INSIDE: HOME DECOR TRENDS, SHABBY CHIC DECOR, KEEPING A HEALTHY HOME, CUTTING DOWN YOUR HEATING BILL, AND MUCH MORE!
WINTER EDITION JANUARY 2018
A GUIDE TO HOME IMPROVEMENT
a special supplement to the Duluth News Tribune, Superior Telegram, Duluth Budgeteer News, Cloquet Pine Journal and the Lake County News-Chronicle
PANTONE COLOR OF THE YEAR: Ultra Violet
A nod to creativity, originality and Prince
I
t would seem that Prince has been spending his time in the great beyond whispering sweet nothings into the ears of the color gods. That has to be the reason. Because in yet another nod to the legacy of the Purple One (and David Bowie and Jimi Hendrix) and as an acknowledgment of life’s great complexities — creativity, originality, ingenuity, the cosmos, intuition, the third-eye chakra and the depth of the unknown — Pantone has chosen what it calls ultra violet as its color of the year for 2018. “This shade is one of nonconformity,” said Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of Pantone Color Institute in Carlstadt, N.J. “People are looking for ways to display creativity.” The color, Eiseman
said, signifies that we are getting “a little braver and bolder.” Each year, Pantone chooses a hue that it says will inform the colors in our lives. In 1999, when the consulting firm began naming a color of the year, the focus was on clothing, beauty and home decor. In recent years, however, Pantone has chosen a color (sometimes colors) that goes beyond the influence of fashion and taps into the water cooler chat of the moment. As a result, the much-anticipated color of the year is now a statement of our lifestyle as well as what’s going on the world — the real, the aspirational and the ick. For example, the 2016 colors of the year were rose quartz and serenity, hopeful shades Pantone said spoke to gender fluidity. The 2017 color was greenery, both a shout-out
to nature and an attempt to steer a divided America toward peace. It can be said that ultra violet is a nudge to force us to stand in the now — Eiseman said it’s an uncanny coincidence that
that it’s not meant as a political statement. Instead, Eiseman pointed to the positive: 2018 is shaping into a year where we might find ourselves taking chances on the unknown.
The great musical geniuses surely would have been proud. the national nonprofit Women Against Abuse uses a shade very close to ultra violet in its awareness campaigns. Pantone’s color of the year is considered a measure of the world’s mood, but Eiseman stressed
Creativity may be calling. “Purple has a futuristic, exploratory aspect to it,” Eiseman said. “Purple allows us to play with the possibilities. We don’t know where we are going. But at least we are trying.” Pantone likes its purples.
In 2014, Pantone predicted radiant orchid, a pinker version of the hue, would serve as an “invitation to innovation” as its color of the year. In August, Pantone named a slightly deeper purple — Love Symbol No. 2 — in honor of Prince. Ultra violet’s regal blend of red and blue doused the runways at Michael Kors, Tibi and the Rows’ spring 2018 shows. It’s now the center of a violaceous collection of Butter London eyeliners, nail polishes and lipcolors, a collaboration between the cosmetics company and Pantone. This year, Pantone said its choice was heavily inspired by food. Purple yams, cauliflower, the tips of asparagus, berries, even carrots come in shades of ultra violet. People are thinking a lot about
superfoods these days, Eiseman said. According to Eiseman, purple is often connected with meditation practices. Ultra violet energizes communities and calms those seeking refuge from today’s overstimulated world. So, in 2018, look for ultra violet to anchor graphic designs on billboards and packaging. Purple nails and purple hair will be vibrant on the streets. And Pantone has partnered with the online gallery Saatchi Art to create a limited edition of prints saturated in purple. Included in the collection of art renderings of flowers, abstract designs, and portraits of Bowie and Prince. The great musical geniuses surely would have been proud.