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Monthly Archives: May 2010
All creative professionals from graphic designers to fashionistas hold one thing scared— color predictions from Pantone. Pantone is the absolute leader in color trend. Yes there is a company that does this! Typically industries from printing, packaging, photography, graphic design, video, automotive, paints, plastics, textiles, dental and medical looks to Pantone for inspiring, selecting, measuring, formulating, communicating and matching color. It is how color is decided.
How do wedding websites, bridal shops, wedding planners and the entire wedding industry know what the next BIG color trend will be? Pantone. Here’s the fun part. If you are a 2011 bride planning planning a sophisticated event and color is your thing, this is for you. Pantone is for a resource for professional creatives, yes, but any individual can go to www.pantone.com right now and order the 2011 Spring MAGIC Color Card (Ladies) for $70. Featuring 28 colors and broken out into four key themes, the MAGIC Color Cards provides you with the color palette direction you need to address the major trends for Spring 2011. You’ll get to see elaborate, unique colors and be well ahead of the pack for your wedding event ideas. Great information on colors, mood, textures and style will get that WOW factor from your invites and wedding decor!
Below is the press release straight from Pantone for 2010 Fall colors. I think this stuff is so fun to read. Who knew people get paid to think this much about the color in our lives! Enjoy!
PANTONE ANNOUNCES FASHION COLOR REPORT FOR FALL 2010
Fantasy-inspired Color Combinations Invigorate the Fall Palette
CARLSTADT, N.J., Feb. 11, 2010 – Pantone LLC, an X-Rite company (NASDAQ: XRIT), and the global authority on color and provider of professional color standards for the design industries, today announced the PANTONE® Fashion Color Report Fall 2010. The report features the top 10 colors for women’s fashion for fall 2010, along with designer sketches, quotes and headshots, and is available for free download on the Pantone Web site at www.pantone.com/fall2010. The release of the PANTONE Fashion Color Report coincides with the beginning of New York Fashion Week.
The top colors for women’s fashion for fall 2010 are:
 PANTONE 13-0632 Endive
PANTONE 15-1050 Golden Glow
PANTONE 16-1546 Living Coral
PANTONE 19-1764 Lipstick Red
PANTONE 18-3027 Purple Orchid
PANTONE 19-1526 Chocolate Truffle
PANTONE 16-5418 Lagoon
PANTONE 18-0538 Woodbine
PANTONE 14-1107 Oyster Gray
PANTONE 14-1307 Rose Dust
“Mindful of consumers’ need for practicality, plus their desire for newness, designers offer many options for women to extend and embellish their wardrobes this fall,” said Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute®. “Building on the color palette from spring, this season’s offerings include innovative takes on fundamental basics, as well as transporting, lively colors that conjure images of travel and adventure, whether real or aspirational.”
In addition to designer contributions, the report features commentary from fashion insiders and leading retailers regarding current fashion trends and new color rules for 2010. Industry gurus highlighted in the report include: India Hicks, creative partner at Crabtree & Evelyn; Cate Adair, costume designer for “Desperate Housewives”; Collier Strong, celebrity make-up artist; Eric Sauma, owner of Mood Fabrics (featured on “Project Runway”); and Constance White, style director at eBay. Contributors from Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue and Macy’s also offer their insights.
Fashion designers continue to exhibit a degree of caution for fall 2010, yet offer a palette of beauty and excitement with a blending of colors, some with similar undertones, in surprising and intriguing combinations. Inspired by the ongoing phenomenon of film animation, vivid colors are often juxtaposed in inventive ways, creating arresting and extraordinary color combinations.
Exotic Purple Orchid, a purple leaning to fuchsia, is an unexpected choice for fall, imbuing a bit of magic and vibrancy to the season. Elegant Chocolate Truffle, evocative of delicious treats, is a rich brown with piquant plum undertones, that pairs tastefully with Purple Orchid. Not your mother’s avocado green, Woodbine takes last season’s neutral greens to a whole new level, and when mixed with Purple Orchid and Chocolate Truffle, results in a stunning combination.
Lagoon, this season’s turquoise – Pantone’s 2010 color of the year – is guaranteed to add a tropical splash. A great color for fall and winter escapes, Lagoon is a popular hue, especially in accessories, pairing dynamically with all shades of red. Lipstick Red, a deeper, more dramatic sensual red, makes its imprint on fall, particularly in cosmetics.
