2020: The Year of Classic Blue

Pantone has deemed classic blue as the 2020 color of the year, "instilling calm, confidence, and connection, this enduring blue hue highlights our desire for a dependable and stable foundation on which to build as we cross the threshold into a new era."

Blue, that sky hue between violet and green that appears to be the most favored by most humans can span quite a range. What I have referred to as purple others have asserted is blue, while when I have referred to a color as blue someone else will cross their arms and proclaim purple! It's a bit like scent and likely due to a combination of our upbringing, unique perspectives and the way our eyes perceive.

The original palette I received from Jennifer in March 2008 (photo above) had no blue due to the warm triad of hues in my skin, hair and eyes. However, once I started getting silver and grey in my hair, the palette shifted to embracing cooler tones such as a violet tinged, periwinkle blue.

Along with wearing blue I also incorporated the color into perfume story telling with the release of La Dame Blanche. The blue tone represents both healing & sapphires, sapphires were included in the fragrance via a tincture as well as a stone placed into the perfume synergy.

" ... White butterflies are very lucky when seen, while brown ones are unlucky. If a yellow butterfly flies over a coffin, the soul has passed safely to the Otherworld. A blue butterfly signifies that the deceased was a healer. A white butterfly signifies a good person, a dark butterfly a bad person. Butterflies represent transformation and must never be killed."

~ Evert Hopman, 210

I pulled out all the essences that go into making more La Dame Blanche about a week ago in preparation of sitting down and making more of the synergy for both the solid and liquid perfume. I'm so looking forward to having the scent back as it is one of my personal as well as a customer favorite. Once the synergy is made I will accept pre-orders so that you can make sure have one before it is out of stock once more.

Below is a quote by Beth, who commissioned me to create the fragrance, she supplied a horse hair tincture and the sapphires that go into the orchestration of the perfume.

"La Dame Blanche is a voluptuous green floral with a heart of rose, jasmine and tuberose. There is a tincture of sapphires and horse hair, amber and wood. It was blended and released on Samhain 2014 and it is as complex, mysterious and voluptuous as the Sorciere herself. It's a gorgeous perfume and the beauty of it is that it doesn't quite make sense...You will  constantly be trying to decipher it's secrets."
~ Beth Schreibman Gehring

Find more Pantone Color Posts here at the Journal

Images:
1. Blue Velvet Couch, unknown, via Pinterest
2. Finger Fade Dip Dye by Britt Browne, from Growing Up Indigo.blogspot
3. Color Palette by Roxana Villa
4. Roxana Villa photo by Rebecca Fishman
5. Blue Morpho by Roxana Villa, Santa Fe Perfumery
6. Mystic Current by Greg Spalenka
7. La Dame Blanche Apothecary Drawer by Roxana Villa, Santa Fe Perfumery

Marilyn Neuhart 1930 - 2017

As I entered the Girard wing at the Museum of International Folk Art here in Santa Fe, I stopped abruptly and had to catch my breath, stunned at how much it "felt" and resembled the interior of the Neuhart house in Hermosa Beach, CA. It comes of no surprise of course, given that Alexander Girard and Marilyn Neuhart formed a creative partnership in 1961 when she created embroidered dolls for his Textiles & Objects shop in NYC.

Although I had visited the museum and Girard wing in the 80's with Ben, Marilyn's son, the shock of the shared kindred spirit of these two designers was much more palatable, perhaps because of her recent departure from this earthy realm.

Marilyn was born on March 3, 1930, in Long Beach, California. Her birth date 03-30-30 seems extremely auspicious with all those three's and zeros. Three is the number of Venus and the Empress, it is associated with imagination, creativity and the artist.

I always felt Marilyn knew she was an Empress, especially when I remember her sitting at the head of the Thanksgiving table with her feast spread out for everyone to not only savor but also take in the beauty of her orchestration.

She attended Long Beach public schools, Long Beach City College and UCLA. Marilyn began her long career as a freelance designer in the Los Angeles area since her graduation. She taught design, painting and color theory at UCLA, UCLA Extension and at East Los Angeles Junior College.

Marilyn and her husband John Neuhart, worked together professionally since their marriage, and collaborated on numerous design projects, including graphics, films and exhibitions. From 1980 to 1998 they were partners in the design firm Neuhart Donges Neuhart, whose clients included the IBM Corporation, Herman Miller, Inc., The Huntington Library and Art Gallery, the Doheny Library, the J. Paul Getty Museum, the Government of Taiwan and local businesses and institutions.

