Yep, today is kind of like the Oscars of Colour. Earlier this morning, the Pantone Colour of the Year for 2013 was announced and it is… Emerald Green! (or PANTONE 17-5641 Emerald Green to be exact). After the vibrance of last year’s Tangerine Tango, I had a feeling there would be a return to the cooler spectrum. Emerald or Pine Green even crossed my mind (I swear!) as there are so many modern takes on the classic hue emerging. Old school emerald can conjure up stuffy, hoity toity or outdated visuals but modern emerald? It seems more clear and more cool toned than its warmer, antique-tinged predecessor. I find this new shade of emerald much easier to wear too (old emerald was harsh against many skin colours). Like navy blue, many shades of emerald are now being used as a neutral of sorts. Mixed with any colour, from hot pink to soft mint, emerald is unexpected and has a grounding effect.

Pantone has declared their choice, “”Lively. Radiant. Lush. A colour of elegance and beauty that enhances our sense of well-being, balance and harmony.” I think lush is exactly how I would define this “new emerald”. It retains its sense of luxury but with clarity and a modern edge. I love this new take on emerald and can’t wait to see how it is explored in 2013. What do you think? A good choice? Will you rethink emerald?

(photographs because i am fabulous, j.crew, pantone, wardrobe oxygen, style carrot and design*sponge)

I love this floral installation designed by Paul Hecker and executed by Fleur’s Florist  for The Cool House pop-up boutique in Melbourne. Seriously, how fabulous is that gradient? What a modern showcase of all the dazzling colours nature creates through flowers…

(photograph via the cool hunter)  

In his installation Black Cloud, Mexican artist Carlos Amorales created a world that perfectly fuses downright gorgeous with rather frightening. Carlos crafted 30,000 moths of 36 different variations out of black paper and, with the aid of a team, hand glued them to every surface possible of a gallery space. The images above are of the piece installed at Yvon Lambert in 2007 but it was also re-imagined on the walls of a converted old church in Spain called Espacio AV in 2009. I would love to see this fascinating installation in real life so I can only hope it appears again one day. Meticulous handcrafted detail swarms white walls in strikingly beautiful fashion…

(photographs via yvon lambert; information via philadelphia museum of art)  

I seem to be smitten with modern hologram effects lately and I am downright mesmerized by the Stella McCartney Olegram Hologram Clutch. Part of the designer’s Resort 2013 Collection, it is a gorgeous kaleidoscope of constantly changing colour. Click here to watch it turn in dreamy fashion…

(video and screenshots created via saks fifth avenue; photograph via new york magazine)  

I spotted this DIY project on Country Living for creating a wall of shutters and was struck by the palette. A unique gradient of weathered colour including dashes of dusty grey and soft tints of acid yellow and robin’s egg blue. Ah, how colour and texture combine…

(photograph via country living)  

Designed by Swear Words, I’m fascinated by the packaging of Australian brand Jacqueline Evans Skincare. The combination of amber glass and dusty (almost pastel) primary colours is rare and hard to pull off. Mixed with simple typography and a tiny emblem flourish, the final look is striking. The colours just work together and create a modern and instantly recognizable palette. Any bathroom is going to look chic with these bottles in the medicine cabinet…

(photographs via jacqueline evans & lovely package) 

I love the aerial photography of Katrin Korfmann and the striking way she highlights the beauty and chaos of people and places. What gorgeous colour madness she captures at Holi in India as thousands of people throw vibrant powder. Katrin layers several recordings of a place into one image so both time progression and the energy of a location can be felt. From example, in the group above, she photographs a graduation at Cambridge University over 2 days, Madison Avenue in New York over 64 minutes, a Hong Kong highway over 40 minutes and people waiting for Julia Roberts on a Berlin red carpet over 30 minutes. Such a fascinating study of time, people, colour and composition. I particularly love Katrin’s image of a busy market in Vrindavan, India. Oh how I’d love to have a print on my wall. It showcases that hot pink really is the navy blue of India…

(check out katrin’s portfolio where you can zoom into each image and see every little detail. captivating!)