Reminiscent of a radiant sunset on a brisk autumn evening, Golden Glow, an earthy, deepened shade of yellow, creates a retro look with Purple Orchid or Woodbine. A softer, more inviting orange with a hint of pink undertone, Living Coral is the perfect complement to Lagoon, whether heading for a tropical destination or just fantasizing about it. Crisp Endive, a revitalizing yellow-green, adds freshness to this season’s top ten, and will enliven any wardrobe. Add it to Lagoon, Chocolate Truffle and Purple Orchid for an invigorating fall look.
Oyster Gray, a classic neutral that grounds the palette, is a lighter take on the traditional fall gray, as designers heed consumers’ concern about the economy and deliver investment pieces that carry through to spring 2011. Rose Dust, a flattering beige, offers an ethereal, romantic, wispy option to span the seasons.
The colors featured in the PANTONE Fashion Color Report are culled from the PANTONE FASHION + HOME Color System, the most widely used and recognized color standards system in the world. Each season, Pantone surveys the designers of New York Fashion Week to collect feedback on prominent collection colors, color inspiration and color philosophy. This information is used to create the PANTONE Fashion Color Report, which serves as a reference tool throughout the year for fashion enthusiasts, reporters and retailers.
About Pantone
Pantone LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of X-Rite, Incorporated, has been the world’s color authority for 45 years, providing design professionals with products and services for the colorful exploration and expression of creativity. Always a source for color inspiration, Pantone also offers designer-inspired products and services for consumers. More information is available at www.pantone.com.
About X-Rite
X-Rite, Incorporated, is the global leader in color science and technology. The company, which now includes color industry leader Pantone, develops, manufactures, markets and supports innovative color solutions through measurement systems, software, color standards and services. X-Rite’s expertise in inspiring, selecting, measuring, formulating, communicating and matching color helps users get color right the first time and every time, which translates to better quality and reduced costs. X-Rite serves a range of industries, including printing, packaging, photography, graphic design, video, automotive, paints, plastics, textiles, dental and medical. For further information, please visit www.xrite.com.
 Each year I buy myself a nice set of simple jewelery to kick off my Maine wedding season. Sadly after the first wedding, I ditch the earrings. I have super sensitive earlobes but today, yes finally today, I have a solution. Before I settled into clip-ons, I tried nickel free, sterling silver, 14k gold, white gold, then finally stainless steel earrings. Stainless steel… dude, they put that in heart surgery patients! But each time….OUCH! What’s wrong with me? This has been going on since high school. Apparently, everyone has some degree of allergy to golds or metals but certain lobes are more prone to the pain. I had a surgery back when I worked in Phoenix as a photojournalist to remove multiple benign cysts that formed behind one lobe. Gross, I know. This year I took one more chance to find lobe love. I can’t even tell you how much quan I’ve wasted trying to get this right. Last try. I bought a nice set of pearl earrings and had platinum posts put on by a jeweler. The cost was about $100 above the earring itself and includes post and backing. Holy Toledo, it worked. PLATINUM POSTS! Serenity now! I have worn these earrings for two days now— pain free. That’s the longest I’ve worn earrings in over ten years— seriously!
When you see me at your wedding, check out my new favorite earrings!
™
I trademarked my Blush Imagery logo over a year ago. Here’s the why, when, where and what you need to trademark your business logo or name. (Disclosure: This is info for small, service businesses. I am not a lawyer and you may want to consult one before you begin the process.)
WHY: I trademarked my logo because of our name. Turns out that our ‘Blush’ is used in a ton of places, including in the wedding, videography and photography industries— let alone the makeup and ummm, well, that sassier industry. I love our name enough to protect it. When I retire from Maine photography, maybe I’ll sell the established brand or a larger company.
If you’ve named your wedding photography business after yourself, like Jane Doe Photography, you may not be the only one. See info below to check. It’s fun to see what pops up. Not everyone needs a trademark. If you have a new small, local business and early in your branding process, I would not do this just yet. You may change your logo several times before finding the one.
Just FYI, the government does not allow trademarks on very general terms like “wedding photographer.” The two words could represent or define several businesses. It is extremely difficult to trademark
WHEN: The trademark costs about $350 and lasts for 10 year once approved. Good reasons to trademark include if you sell products nationally, if your brand is popular for its ideas or thoughts, if your products or services are sold in a highly competitive market or to prepare a company for growth. You can also trademark a new, unique term. Rumor has it, a photographer in California applied to trademark the term: Nudoir. That’s fabulous.
