Tints, Tones, and the Denver Broncos

October 21, 2009 in Color | 4 comments

I’ve just returned from teaching, coloring, and getting to know some of the wonderful artists of the Rocky Mountain Bead Society. During my class, “Courting Complements,” many a groan was emitted when we began exploring the unique characteristics of blue and orange. Turns out that pure blue and orange are everywhere the media is in Colorado, because they are the Denver Broncos football team colors. The RMBS artists are, understandably, tired of seeing it.
“OK,” I said, “Then here’s your challenge: design a blue-orange color scheme that could not possibly evoke mental images of the Denver Broncos in any form or fashion.”
This lit a fire under everyone and they excitedly rose to the challenge.
Because everyone keeps the color creations they make in my classes, I don’t have the exact swatches to show you. But they concocted some of the most gorgeous blue-orange palettes that I’ve ever seen. And not once did the football team come to mind.
The RMBS bead artists accomplished this by using tints and tones: they altered the value and intensity of blue and orange as much as possible to distance the combo from the fully-saturated one of the Broncos.
Remember, tints are colors lightened with white. Tones are colors to which a complement has been added. Tones are lower in intensity than the pure color. They also altered the value (value refers to a colors’ lightness or darkness).
Here are replicas of some of the combinations they created.

I’ve just returned from teaching, coloring, and getting to know some of the wonderful artists of the Rocky Mountain Bead Society. During my class, “Courting Complements,” many a groan was emitted when we began exploring the unique characteristics of blue and orange. Turns out that pure blue and orange are everywhere the media is in Colorado, because they are the Denver Broncos football team colors. The RMBS artists are, understandably, tired of seeing it.

“OK,” I said, “Then here’s your challenge: design a blue-orange color scheme that could not possibly evoke mental images of the Denver Broncos in any form or fashion.”

This lit a fire under everyone and they excitedly rose to the challenge.

Because everyone keeps the color creations they make in my classes, I don’t have the exact swatches to show you. But they concocted some of the most gorgeous blue-orange palettes that I’ve ever seen. And not once did the football team come to mind.

The RMBS bead artists accomplished this by using tints and tones: they altered the value and intensity of blue and orange as much as possible to distance the combo from the fully-saturated one of the Broncos.

Remember, tints are colors lightened with white. Tones are colors to which a complement has been added. Tones are lower in intensity than the pure color. They also altered the value (value refers to a colors’ lightness or darkness).

Here are replicas of some of the combinations they created. (By the way, if you live in Colorado and are not a member of the RMBS… check out the great bead programs, classes and events they support – they are one the happiest and most fun bead societies around!)

To learn more about complementary colors, check out The Beader’s Guide to Color, or read through the Margie’s Muse archives at www.MargieDeeb.com

CHA Attitude & Usage Study Update

October 13, 2009 in Color | 2 comments

I learned the following  from Sara Hardin’s Softflex Girl blog, (Oct. 12)

This is a report from CHA about jewelry making and the crafting  industry in general being as healthy as ever.

“The A&U results also show that heavy crafters, those completing 21+ projects, are frequently involved in jewelry-making, in addition to other craft segments…

Nine million households participate in jewelry-making, spending $1 billion dollars in the past year…

In addition, the CHA A&U Study tracks cross-participation behavior. For example, 44% of jewelry-making households also participate in scrapbooking/memory crafts.”

Read the article here…

Thanks, Sara!

Robin Atkins Loves Pantone’s Fall 2009 Colors, Too

September 24, 2009 in Color | Leave a comment

Artist and author Robin Atkins (whose work and approach to art and life I am always inspired by) got a hold of the Fall/Winter Color Report for Bead & Jewelry Designers and has been swept away by the colors Pantone recommends. She reviewed it in her blog, BeadLust, and began designing her own palettes.

Robin Atkins BeadLust Blog

Robin Atkins' BeadLust Blog

Fall Color Report is Here!