John and Marilyn authored and designed of three books on the history of the Eames Office. The first was Eames Design (1989) followed by Eames House (1994) and the two book set The Story of Eames Furniture, a comprehensive history of furniture development in the Eames Office.

Together John and Marilyn were an inspirational team, working together to create beautiful invites to dinner parties at their home, labels and cards for the holidays or the magnificent doll house that took over six years to create for Eve. Below are a few details of the doll house, including a tiny basket with three of Marilyn's dolls as miniatures. The bright, colorful palette and since of whimsy that was part of their signature weaves throughout every part of their life.

The day Ben and I graduated from Otis College of Art and Design, back in the eighties, Marilyn made us glorious crowns for us to wear that were given to us in a special box made by John. Talk about feeling special! 

There is also a photo of her with Ray Eames and John sitting on the lawn of MacArther Park waiting the graduation ceremony to begin. I believe the photo was taken by her son Andrew Neuhart.

I'd love to share more pictures of their truly wonderful and very authentic style, but the CD's are in a box some where within the scary storage closet here in our temporary rental. I'm not sure if I can readily find it.  I'll take a look in a few weeks when my time should be a but more expansive. What's become quite obvious, as I sift through all the photos of John and Marilyn over the last thirty plus years, is that I'll be sharing more about them and their legacy as designers.

Here's a little quote from Marilyn...

"I started to quilt when I was a small child sitting with my mother and my aunts 

over a quilting frame. I continued to sew, albeit intermittently, as I went through 

high school and college. After I left teaching for a period and with two small children, 

I became a fulltime freelance graphic designer and once again took up my needle in earnest. 

After making small cloth dolls for my children and friends, I made a doll for designer 

Alexander Girard, who asked me to make a large number of them the new Textiles & Objects 

shop he was designing in New York City for the Herman Miller Furniture Company. 

Over the next few years  (in the early 1960's), I made nearly 2,000 dolls 

for the shop and for  Girard's exhibition projects." 

Read more about Marilyn by jumping to this little blog I created for her back in 2007 as Christmas gift, naively thinking she might want to contribute to it by sharing her wit, sense of design, inspiration, recipes and abundant stories. In hind site, it was most likely a projection on my part, I was so inspired, in awe actually, by her sense of style and her very Aires take charge and get things done attitude.

Once I asked her how she had managed to do so much as a mother of two children, wife, designer, cook and creator extraordinaire, etc., her response was..."Just keep going, without thinking about it." Hence her chosen name for the blog "Don't Be A Bump on a Blog." She had absolutely no patience for laziness. As I edit this post, adding more memories and photos, it occurs to me that perhaps I will add more on her blog, building it as a resource for those of you her are inspired by her as well as John.

Besides having a great sense of color, pattern, texture, design and flavor, she was also a bit of a sensualist. Marilyn liked to take baths and enjoyed beautiful scents. Her favorite fragrances were 4711 and roses, the photo below is a vintage bottle of the illustrious perfume that she had in the guest bathroom. I would gift her bottles of my Blossom cologne and bath salts for the holidays and her birthday.

Lucky for us, House Industries worked with Marilyn and John to recreate some of their wonderful designs such as a poster of the hand print, which I've always been a huge fan of.

Marilyn passed on September 1st, 2017 just as Greg and I were driving through the desert on our way to Santa Fe. In a way, one of the many reasons I am living in Santa Fe today is because of Marilyn. She and her fabulous style which will live on for years to come, especially if books about her creative life and dolls are published. Marilyn was an integral thread in the Mid Century modern design revolution whose craft-womanship is an inspiration, particularly to all the makers who are part of the current DIY culture.

See more of the Neuhart house and Marilyn's fantastic style in a few of these posts here at the journal.

Photos: Museum of International Folk Art,  John and Marilyn's home in Hermosa Beach, a variety of shots at the Neuhart house of Marilyn's embroidery, quilt, handprint, 4711 perfume bottle and Mexican statues display.

Edited April 13, 2018

An Updated Palette

Last Spring I had my color palette updated by the leader of the True Beauty Movement, Jennifer Butler. Shortly there after Jennifer asked join her in a series she offers. Here is the link to the public video, the other videos recorded on the same day, are available to her membership groups.

My color palette from ten years ago shifted slightly because of the pewter tones in my hair. I received a few new colors and tones which caused the the entire palette to change slightly. In the photo above the older palette is beneath the new palette.

