Excerpt from the April 2011 Margie’s Muse, which is available free every month at:

http://margiedeeb.com/html/muse.php

HONEYSUCKLE’s elegance radiates when it is combined with light tints, as Candace Cloud McLean has done in this sweet springtime-fresh necklace of glass and freshwater pearls.

Last year the color of the year was a refreshing, relaxing Turquoise, which you can read about in the February 2010 Margie’s Muse.

 

This year it is Honeysuckle, a delicious, alluring pink. The saturation is rich and the color warm and inviting. Here’s what Pantone® says about it on their website:

“While the 2010 color of the year, PANTONE 15-5519 Turquoise, served as an escape for many, Honeysuckle emboldens us to face everyday troubles with verve and vigor. A dynamic reddish pink, Honeysuckle is encouraging and uplifting. It elevates our psyche beyond escape, instilling the confidence, courage and spirit to meet the exhaustive challenges that have become part of everyday life.

“In times of stress, we need something to lift our spirits. Honeysuckle is a captivating, stimulating color that gets the adrenaline going – perfect to ward off the blues,” explains Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute®. “Honeysuckle derives its positive qualities from a powerful bond to its mother color red, the most physical, viscerally alive hue in the spectrum.”

Eiseman continues, “The intensity of this festive reddish pink allures and engages. In fact, this color, not the sweet fragrance of the flower blossoms for which it was named, is what attracts hummingbirds to nectar. Honeysuckle may also bring a wave of nostalgia for its associated delicious scent reminiscent of the carefree days of spring and summer.”

Honeysuckle is guaranteed to produce a healthy glow when worn by both men and women. It’s a striking, eye-catching hue that works well for day and night in women’s apparel, accessories and cosmetics, and in men’s ties, shirts and sportswear. Add a lively flair to interior spaces with Honeysuckle patterned pillows, bedspreads, small appliances and tabletop accessories. Looking for an inexpensive way to perk up your home? Paint a wall in Honeysuckle for a dynamic burst of energy in the family room, kitchen or hallway.”

In a CBC Radio interview, color forecaster Keith Recker said Honeysuckle “speaks to our happy rediscovery of positive thinking, of growth, of energy, of looking forward rather than bemoaning what we’ve lost in the recent downturn.”

Recker went on to describe the reasoning behind the choice of Honeysuckle as the 2011 Color of the Year, “It is time for us to walk forward with a lot of energy, to think positively, and start to discover what the new era contains rather than mourning the loss of the old.”

Twice a year I create the Color Report for Bead & Jewelry Designers. Within it’s digital pages, by way of instructions, examples, proportion-specific palettes, and beadwork, I demonstrate how to work with the 10 specific colors that Pantone has forecasted for the current season.

The 2011 Spring/Summer Color Report for Bead & Jewelry Designers (PDF) is available for download for $9.95.