Skein Deep Thoughts: Pantone

Ever late to the party (I may end up renaming my blog that), I figured it was time to celebrate Pantone's Color of the Year! Radiant Orchid is gorgeous. I thought nothing could top last year's Emerald Green, but I've been having so much fun looking for ochidy delights on Etsy that it has been very difficult to choose what to feature. If you want to read my post on Emerald and my discovery of the wonder that is Pantone, you can check it out here. Now, without further ado, some of my favorite Etsy picks of Radiant Orchid!

An understated geometric pattern really lets the color take center stage. From The Bolster Queens.

Radiant Orchid is not just an accent color! This nightstand from Stiltskin Studios is exquisite in full color.

I am a sucker for a new sheer lip color. Etherealle makes this temptress shade. They actually make several shades that fall into the orchid family. Something for everyone!

I absolutely love men in shades of pink, berry, and the like. From Dark Cycle Clothing.

This photograph from Three Colors has a few of my favorite things: weathered doors, Paris and color!

There is nothing about this mug from Batton Clayworks that I don't love.

And you know I'm going to add in a yarn. These beautiful and unusual skeins come from Silk Divine.

Color. It speaks to me more than shape or function. I will take a turquoise refrigerator over a more practical white or stainless steel. I want a Prius more because I love that pale dragonfly green color than the fuel efficiency. I loathe white walls (unless, of course, they are used to set off colorful room furnishings). I love modern art of the styles that include arresting shades and hues, transmitting messages on a level more basic that pictures or words. I will never have one of hose sophisticated urban wardrobes I always admire from afar because limiting my color to "pops" and accessories just never pans out by the time I leave the shop.

Pantone loves to make a suggestion....

Enter Pantone. I had always associated Pantone with paint chips and website design, somehow confusing it with hex code. Never ever did I suspect that it is one of the coolest, most exciting entities out there. My first clue came about six months ago when I was browsing in a local gourmet shop and came across a simple mug sporting a beautiful shade of pink identified as No. 7432. Now, I know I am not exactly the most up-to-date on what's going on in the Weberverse, and have since discovered that Pantone products, everything from journals and iPhone cases to cufflinks and keyrings have been around for years. A Pantone cosmetic line is available at Sephora. And, proving they not only define what a color is, but how it influences what we will be seeing in magazines and on runways, Pantone announces a Color of the Year (this year is Emerald and one of my most favorite shades of green).

So, now that I have found Pantone to be stalk-worthy, what's a yarn-dyer to do? Well, besides making a pledge to buy up every color of mug and nail polish Pantone puts out, I will try to perfect this most amazing shade of green before 2014's color is announced. As a color junkie, I consider it my duty. Also, I will be seeking artistic inspiration from some of the delicious new color combinations being designed willy-nilly out there in the world. But for the here and now, in honor of color No. 17-5641, I will share a few of my favorite Emerald-graced from Etsy. Enjoy!