Yellow is the new pink

Yellow is my favourite colour.

Is it me or is it happening?

Of course, I was just following a hunch when saying that yellow would be the new pink, yet I do seem to see more and more yellow in detail as well as in bigger pieces of fashion and design – even as a colour for scooters and cars. Yellow seems to resonate with today’s current mentality, searching for a break from pessimism, radiating co...nfidence and glowing health and wealth.

As discussed last week, the arrival of mustard is changing our taste palette and style palette all at the same time; distributing tanginess in our salads, soups and sauces and a range of strange warm colours from light brown to bright yellow to yellow-green. This week I would like to discuss honey, which also seems to be an important ingredient on its way to becoming a mega trend. With the current bee scare (where we see bees endangered and disappearing at an alarming scale), it is only natural that honey becomes a luxury too.

With our countryside monopolised by industrial farming, biodiversity is in danger, causing beehives to die and bee colonies to dwindle. The cynical truth engrained in the condemning of an instrument of our own survival is telling of the power of greed over the basic intelligent management of our planet. Without bees no food, without food no survival; thus we are toying with the livelihood of our species just by dedicating land to the feeding of poor animals, destined to be industrialised for the mass consumption of tasteless hamburgers.

Therefore it is sort of a relief to know that bees are swarming to join us in the world’s big cities since bee biodiversity is now greater within the urban context – a strange reversal of fortune where our bees feed in our parks, rooftops, balconies and urban gardens, accessing plants, flowers and herbs from the four corners of the world as accumulated by us modern nomads. These urban bees are very happy to transform their exotic finds into fusions for new kinds of honey.

Thus the beehives atop the luxury brand buildings and major world bank edifices are doing well enough to presume that we will soon see Vuitton Honey and Hermès Royal Jelly from their own farms. Bringing us different honey colours to be used also as the nicest colourcards for their leather goods and scarves.

Biodiversity beauty!

To be continued…

Lidewij Edelkoort

fabulous (calligraphy) fonts

 

I am seriously in awe by callgraphy and therefor also calligraphy style fonts. These fabulous fonts by the one-woman foundry called Emily Lime. Based in Greenville, SC, this brand new font company managed to score one best-seller after another these past six months. The energetic Southern Belle in charge of the operation has made fonts in a range of styles, but capricious scripts are what she does best. Her peacefully named Bombshell Pro is at the top of our Hot New Fonts list as we speak. And while her alphabets are nonchalant and untamed, the underlying font technology is smart and nifty. Emily Conners is a newcomer with a punch.

blush blush

Our wedding, the decor inspiration for Sarie magazine

I was totally taken aback with surprise when the Sarie's (decor) team contacted me to feature our karoo wedding as their decor inspiration.  As always, Lounette and Anita are an inspiration to me and not the other way around! 

Ryno from Sarie did the decor shots.  Some of these items are for sale on the Sarie online shop or contact me directly if you are interested in any of these items to warm up your winter home.

 

The perfect office for a rainy day

 


When is it time to reinvent yourself or your business?


You do not want your product or service to become boring. My goddess of reinventing herself is Madonna. Whether you like her or not, she has managed to keep reinventing herself and her brand at least three or four times a decade for over 25 years. Fashion designers are also expected to come up with a brand new collection of designs every season.

The only way to keep ahead in this or any business is to consciously make a choice to work diligently in reinventing your business. Keep the essence of who you are, yet express it differently.

I think it is time to change or re-think your product or services when…

◦ Other folks start copying your ideas or design. I know some can have a hard time being copied, however, think about it this way (aside from being a great compliment to you) you know you are doing something right when you are being copied.

◦ You are not making any money. I have had tons of ideas or designs I thought were fantastic on paper, except no one else thought so and they never sold.

◦ You have a design everyone loves and you do it more than three times. If this is the case, it is time to get rid of it or do it differently. Yes, I have been guilty of repeating the same design over and over until my clients say not again.

◦ Last but not least, if you are designing or giving a service that you find boring, even if it’s selling, it’s time to change it. We should not be in the business of boring ourselves.

What has kept me going for so many years is the excitement I get when I am trying out a new design or new service.

Thank you very much for reading my thoughts.

Still a bit of chaos in my life...  I never knew renovations (and decorations) would take this much time.  Maybe I'm just super pedantic.  My dear husband was extremely patienct is is LOVING our new home.  We painted horisontal stripes in the dining room and it's really amazing.  Having so much fun, inbetween unpacking a zillion boxes.  Tomorrow it's high heels and sexy clothing after a few weeks of Ugg (or Ugly) boots, tights and messy sweaters. 

This little office would be filled with too many distractions but it is pretty amazing!  I love the mix and match and all of the great vintage pieces.