Our Grandfather lived with us when we were kids. He thrived on Club Chocolate, sipped a nip of brandy in warm milk at bed time and rolled his own Drum ‘rollies’. He died at 95 fit as a fiddle. Pa, as we called him, also planted, tended and grew the most spectacular and productive gardens that surrounded our house.
The back yard was the place for the large veggie garden, the pumpkin patch and the potato patch. In the centre of the garden grew passionfruit, winding up over trellises that would be laden with the deep purple fruit of summer. (One year a herd of stray dairy cows wandered in during the night and ate the lot). The front of the house was formalised with gardens of dahlias, camellias and lilies and bordered with mass plantings of pansies.
The pansies, with the purple, yellow, burgundy and mauve colours and soft velvet textured petals were my favourites. I would bob down to the borders of pansies and find the butterflies painted in the center of the flowers. I was totally in love with these flowers. Pa would let me pick some every now and then and they’d go into a special, brass vase with the wire squares on top which supported the delicate pansies, so they could be shaped into a perfectly rounded presentation for the table. Viola! Purple has always been my favourite colour.
So when PANTONE announced the colour of the year – Pantone colour of the year 2018 – ULTRA VIOLET 18-3838
I was excited!
Each year since 2000, Pantone has created a colour that sets the trend for graphic designers, printers, painters, interior designers and any industry working with colour. Ultra Violet was selected for this year by Pantone as it represents originality and ingenuity. Their reasoning was that with increasing global interest in our universe, planets and exploration, Ultra Violet and other purples communicate the language of the cosmos and stimulates us to think about our future.
Flowers and their colours also evoke meaning and emotions and have a language of their own, known as floriography. The deep purple colour of my childhood pansy is believed to evoke spirituality and sparks a touch of fame and ‘royalty’. It is energising and pop star PRINCE used it well to promote his individuality and charm. The pansy flower itself is known as thoughtful and ‘pondering’ and in early Victorian times, pansies were often wrapped in a bundle of spices and herbs to be given to a loved one as a coded message as ‘words unspoken”.
And whilst you tell me you don’t follow trends, last year saw a significant shift of art-based greenery, leaves, landscapes, palm trees, plants and nature coming in to be framed at the framing table. The 2017 Pantone colour of the year was ‘Greenery”. Trendy or not, we live in a complex world and we follow what we see and desire what others have.
From now on, take note of all the Ultra Violet advertising, bill boards, fashion, graphics, magazine articles that are featuring Ultra Violet. Before long, you will be loving this colour!!
Click the pansy icon to learn more about the psychology of TRENDS
Here’s my tips on how to (easily) incorporate Ultra Violet, or any colour you love, into your home décor.
Focus on Accessories that are relatively inexpensive and can be changed around. Small amounts of the same or similar colour spread throughout your home offers the design element of ‘harmony’.
- Look for pots and vases, cushions, bathroom towels, tea towels, rugs and throws, table settings, outdoor umbrellas, flowers, bowl of passionfruit, and most effectively, ART work. Prints on line, gallery walls, artists, nostalgic photos or art work you already have can be reframed with a little ‘colour pop’.
- Visit our showroom for inspiration: We’ll be creating ongoing displays that highlight this theme over the next few months. Everything showcased is available for you, or you may like to create your own custom order to size and colour to suit your home décor.
- Consider my library of my photographic prints and art works that show diversity and offer a range of styles. I’ve included a range of black and white art works that look sensational teamed with ultra violet and purples. Images can be printed and framed to your required size.
- Have fun at our framing table with your framing designs: We will be showcasing the latest releases of copper, silver and the metallic mouldings that accompany the richness of ultra violet. Mat boards in shades of mauve and purple can be accented under white and gorgeous textures can be added for a professional designer styling. The options are only limited by our imagination.
My mother, (now at 91 years of age and born in the same year as Queen Elizabeth 11), continues to bring me joy when I visit her in Ballarat. Each winter she grows the rich, purple and violet pansies in little black plastic pots on her back patio. I have a photo of them, (the one on the click icon), that I will now print, frame and hang on my apartment wall. Easy.
I invite you to have fun with colour, any colour that you love, in a way that is joyful and will enrich your life.
Your Truly and Trendy,
Jen