September 23, 2009 in Color | Leave a comment

There’s no substitute for great color. You can be a brilliant designer, but if your color is weak, so is your jewelry.
Buy the Fall/Winter 2009 Color Report for Bead & Jewelry Designers and use colors that turn heads and drop jaws. Make jewelry that sells. Here’s what you get:
Seasonal color inspiration for your contemporary designs
Forecast information designated by individual PANTONE Color #
Suggested gemstones, Delica and Swarovski Component colors
Gallery of beaded jewelry in the seasonal colors by top artists

Fall/Winter 2009 Color Report for Bead & Jewelry DesignersIt’s finally here! The beaded pieces this time around are stunning. I guarantee you’ll fall in love with some of them (especially the cover necklace by Derra McMaster!)

And the colors are sumptuous! Pantone chooses gorgeous classic colors, and then the most unusual accent colors you’d never expect to find in a seasonal palette.

Check out the promo page for a peek:

http://margiedeeb.com/html/product.php?productid=268&type=15

Autumn’s Forgotten Palette Member

September 21, 2009 in Color | Tags: , | 4 comments

Its time to pull out the gorgeous, rich, autumn colored in gemstones and glass beads. Shades of honey and amber, russet and pumpkin, wine and maroon, hunter and forest green. And every shade of brown imaginable, from chocolate to black coffee. In gemstones, make sure you include jaspers & agates, citrine, carnelian, African brown rhyolite, hematite, obsidian, aventurine, malachite, olivine, tourmaline, serpentine, jasper, unakite.
And of course, the must-have metals of the season: copper, bronze, silver, gold. Metals are essential to this earth-based season. Autumn-inspired beadwork should give off a burnished glow, so weave radiant gold and/or warm bronze into every palette. The sheen of copper beautifully augments autumnal greens and blues.
But wait… there’s an important color missing. A color everyone overlooks in this season that can make any autumn palette absolutely divine… turquoise!
Yes, turquoise, that hue somewhere between blue and green, and slightly darkened (especially the color of the stone itself, with its charcoal grey matrix).
Yes, turquoise, that sublime hue that looks good on every skin tone. (Skin with yellow-based undertones works better with bluer turquoise with less green in its composition.)
Yes, turquoise, that delightful hue that finds its way into every seasonal palette with only slight shifts. (In seasonal color analysis one’s subjective colors correspond to the colors of nature’s seasons: I explain this in detail in The Beader’s Guide to Color.)
Those with winter leanings (lovers of high contrast and saturation such as myself) love a pure turquoise. Those of the spring season love it pure and bright. Those of summer like turquoise gently tinted. And those of the autumn season love it in any variation.
So don’t forget the turquoise – the stone of the color – in your autumn creations. It will heighten the drama, the contrast, and the beauty of your beadwork.
Autumn palettes are gorgeous...

Autumn palettes are gorgeous...

Its time to pull out the gorgeous, rich, autumn colored in gemstones and glass beads. Shades of honey and amber, russet and pumpkin, wine and maroon, hunter and forest green. And every shade of brown imaginable, from chocolate to black coffee. In gemstones, make sure you include jaspers & agates, citrine, carnelian, African brown rhyolite, hematite, obsidian, aventurine, malachite, olivine, tourmaline, serpentine, jasper, unakite.

And of course, the must-have metals of the season: copper, bronze, silver, gold. Metals are essential to this earth-based season. Autumn-inspired beadwork should give off a burnished glow, so weave radiant gold and/or warm bronze into every palette. The sheen of copper beautifully augments autumnal greens and blues.

But wait… there’s an important color missing. A color everyone overlooks in this season that can make any autumn palette absolutely divine… turquoise!

... the addition of turquoise makes them divine!

... the addition of turquoise makes them divine!

Yes, turquoise, that hue somewhere between blue and green, and slightly darkened (especially the color of the stone itself, with its charcoal grey matrix).

Yes, turquoise, that sublime hue that looks good on every skin tone. (Skin with yellow-based undertones works better with bluer turquoise with less green in its composition.)

