Most of you know that I navigate the world with Color on my mind. As a Global Trend Ambassador for Maison & Objet, this is where I live. As I watched the inauguration of President Joseph Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, (how good it feels just to write that line!), I realized that I was incredibly hopeful for the first time in four years. Now, don’t misunderstand, I’ve held onto my own optimism and hope for our country and its inhabitants, but most often it was guarded within. I tended to that hope as a quiet flame of truth, burning, but concealed. Nurturing and nudging me to keep moving forward and to believe.
On that day I let it out into that bright sunshine. Each strong woman that took the stage turned my flame up a notch with the bold, boisterous, “we are HERE” confidence that was displayed through my favorite medium, Color! They selected power coats in power colors, so similar to what we have been discussing as important for our emotional wellbeing since COVID!9. That succulent spectrum of Color that carries with it the optimism that lifts our spirits and announces we are resilient, we are resourceful and we will rebound. That prism, that was shaded and focused on white and the absence of color in our country, had been thrust into the sun and the colors burst forth.
From Vice President Harris’ powerful purple, speaking not only of a coming together of the red and blue, but also a nod to history, to Shirley Chisholm. We moved through the radiant rainbow of Dr. Biden, Michelle Obama, Senator Klobuchar, Speaker Pelosi, Lady Gaga, Amanda Gorman, Hilary Clinton, and landed on the pure suffragette white of Jennifer Lopez. These women in Washington inspire me to grace and greatness. It was an extraordinary day on every level, but it was also a day that Color took the stage, lifted our spirits and reminded us that there is always light if we continue to pursue it and within that light, lives Color!
Patti Carpenter is principal of carpenter + company/Trendscope and an award-winning Creative Director in globally sourced home decor, personal accessories, gifts, and fragrances. With extensive experience in product design and development, merchandising, and color + trend forecasting, Patti is a Micro Enterprise specialist with U.S. presidential recognition for domestic and international expertise in artisan development, small producer and entrepreneurial training and economic development.
Patti has designed, sourced and created innovative Private Label products for brands including Bloomingdales, Sferra, Neiman Marcus, Crate & Barrel, The Phillips Collection, ABC Carpet and Home, Yankee Candle, Donna Karan Urban Zen and Ralph Lauren.
Patti has traveled and worked nationally and in fifty-seven countries speaking and writing on Color + Trend and Design around the globe as the Global Trend Ambassador for Maison & Objet in America and Paris and is a consultant with Pantone. An active board member of SERRV International, which is a founding member of the World Fair Trade Organization, Patti is also an Advisory Board Member of the Black Artists and Designers Guild, BADG.
Contact Patti at:
Website: www.patticarpenter.com
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