There are other colors that work on me that are not in this palette or obvious. For example the golden amber hue I wore at the Scent of the Honey Bee presentation in Utah is one of the hues associated with my eyes. And there is a moss green hue Jennifer mentioned I could wear that is the light of my eyes. Pictured above is Heidi and I in front of the University of Salt Lake City Guest House on the last day of Beyond Aromatic conference.

Summer Essence Event and NEW pure fume!

Join me and the mastery of Jennifer Butler this Sunday, August 7th for an extraordinary community event revolving on the theme of the Summer essence.

SCENT
I will give a presentation and unveil my newest fragrance. The starting point was the essence of summer with melodies evoking the divine feminine. I’ve weaved fine threads of jasmine and other graceful florals with subtle hints of seashells and the constant rhythmic motion of ancient lunar tides reminding us of home. Diffused notes of a vintage Mysore sandalwood, oakmoss and orris in the base anchor the dreamy, artful nature of twilight with petals of crushed velvet. The mood is relaxed and elegant.

"Smell is a potent wizard
that transports you across thousands of miles
and all the years you have lived."
~ Helen Keller

The sense of smell has been critical to the survival of human beings. Early in our evolution, when we were on all fours, our smell sense was vital to our survival. As we became upright, olfaction was no longer the dominant system. We still depended on it for locating our food, mating, and hunting however the other sense systems began to play a much larger role.

Some interesting smell facts:
* The sense of smell is 10,000 times stronger than any other sense.
* Every person experiences the same exact odor differently.
* We have a keener sense of smell later in our day.
* Woman have a more acute sense of smell than men. * Olfactory nerves can renew themselves. * Each of us has an individual odor thumb print.
* The right hemisphere of the brain is responsible for odor recognition.
* Smells fall into the following categories:
minty, floral, ethereal, musky, resinous, foul and acrid.

Smell Idioms:
To win by a nose.
The sweet smell of success.
I smell a rat.
Everything is coming up roses.
Smelling like a rose.
Nosy.
The nose knows.
Something smells fishy.
Wake up and smell the coffee!

The word for smell in Spanish and French is "sentir" which means to feel / to smell.

SIGHT

Experience the beauty of clothing and accessories from the comfort of a little piece of Europe in Beverly Hills

In the United States the sense we tend to rely on the most is our sense of sight. Of all the senses in our collective cultural sensorium, "vision" is used to assess and determine situations. Looking back in history it was the modern printing press, introduced in 1440 by the German Johann Gutenberg that began our shift into the "seeing is believing" paradigm. Over the next hundred years it was aided by several other inventions, primarily the microscope. Micro in latin meaning "small" and scope "to see". Philosophical ideas of the new era combined with the shift to a strong patriarchal system. All these factors working together in the shift to a culture primarily based on the sense of sight.

TOUCH

Feel the textures of luxurious fabrics, handmade textiles and learn which ones work best for you.

The sense of touch is the first and last one that we experience. It has the ability to distinguish between something soft, hard, smooth, wet, dry, etc. We experience this sense through receptors located on the skin, some areas being more sensitive than others. The skin is the largest organ of the body, like a sponge it is a porous membrane. In Aromatherapy the skin is one of the pathways we focus on when utilizing pure essential oils therapeutically.

TASTE

Savor a delicious meal in the company of a tribe of Summer essence individuals at Caffe Roma.

There are almost 10,000 taste buds located in our mouths, which can distinguish five different types of flavors: sweet, salty, sour, bitter and unami. We are all familiar with the tastes of sweet, salty, sour and bitter, but, what is unami? Unami receptors pick up the taste of glutanic acid salts such as MSG.
The sense of taste is the weakest of all our senses and depends in part on the sense of smell. Evident by when we have a cold, and can't taste our food.

HEAR

Jennifer will share her wisdom on the balance of inner and outer beauty while guiding us on what works best for the vibration of our unique essence.

Hearing, unlike the sense of smell, taste and vision, is a mechanical process. Hearing is based on movement, sounds produce a vibrational wave which is picked up by the ears.

SIXTH SENSE

What is the 6th Sense?.......RSVP to find out!

Since you are a reader of this journal receive a special price to attend as my guest! E-mail or contact me for details.

Here is the schedule for the day:
11:00am - 12:30pm  Shopping
12:30am - 1:15pm    Luncheon
  1:15pm - 2:30pm    Presentation
  2:30pm - 2:55pm    Final Selections & Special Orders
  2:55pm - 3:00pm    Adjourn

What are your favorite FALL Colors in 2015?