(photographs via katrin korfmann; spotted on design boom )

Yes, the festive season is officially here and since I am holiday bonkers, expect some posts devoted to the topic! In my latest post for Rena Tom, I focused on how festive details can be applied to retail (online or brick and mortar). Holiday shopping can be stressful but with the right atmosphere, any retail space can be full of joy and striking creativity. Packaging, seasonal photo styling, welcoming decorations, online details, window displays, interior installations – the post is plump with inspiration. Oh and it can certainly be applied to home holiday decor too! Take a peek here if you are interested…

(photographs via confetti system, cox and cox, habitually chic, real simple, martha stewart, a beautiful mess, platinum blonde life, CAMP and black eiffel)

I’ve posted about the fascinating embroidery design of Evelin Kasikov before (whoa CMYK colour chart) and I love her latest work “Analogue/Digital”. In it, four paper objects represent print and screen formats where “pixels and dots, single elements of digital and printed image, become physical using hand embroidery”. RGB pixels stitched on a tablet screen, CMYK typography highlighting the print process, stitched TV signal bars enveloping a book and a 7 colour GIF bursting across a hardcover – it is a gorgeous exploration of the analogue and digital themes that dominate our lives. Oh how I would love one of these striking books on my shelf. Have you ever seen a pixel look more beautiful?

(photographs via evelin kasikov)  

Who knew soap and jewels could come together so magically? Available in three sizes and seven colours, these beautiful hand-cut soaps by Brooklyn studio PELLE will make any washroom sparkle…

(photographs via pelle)  

Partners for Mental Health installation, by Blok Design (Toronto, 2012)

Vancouver Contemporary Art Gallery installation, by Rethink (Vancouver, 2005)

I love public art installations, especially when they are thought-provoking, colourful and initiate public interaction. A great example? The button wall at top created by Blok Design for the Partners for Mental Health campaign “Not Myself Today”. The identity, which uses different emotions and their corresponding colours, was turned into a wall of “mood pins” in a heavily travelled section of Toronto. It reminded me of a similar installation I saw in Vancouver a few years ago. Created for the Vancouver Contemporary Art Gallery, Rethink Communications printed 50,000 buttons with a single word representing one of a hundred possible responses to contemporary art. Both walls use colour and pattern in different yet equally compelling ways. They also serve as striking interactive public art that draws attention to important topics and sparks dialogue. Oh and they add rather fabulous colour to streetscapes and collars…

(photographs via rethink and blok design)  

Construction, renovation, DIY projects – I love all elements of building and home design. One of the best parts? Colour swatches of course! I came across some sample pages from Sydney Harbour’s 2012 Interior Exterior Fan Deck and fell in love with the well-curated, saturated hues. They prove that colour (beyond expected neutrals) can be chic, sophisticated AND vibrant…

(photograph via sydney harbour; spotted on architectural digest)  

Yep, my colourful powder and pigment obsession seems unstoppable. Photographer Marcel Christ is a still-life mastermind and I love how his “Big Bang” and “Powder” projects showcase vibrant pigments full of explosive life (but in very different ways). One set are bold, contained fireworks while the other series feel like diffused, romantic gradients of powder…

(photographs via marcel christ; spotted on abc news) 

A day devoted to honouring, remembering and the red poppy. Lest we forget…

(photographs via martha stewart/everything fab & oh hello friend)   
(last year, I wrote a longer post on this important day if you fancy a look)   

Toque is a distinctly Canadian word and describes what are otherwise known as beanies, knitted caps or stocking hats. Hmm… But toque is just way more fun to say! Whatever the name, it is hard to resist these superbly knit, patterned hats from ALL Knitwear by Annie Larson. Modern 80′s winter fashion (with some rather awesome pom-poms)…

(photographs via ALL knitwear by annie larson)   

When I spied this project on The Artful Desperado yesterday, my head exploded with colour happiness and I had to share. Alex Brewer, otherwise known as HENSE, is an artist from Atlanta with a colourful, abstract, graffiti-inspired contemporary style. In short: wow-inducing. He was recently hired to create a massive mural on a historic but derelict church in a waterfront neighbourhood of Washington, D.C. Fittingly, the installation is directly across the street from a planned 20,000 sq.ft. museum (making the up and coming area officially smashing). I am often in favour of preserving great old architecture and returning buildings to their former glory. This project gave me pause. It would have been easy for abstract/graffiti style to clash horribly with this vintage church and make it look a blight of soulless, messy tags. But in the hands of HENSE, it remains heavenly. Vibrancy, detail, gestural abstraction – the mural retains the integrity of the historical structure yet creates a completely modern, artful wash of colour. And all using just latex paint and talent. History is given a new, colourful layer and in effect, brings glory back to what was long forgotten…

(p.s. anyone know what this building is set to become? I’ve been trying to figure it out!)

(photographs via HENSE, spotted on the artful desperado)