Free Form Friday: Color Me Amused. Or Maybe Confused.

What? Is it Free Form Friday so soon?

A few silly things are on my mind this morning. This Tweet from a local business made me smile:

Chivalry Collection Carpet (color Respectful) with black cove base at a local business in Columbia, MD.

Yes, friends, you, too can have a Respectful carpet. From the Chivalry Collection. I wonder what other shades are in the Chivalry Collection? May I suggest: Courtly, Noble, Daring, Loyal, Virtuous, or Brave? Chaste?

Color names never cease to amaze and amuse me. The color we selected for our downstairs walls is called “Interactive Tan.” We like the color, but the truth is, it hasn’t ever tried to interact with us at all. That’s probably a good thing.

How does one get a job naming colors? Are colors named by committee?

I know that there are special qualifications for wine tasters and fragrance-sniffers but is there such a thing as a color-see-er? To be clear, seeing varied shades of color or concocting new ones is not at all the same thing as coming up with a name to put on one - - a name which must have a reasonable enough connection to the color plus an appealing enough connotation to make a potential buyer choose it.

It’s not likely that customers and decorators would commit to Depression (gray), Moody (Mauve) or Sneering (yellow-green).

It’s possible that the seeds of this piece may have been planted by a post from Sweet Elizabeth Jane. It’s a short video walking through the Pantone display at a recent trade show.

The Good Old Days

The Pantone Color of the year is Very Peri, which they describe as:

Displaying a carefree confidence and a daring curiosity that animates our creative spirit, inquisitive and intriguing PANTONE 17-3938 Very Peri helps us to embrace this altered landscape of possibilities, opening us up to a new vision as we rewrite our lives. Rekindling gratitude for some of the qualities that blue represents complemented by a new perspective that resonates today, PANTONE 17-3938 Very Peri places the future ahead in a new light.

Wow. This is more than fashion or interior decorating. This is…a religion.

Have you ever come across a color name that tickled your sensibilities or just plain made you scratch your head? Feel free to share them in the comments.

Since it’s Free Form Friday, and all that, I guess I should wish you a weekend that “helps you to embrace the altered landscape of possibilities.”

Sounds promising.

Ooh. How about “Promising Primrose”?*

*I can’t believe it!

Comments

Teacher Gifts

Today is the last day of school before the Winter Break. It’s a good time to remember the far-reaching nature of our public school system. You may not have children. You may have sent your children to independent schools. It matters not. You will be impacted one way or another. Yesterday I read a long thread on Facebook about several waves of illness in the schools right now. There’s influenza A and norovirus, I believe. And of course there’s COVID. Apparently in some individual schools the rate of illness is high enough for school admin to notify parents. When I was little the acceptable holiday gift for a teacher was one of those lovely floral handkerchief squares. (I don’t know what it was for male teachers. They were rare in my elementary years.) These days the range of teacher gifts is wider and I have fond memories of Target gift cards which I have written about before. I think it’s safe to say that giving one’s teacher Influenza, norovirus, or COVID is not the ideal holiday...

Getting Fresh

One of my favorite days in the Spring comes when this year’s list of Farmer’s Markets is released. That happened this week. New this year are markets in Old Ellicott City and the “Merriweather Market” which, according to the address, will be located here . I mistakenly thought at first glance that it was in the new-construction part of the Merriweather District. I find the name confusing considering its actual location. I’m going to guess that this market is an initiative of the Howard Hughes Corporation because the name seems chosen more for branding purposes than anything else. Alas, the market in Maple Lawn is gone. The thread on the markets on the County Executive’s FB page will provide you with quite the education in who actually runs the Farmers Markets vs what people often think is going on. Short answer: they are not chosen nor run by the county. Each market is an independent entity, sometimes started by community volunteers, other times supported by local businesses...

They Can Wait

This is not a typical Saturday post. That’s because, in my community, it’s not a typical Saturday. Oakland Mills High School, after years of deferred repair, needs massive renovation. It’s pretty simple: when you don’t fix a problem it gets bigger. The school system itself said the the OMHS school building was "no longer conducive to learning" back in 2018. 2018 . But Thursday the Boad of Education voted to push it out of the lineup of important projects which will be given the go-ahead to proceed soonest. In my opinion it’s a terrible decision and sets a dangerous precedent. To explain, here’s the advocacy letter I sent in support of Oakland Mills High School. I was rather proud of it. I am writing to ask you to proceed with needed renovation at Oakland Mills High School in the most timely and comprehensive manner humanly possible. I have read the letter sent to you by the Oakland Mills Community Association and I am in complete agreement. You are extremel...

Village Green/Town²

Search This Blog