FALL officially arrived to Northern hemis-peeps* the day of the Autumnal Equinox,  but to us here in parched Los Angeles the sign posts became obvious this week. Ginkgo biloba, Liquidambar, Lagerstroemia indica (aka crepe/crape myrtle) and the two natives Platanus racemosa (California sycamore) and Vitis californica have been displaying their beautiful cloaks.

The Liquidambars being the most stunning of all. We have a essential oil that comes from the resin of this tree used to create Amber chords for Oriental family perfumes. The scent is warm and deep.

The Pantone Corporation, the supposed authority on color trends, unveiled "The Color of the Year" along with these other hues for the FALL 2015 line up which includes lots of natural, haute-hip hues...

1.) PANTONE 17-0627 Dried Herb
2.) PANTONE 16-0110 Desert Sage
3.) PANTONE 18-4214 Stormy Weather
4.) PANTONE 16-1144 Oak Buff
5.) PANTONE 18-1438 Marsala
6.) PANTONE 18-4726 Biscay Bay
7.) PANTONE 19-4326 Reflecting Pond
8.) PANTONE 15-1340 Cadmium Orange
9.) PANTONE 16-2215 Cashmere Rose
10.) PANTONE 17-3628 Amethyst Orchid

As you all know I have a specific color palette I use for my brand which shows up in the wax seals for my perfumes. I've matched up some of the wax seals on the little pots with some of the Fall 2015 colors in the chart above.

* Yes, I made up a word hemisphere + people + hemis-peeps.

Color Wheel

When I worked out what I wanted to communicate through Roxana Illuminated Perfume as a brand there was an element of the artistic and creative at the core, since that's my history, or what I like to say "her"story.

So, I choose a color for each perfume, at the time this was a somewhat novel approach. Over the years color has become a bit of a challenge because it involves seeking out crochet thread and matching wax. Sometimes this a fun challenge, sometimes it can be frustrating and prolong the debut of perfumes.

As I work on my wholesale pricing, line sheets and display materials it occurred to me that since each perfume has a color I would bring that quality into the arrangement of glass domes. Thus Martha has made little round circles that go on the bottom of the base for each perfume. By having color instead of a word or cards people won't "pre-judge" the fragrance they are about to experience. This works perfectly here in the perfumery, since I guide individuals through the process at the scent bar. However, it may not work in most retail settings, we shall see. I do realize I've got some pretty outrageous goals for us sentient beings, but what the heck, there's no other path than to keep on pushing the evolutionary possibilities within my brothers and sisters while we are here.

Plant Dye Demo ReCap

The plant dye demo on Saturday was great fun. Despite the rain we had a terrific gathering of ladies ranging from devotees of gardening, native plants, the fiber community, Waldorf and artists.

We arrived at the perfumery early to begin organizing elements for the day. Mona began warming the color, I hung the pre-dyed square kerchiefs to make selection more fluid. Although the heating of the dye bath took place in the interior of the space the dye process took place just outside to take advantage of the natural light and avoid clutter of bodies.

During the week I received a message from Mona telling me that in preparation for the class she was going to make herself a special shirt for the day with some of the rose petal printed leaf silks with some of the pink color added.

The lecture was presented within Mitchells Bookshop where there was ample space for all the attendees. Mona explained how natural dyes have a beautiful, long history where each color and plant has a story of its own. She shared how in the modern world, where synthetic dyes dominate, there are rivers in different areas of the planet that will run in different colors depending on what the big, multi-national factory might be dyeing that dye. The result of these types of practices is cities, communities and cultures are then poisoned by the toxic runoff.

With natural dyes we go back to our routes and the vital connection to plants. The process requires much time and patience but has the value supporting agriculture, our environment and handwork. I couldn't help but see the perfect connection to the fine art of botanical perfume.

Mona shared with us her yarn basket which showcases all the different colors obtained from the natural world, except one. We were all asked to guess which one within her basket did not come from nature, do you know which? None of us in attendance guessed correctly.

Besides some biology and psychology of color we also learned a bit of chemistry that not all the dyes are fugitive and thus must be treated with a "mordant" so that the color can adhere to the fabric for washing. This has to do with positive and negative charges between fabric and dye.

After the lecture we walked down the hall, picked up our squares and formed a line. Mona gave suggestions on how to go about dipping our fabric and what might take place depending how various procedures such as moistening in water first or not, dipping only the edges, folding or tying, etc.

Each piece was then hung on a line to dry. The final pieces were as varied as each of the attendees. Here is a photo of Pia (below) as she got ready to leave the byproduct of the day: pink fingers.

The next class in this series will be the day long course where Mona will get into the nitty gritty of the process, share her personal formulas as we dye our very own wool shawl.