Brentano’s Annual Color Forecast: 2017
01.11.2016 § Leave a comment
As an artist, I always try to challenge my color sense and perspective when designing textiles. After much observation, Brentano’s eighth annual Color Forecast predicts shades that will be popular in the upcoming year and hues that will dictate the future of design. It is a very exciting time of the year at Brentano as we introduce which colors we have been focusing on for product development.
Coral – With a cheeky personality and bold flair, Coral’s pop of color is a powerful punch. The zesty accent – uplifting and bright – adds a splash of excitement to the traditional household.
Elephant – First forecast by Brentano in 2016, Elephant’s popularity carries over into 2017. This dependable neutral highlights its practicality by complementing both warm and cool interiors.
Chartreuse – The crisp hot hue Chartreuse evokes refreshing warmth in a unique and stylish way. The harmonious hue – a fusion of green and gold – perfectly balances beauty with brilliance.
Peacock – Polished Peacock, calm and cool, remains as current as when it appeared in Brentano’s 2016 forecast. The jewel-toned teal – more romantic than sapphire but fresher than navy – fills a room with peace and serenity.
Bloom – Glowing with grace, Bloom is cultivated for its flourishing beauty. This fashion forward pinkness is comfortable being soft, with a dominant newfound voice in design.
Almost Black – Elegantly refined and dignified, this colorless shade displays confidence. Almost Black, pair-able with almost any color, makes for a bold accent; or can be luxurious all on its own.
Cityscape
07.09.2016 § Leave a comment
I have always admired the serenity and pureness of nature. As soon as my husband and I were finished with our schooling, we immediately moved to the quiet, spacious suburbia; never understanding ones desire to move to the big city. Many years and experiences later, my perception of city life began to shift and eventually (to my surprise) began to influence my work as a designer.
On one particular sales trip to Manhattan, I walked…a lot. While traveling amongst the noisy hustle and bustle of traffic, I stumbled upon a little wild flower rooted next to a wrought iron gate. The graceful flower was rising from a crack in the concrete, pushing its way toward the clear blue sky. The juxtaposition of the cement, the wrought iron and the plant created a texture that brought a smile to my face for the rest of the day. The peaceful experience made the echoes from city streets dissipate; leaving only the beautiful composition in my memory. From that day forward, I gained a different perspective of the urban environment and the magnificence held within it.
Then I began to travel. I was able to travel longer and more freely after my obligations of parenthood and elderly care were fulfilled. I discovered the joy of experiencing different cities, architecture, bridges, public transportation, vegetation, people, as well as cultures from around the world. I took photos, doodled, sketched, took notes, and made plans to enjoy outings with friends from different cities. I now fully understand the attraction society has to live within a metropolis.
Drawing inspiration from the energy and graphics of the urban landscape, the 18 new patterns in the fall 2016 Cityscape collection depict my experiences from the eccentric life of the big city.
Metropolis 4569 – Cityscape 4564 – Boulevard 4568
Boomtown 4564 – Metropolis 4569
Junction 6531 – Lexingtion 4221 – Lumen 1305 – Essanay 8220 – Selfridge 8940
A True Cornerstone
04.02.2016 § Leave a comment
The spring 2016 Cornerstone collection, originally named to follow our 25th anniversary, turned out to have much more significance. The past fiscal year our business grew in great strides while we continuously create a name for ourselves in the industry. The moral of the entire company is unfolding a promising future in both business strategy and performance.
For the first time in Brentano’s history we are introducing a catalog of our new fabric Gem, showcasing all 39 designer colorways. Gem is a velvet I am particularly proud of in the spring collection; proud of its luxurious colors, wonderful qualities and reasonable price point. 
Gem 4250
Alongside Gem, the Cornerstone collection holds a wide variety of unique fabrics. The assortment includes several sophisticated techniques (Intaglio and Jasper), many bright playful patterns (Keys and Tombolo), extraordinarily colorful stripes (Regalia), and an indescribable embroidered drapery (Willow). The variety of textiles within the collection demonstrates our continuous dedication to producing products that inspire our clients’ creativity and imagination.
We have vowed in our design studio, not only to be the best at creating color, we challenge ourselves to lead the industry in design, both in textile technology and surface design.
Ambrosia 3005
Willow 4266
Keys 1202 & Tombolo 8135
Nova 4566
Zigrino 3007
Alpaca in Wisconsin
14.08.2015 § Leave a comment
The spontaneous decision to travel to Door County during summer unfortunately led to all hotels being booked solid. As a result, we ended up staying in Green Bay. When we departed, we traveled north along the Green Bay coastline and stopped anywhere that looked interesting or intrigued our curiosity. One place we visited along the way was a local farmers market, where an alpaca farmer was selling co-op socks. Next to the farmer’s stand, two alpacas stood tall. The alpaca’s hair had recently been sheered, leaving the pair with an endearing hair style, large bold eyes and long black lashes. Their hair looked so satiny and clean, especially the white one. I immediately wished our alpaca mill had a natural color that resembled the white alpaca that stood before me. (By the way, in case you do not know, our alpaca colors are natural, not dyed.) Displayed below are the photos taken of these two alpacas; so uniquely different in color.
Grey Cat
11.02.2015 § Leave a comment
My sister-in-law adopted a stray cat that is very shy. I visited her house during Christmas and saw the cat for the first time. She had beautiful, grey fur that was the perfect color inspiration I was looking for. So I took a close up picture.
Story of Mauve
11.09.2014 § Leave a comment
I have always been fascinated with dyestuffs—what all the natural dyes can do, how the synthetic dye industry got started and how it replaced natural dyes. I found this wonderful story and extracted excerpts below:
Sir William Henry Perkin and
his wife Jemima, c 1860.
Credit:
Science & Society Picture LibraryDuring the Easter break in 1856, William Henry Perkin—an 18-year-old chemistry student in his second year at the Royal College of Chemistry in London—was doing experiments at his family home in Shadwell in the East End of London. His professor was Wilhelm Hofmann, a German chemist who was very interested in the chemicals that could be made from coal tar.
His efforts to make quinine, however, only produced a black tar. He then decided to try the same reaction with aniline, another « Read the rest of this entry »
Day Trip to Matsumoto City ~ 3
22.08.2014 § Leave a comment
I saw these lovely wall tiles in Matsumoto city.
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Day Trip to Matsumoto City ~ 2
21.08.2014 § Leave a comment
Matsumoto city’s streets are preserved from the old days. They are lined with lovely shops. There was an antique Kimono shop where I bought a tie-dyed, soft turquoise blue coat and a few fabric fragments cut from old Kimono. I also ran into a gallery-looking shop that sells items handwoven by a weaver and vegetable dyer. From her I bought a peach wood-dyed, chamomile color scarf.
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There were other shops too, and inspiring colors from my day trip to Matsumoto city: « Read the rest of this entry »
Kingfisher
06.05.2014 § 3 Comments
My Chinese name includes a word that means the color of jade. The same word also means the color of the kingfisher, so I have always been curious about the color of the kingfisher’s feathers. I have seen them on ponds in action, where they suddenly touch down on the water and fly directly upwards with fish in her beaks. It usually happens in a split second, so I hardly ever get a good, close look at the color of their feathers.
In the old days in China, the feathers of the kingfisher were used as inlays for women’s hair accessories. For those intricate hairpins with dangling beads that were pinned onto highly raised, decorative buns, the main component was often kingfisher feathers inlaid among gem stones and precious metals. It makes the birds romantic and mysterious to me. « Read the rest of this entry »
Woven-Words 