like. You may have preconceived notions about orange but maybe give it a try in 2012. Perhaps we won’t all be rocking a Tangerine Tango dress or lipstick shade but you could try a bag, shirt with an orange collar, throw cushion, jar of flowers or maybe just a random desk accessory. It’s a happy-inducing and creative colour and that’s pretty good goal for the year ahead.

Oh, I also love Pantone’s description of their Colour of the Year: “Sophisticated but at the same time dramatic and seductive, Tangerine Tango is an orange with a lot of depth to it. Reminiscent of the radiant shadings of a sunset, Tangerine Tango marries the vivaciousness and adrenaline rush of red with the friendliness and warmth of yellow, to form a high-visibility, magnetic hue that emanates heat and energy.”

(photographs from top left: Derek Lam Spring/Summer 2012, Matthew Williamson Spring/Summer 2012, Nanette Lepore Spring/Summer 2012, Elie Tahari Spring/Summer 2012 and Matthew Williamson Spring/Summer 2012 all via style.com; all quotes via Pantone)

Fogal is a Swiss fashion brand most famous for their high-end hosiery. Created in 1921 and now with stores around the world, the company’s legwear division features wildly diverse and fashion-forward styles and textures in over 70 colours. I’ve heard they make a great product but frankly, it’s the packaging I have loved for quite some time. The 1950′s/60′s feeling typography, vintage style and original logo are all fantastic but the colour palettes just make me giddy. A gorgeously vibrant collection of hues, the palette feels vintage but not stuffy. I especially love the borders of contrasting or complimentary colours. Yep, I wouldn’t mind keeping the entire collection on my desk as a perfect example of creating a big yet cohesive brand colour palette. Oh those colours would look just incredible in one big stack!

(photographs via the dieline and greedy girl)

I have posted about the work of Elisa Strozyk before or, to be more specific, gushed about her incredible talent for wood design with a fabric-like soul. I was visiting her website a couple of days ago and spied these spectacular Coloured Wooden Rugs. Elisa attaches dyed wood to a fabric base and the result is a dreamy wooden textile. These beauties have only fueled my daydreams that Elisa will one day open a shop of her work. I would be more than happy to camp out for a few days in order to nab one of these gorgeous carpets…

(photographs via elisa strozyk)

behind the scenes

A second Kate Spade post this week because their holiday collection is just that good. I love “Give Colourfully”, the Holiday 2011 campaign video. It is bursting with bright colour, pattern, design supplies, paper and all things devoted to the season of festive wrap. It’s quite impressive how much Christmas comes across without relying on traditional colours, snow scenes, winter clichés, etc. Continuing with the theme, the front page of their website animates colourful presents you can “unwrap”. A larger Kate Spade post will pop up one of these days as their design team and brand as a whole is one of my true ‘colour heros’. Check out the behind-the-scenes video too. The team used 1,000 yards of coloured tape, 15,000 square feet of tissue paper and 400 yards of paper ribbon to create the mini-film (including wrap a 1965 VW beetle!)

Continuing my affair with papercraft posts this week, I love this editorial for Madame magazine art directed by Matthew Brodie and Hattie Newman and photographed by Matthew Brodie. The theme was dresses in an environment of design supplies and the results are beautiful. How fabulous is that pencil shavings dress? And the top of billowing ticker tape? What about that bubble of individually handcrafted paper tabs glued together? I love the curls of origami-like paper in the background too. See the full credits and awesome behind-the-scenes photos and sketches here.

(images via matthew brodie)