Unlike copyrights and patents, trademark rights can last indefinitely as long as the owner continues to use it to identify its goods or services. The term of a trademark is 10 years, with 10-year renewal terms. The United States Patent and Trademark Office requires that between the 5thh and 6th year after registration, you file to renew it or it will be canceled. Low maintenance!
WHERE: It is a fairly easy process to apply at the USPTO but the government website is a little confusing. I filed mine online all by myself. First you’ll define the actual words for trademark, in my case ‘Blush Imagery.’ Then you’ll describe your logo mark in very specific terms. You can find examples of that legal speak online. Also you will define what the business does. For me, it was simply ‘photographic services and products.’ If your business is hard to define and you’d prefer not do this yourself, most corporate lawyers provide this service.
According to the USPTO the minimum requirements are these five (5) elements: (1) the name of the applicant; (2) a name and address for correspondence; (3) a clear drawing of the mark; (4) a listing of the goods and/or services; (5) a filing fee for at least one class of goods or services. Obviously, a “complete” application must include other elements; however, merely providing these five elements at least ensures that the application will not be held “informal” and returned. The online application system walks providing and uploading this information step by step.
Links:
More basic info here.
Search your business name. (Click the basic search. This is actually fun to do… see what pops up!)
Start an application.
WHAT: File online and pay the fee, then what happens? The USPTO sent me a confirmation email. It took over 6 months to approve the mark once the USPTO office researched it, then a lawyer from the USPTO called me to clarify a few things. (She said I did a great job and asked if I wanted to be a lawyer.) I was able to ask her a ton of questions about trademarks— for free. My logo was then published in a government document where individuals and companies can protest the mark. If no one protests, it yours and the agency sends you a certificate.
That’s it!
I was out shopping with my sweet-spirited, flirty, fun, fearless friend this weekend for a wedding dress. She’s interested in something with lots of personality and maybe, even maybe…. a short wedding dress. Love that! Tea length dresses are not only stylish, but fun for a Maine wedding. Surely appropriate for Maine beach weddings too. Here I’ve spotlighted short wedding dresses websites with vintage flare. Enjoy!
Nordstrom. I was actually surprised. Nordstrom had a large collection of short dresses from modern to vintage inspired.
Dolly Couture. Thanks to gal pal Audra for putting me on to this website. Super duper fun stuff.
Unique Vintage. This site was a little on the less expensive, almost costume-ish. They have wedding dresses but I thought their vintage inspired cocktail dresses were better. (Apparently someone wore one of theirs on The Bachelor and this site was featured on Oprah.) If you were going with a vintage theme, continue it though for the wedding rehearsal dinner. Any if you love the pin up look, check our their page on that— hysterical!
Vera Wang - She at least had one in her Fall 2010 line.
Etsy. There are a ton of gorgeous couture wedding gowns on Etsy. Makes sense now, sure, but who knew? Awesome!
Nordstroms -
Six months ago I heard a radio ad about a new drive-thru redemption center being built somewhere in South Portland, Maine. For out-of-staters, Maine charges a deposit on bottles for wine, beer, sodas— basically any glass or aluminum. When we return those bottles at these redemption centers, we get our deposit money back. It’s nice and green, but it’s kind of a yucky process. The machines to insert returnables or bottles in at the local grocery stores are always broken, there’s usually a long line and it leaves you smelling like sour beer or old liquids. Gross!
Anywho, problem solved. About eight bags of glass later, I decide it’s time to find this magical place. And there it was: Boot’s Bounty located at 753 Broadway, South Portland 04106. (899-BOOT … They don’t have a finished website just yet. Across from a Supercuts.) It’s awesome. You drive up under a rain cover ( it was raining today so that was very cool), give a friendly man your bags of glass and such. He counts and sorts them for you in a big bathtub. It’s actually a real like Home Depot bathtub! I did a bunch of emails on my phone in the meantime. Then he gives you some money.
To boot, they have this trailer you can use — for free— for fundraising events. Churches, non-profits and public services in Maine collect cans to raise money for lots of great causes.
But selfishly: I recycle, I get paid and I don’t get totally grossed out! Saaaaaweet! Love it!
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