Yes, turquoise, that delightful hue that finds its way into every seasonal palette with only slight shifts. (In seasonal color analysis one’s subjective colors correspond to the colors of nature’s seasons: I explain this in detail in The Beader’s Guide to Color.)

Those with winter leanings (lovers of high contrast and saturation such as myself) love a pure turquoise. Those of the spring season love it pure and bright. Those of summer like turquoise gently tinted. And those of the autumn season love it in any variation.

So don’t forget the turquoise – the stone or the color – in your autumn creations. It will heighten the drama, the contrast, and the beauty of your beadwork.

NY Fashion Week designers bet on bold accessories

September 18, 2009 in Beads, Jewelry, Sales | Tags: , | 1 comment

I’ve been following what I can of fashion week, and am particularly interested in accessories (there are just NOT enough photographs of the accessories!) and how the economy has impacted sales. Here are excerpts from a hope filled article by Kristina Cooke that you’ll all like reading (bold font is MY doing):

“NEW YORK (Reuters) – Designers at New York Fashion Week are betting on accessories such as belts, boots, jewelry and even a pearl-studded scrunchy to tempt shoppers during the recession.

It is not just that accessories are a more affordable way for consumers to make a fashion statement, some buyers can also be enticed by one-off investment pieces — as long as they are unique, experts at New York Fashion Week said.

Accessories sales have held up better than clothing in the worst recession in some 70 years and according to market research company NPD Group they are poised to be one of the earliest fashion areas to recover.

Designers are taking note.

Bold belts, necklaces and bracelets featured prominently on New York Fashion Week runways as designers show collections for spring and summer 2010 and one of the most talked about pieces in Marc Jacob’s collection was a pearl-studded hair scrunchy.

“Many stores that focused on clothing are opening up to having bigger displays or bigger buys for accessories and shrinking their buys for clothing. You’re just seeing a different kind of market right now and I think designers are recognizing that,” said Jodie Snyder, whose DANNIJO jewelry partners with designers such as Carlos Campos and Bensoni.

Luxury brand Henri Bendel has stopped selling clothes at its flagship Fifth Avenue boutique to focus on accessories, gifts and beauty products.

Australian designer Anna Coroneo scaled back her collection of dresses this year but is rapidly expanding her accessories offerings. Her key accessory — silk beads — has been popular with consumers worldwide and she is now working on a scarf collection based on her own artwork.

“Accessories are really important right now,” designer Jill Stuart told Reuters backstage after her runway show, which featured fishnet boots and sparkly belts.

Belts played a key role in a number of collections, coming in a variety of widths and textures including on evening gowns and high-waist swimsuits.

In the first half of 2009 belt sales performed significantly better than other accessories, rising 32 percent compared to a year earlier, according to NPD Group data.

The economy has forced designers to become more attuned to what the consumer is looking for and give them a compelling reason to buy, experts said.

In the past decade “consumers were afraid of missing out on the next big thing. Now that the paradigm has shifted, consumers are king again and they are pushing back. They are much more discerning in their purchases,” Ann Watson, a fashion retail consultant, told Reuters as she sat in the audience of Brazilian designer Carlos Miele’s show.

Maria Bogomolova, executive director of couture jewelry designer Alex Soldier said the well-heeled were prepared to open their wallets for unique pieces that were seen to be timeless. Alex Soldier’s jewelry retails from $995……”

Meet Me In Huntsville, Alabama

September 14, 2009 in Color | Leave a comment

I’m teaching at Bella Beads in Huntville, Alabama October 1 – 4th. Please join us for any of 3 classes/workshops:

Thur-Fri, Oct. 1-2

A Passion for Color

Saturday, Oct 3

Toning Your Color Voice

Sunday, Oct. 4

Sparkling Draped Loop Collar

A Complementary Tip on YouTube

September 10, 2009 in Color | Leave a comment

Karen at CreativeJewelryMaking.com caught up with me after class at BeadFest… check it out:

Treasures from BeadFest Philadelphia ’09

August 25, 2009 in Color | 1 comment

BeadFest Philadelphia 2009 was wonderful. Excitement buzzed and hummed through the hotels and convention center the entire time. Being in the the exhibitor’s hall felt like what I imagine being on the floor of the NYSE must feel: electric. As with all bead shows, one of the delights is oogling our jewelry and accessories as we walk by. Everyone is warm, open, ready and willing to share tips, vendor information, or show their latest treasures.

Speaking of treasures, I know you want to see what I came home with. Can’t show it all, but here’s a sampling. (Click images to see full-size.)


My most colorful loot I acquired from Betcey & Mark (and Starr, Dustin, and Rachel) at BeyondBeadery. There isn’t enough bandwidth on the internet to contain photos of it all, but here are some of my more intriguing finds (I was shocked to learn that a permanent silver-lined bead existed!)

www.yorkbeads.com sells the most beautiful dagger beads ever made. Here is the specific link on their site (so you don’t have to drill and dig):

http://www.czechbeadsdirect.cz/arrivals/polozky.asp?st=112_69_014&str=1&sh=202

From A Grain of Sand came beautiful, unusual silver, vermeil, copper, vintage, and brass toggle clasps that are reasonably priced:

http://www.agrainofsand.com/

Oh how I love my low-priced waaaay cool fold-over magnetic clasps from Mobile-Boutique.com

The most fun I had was teaching. I learn so much when I teach, and I love the enthusiastic participation of everyone in my classes (these two classes were particularly lively). One of my greatest joys is witnessing the impact I’ve had on people in how they view color (and the world), and express themselves artistically. It means everything to me to know I’ve inspired just one person to be more of who they are and to find more joy in color and their artistic expression. That’s what I came here to do. I thank you for letting me share and give to you in this way.

PS: Stop by my website and get a set of free scoops with your purchase of a kit through September ’09.

WHY C-M-Y?

August 18, 2009 in Color | Leave a comment

Excerpt from September 2006 Margie’s Muse:

C-M-Y Color Wheel (front & back)

C-M-Y Color Wheel (front & back)

I encourage artists to learn and use the C-M-Y wheel, in which cyan stands in for what we’ve always known to be primary blue, and magenta fills in for red.

Yellow, red and blue have long been considered primaries ­­because they are pure; they have no other colors in them, and in theory, all other colors can be created by mixing combinations of yellow, red and blue. (I write about this at length in The Beader’s Guide to Color, and include some gorgeous beaded examples of the color schemes in the CMY primaries.)

However, use cyan and magenta in place of blue and red, and the mixing of these primaries creates a broader and more luminous range of colors than the traditional yellow-red-blue primaries of the artists’ wheel. It is difficult, if not impossible, to mix vibrant purples and red-violets using a true blue and red pigment. Because magenta is more luminous than red, using it as a primary rather than red greatly expands the red-pink-purple range.

“But Margie,” you say, “we’re not mixing colors! We’re using beads, a pre-mixed medium!” (I took the words right out of your mouth, didn’t I?)

I have a few answers for that:
When I work directly with the wheel, I use a C-M-Y wheel, because I want that fuller range of colors. And I am particularly drawn to cyan and magenta and the colors they can create. When I look at the traditional artist’s wheel, I immediately sense the lack of luminosity and vibrancy, and find it leaves me visually unfulfilled. The wheel I use, a C-M-Y wheel (available for free with purchase, see left, or in the “Books, Patterns, & More” section, under “Bead Accessories”).
Also, the CMY wheel is more contemporary, accounting for the wide range of chemical dyes available to us.

This is especially important to bead artists who work with a wide range of colors, yet cannot mix their colors as painters do. If you’re an artist working with a wide range of purples, pinks, teals and blue-greens, the colors of cyan and magenta are critical to your palette.

Read the full Margie’s Muse September 2006 PDF article

Get a FREE C-M-Y Color Wheel with the purchase of any kit and The Beader’s Color Palette through the end of August 2009 at www.MargieDeeb.com