Tech~Editz Talking 2U

Home Sweet Home

noreply@blogger.com (The New Normal...Not) — Mon, 18 Jan 2021 21:25:00 +0000

After looking at house after house I began to think I would never find that special place to call home. I never even came close until I found my house of Pfaffle Street 10 years ago next month. I knew before I even saw it that this could be the one. Passing Warner Street (my maiden name) was my first clue. Concidently I signed my loan docs on March 15th- my parents wedding anniversary.
I walked into the house through the mudroom and into the kitchen where I immediately burst out laughing at the green...green...GREEN kitchen. The cupboards inside and out were newly painted pea soup green. Under the sink, above the refrigerator, every wall, the backsplash and molding was all the same overpowering color. I gazed around wondering who could have thought this was a good color to sell a home. Hearing me laugh the realtor and a young couple (house hunters like me) stopped mid-sentence to see what I found so funny. The real estate agent was an eager young man who quickly asked "Oh, do you like the color?" I could tell immediately he was part of the design team. I laughed again as he admitted it was he who had picked it out. Undaunted by the color scheme I walked through the rest of the house where I was enchanted with the huge picture windows and coved ceilings in the front room. I could already see sunny mornings on the patio off the master bedroom and a fire in the living room. I wasn't surprised when the realtor told me it was being sold by the original owners and was in fact the family Homestead. The energy in the house was full of love and the deal was sealed when I discovered the little Pfaffle handprints pressed into the garage floor concrete.

It took me less time to move in than my parents took on their honeymoon.

The first week I moved in two of the now grown-up Pfaffle kids stopped by to say hi and share with me how to correctly say "P-faa-fff- le" and some memories of their lives there. I learned the tree by the driveway was planted upon the birth of the first Pfaffle child and the 82nd street side of the lot is sprinkled with random Christmas Trees as a result of an abandoned attempt at a Christmas Tree Lot. They also shared that their mom had lived here until she passed on. I promised to take care of her home now entrusted to me.
I have never regretted my choice to make this my home. Over the course of the last 9 years I have done my best to take care of this old house and the quarter acre surrounding it. I like to think that Mrs. Pfaffle would be pleased with my decision to add a good neighbor fence and double-pane windows. Maybe she is even a little envious of the hot tub I finally added on the patio. I know she would approve of our hard work in the yards and upgrades to the kitchen.
Not all of the memories from the last decade have been happy one but this house has remained my sanctuary. A place to snuggle up by warm fires in the winter and celebrate with backyard bonfires in the summertime. She provided a shady spot under a tree for Baby Kitty and Roxie to be laid to rest and surrounded me with her walls like a fortress protecting me from life's ups and downs.
My family and friends have added our own layer of love and laughter to that already infused into these four walls and I cannot imagine ever calling some place else home.

Browser Add-Ons Designed To Reduce Online Stress

noreply@blogger.com (The New Normal...Not) — Sun, 12 Nov 2017 01:17:00 +0000

The web is rife with annoyances. Pop-over ads when you visit a page that you have to dismiss, sites that auto-play audio even in background tabs, pages that reload and take all the text you entered with it, they all suck. Here are some browser add-ons that make the web a better place for everyone.

👀Behind the Overlay (Chrome/Firefox) We covered it a while ago, and it still works like a charm, whether that pop-over display is one of those annoying “yes, that’s great/no, I hate nice things” ads, or any other pop-over, like the kind begging you to sign up or in.

🎥Magic Actions (Chrome/Firefox/Opera) YouTube is full of entertaining videos, but it’s certainly one of the most annoying web sites. From abysmal commenters to annoying (but easily disabled) overlays and random resolutions, it can be a pain to get everything the way you want it—and then one change may undo your preferences on another system. Magic Actions fixes all of that. In addition to making sure any videos that can play in HD (or better yet, 4K) do so, Magic Actions also suppresses ads which you may or may not want to do. kills YouTube comment sections, lets you control the volume with your mousewheel, and adds a cinema mode that cuts the cruft and lets you focus on the video you’re watching. All in all, it gives you a YouTube experience that’s more like a media player than a video portal. Plus, it’s one of our favorite Chrome extensions in general, even though it’s also available for Firefox and Opera.

🔎Imagus (Chrome/Firefox)
Tiny thumbnails that don’t open to large images—or worse, only open to large images in the same page or open links instead of larger views—are annoying, and previously mentioned Imagus (available for Chrome and Firefox) fixes them. Instead, just hover your mouse over an image you want to see in a larger view, and it’ll pop up, nice and big so you can inspect it.We used to recommend Hover Zoom for things like this, but ever since a ton of useful Chrome extensions went to the dark side, we can’t anymore, and Imagus is a suitable replacement.

⛔Social Fixer (Chrome/Firefox/Opera/Safari)
If you install one browser extension that’ll make your Facebook experience leaps and bounds better, it should be Social Fixer. We’ve highlighted it several times, shown you how to use it to clean political posts from Facebook, re-order your news feed with it, always see recent posts and easily find posts you’ve interacted with, hide sponsored posts and pages, filter your news feed so you don’t miss important news, and more. If there’s something about Facebook that annoys you, odds are Social Fixer can handle it. Of course, if you’re not a fan, or need an alternative, you can also check out F.B. Purity, available for all the same browsers, and another tool we’ve highlighted before.

🔕uBlock Origin (Chrome/Firefox)
The fact that this site keeps the engine running thanks to ads doesn’t mean that we don’t know that ads are some of the most annoying parts of the web. Maybe they take over entire pages, or they bump your browser around when you’re trying to read or click. Maybe they auto-play or block the page you’re reading until you can dismiss them. Maybe they just slow down your browser. We feel that pain, and uBlock Origin is our favorite ad blocker for Chrome and Firefox and Opera—not just because it gets the job done easily enough, but because it’s incredibly powerful and customizable.
uBlock Origin lets you control what elements load, which don’t, what ads you see, and what you suppress. You can customize it to your heart’s content, and it’s faster and more lightweight than Adblock Plus or Ghostery, each of which have their own problems with selling ads or partnering with ad companies. If you’d like an alternative, consider Disconnect, a browser extension that doesn’t block ads, but does preserve your privacy by blocking tracking—and the only ads it actively blocks are malvertising, which you want to block anyway.

Here is the whole article with 10 lifesavers to help make your internet time less stressful.
Lifehacker top 10

A letter to Joey

noreply@blogger.com (The New Normal...Not) — Fri, 02 Sep 2016 19:24:00 +0000

Dear Joey,

I don't think you ever met a stranger, just future friends.You had a big smile, a big heart and big shoulders. You shared your love of life and dreams for the future with us all through your daily affermations on Facebook and your devotion to your friends, family and faith. I doubt you knew so many people fed off of your unwavering "TRUTH" that anything was possible. I will forever think of these positive messages as "Joeyisms".

It was a honor to know you and I thank you for making the world a brighter place. This poem by Arthur O'Shaughnessy's speaks of those who believe.

We are the music makers,

And we are the dreamers of dreams,

Wandering by lone sea-breakers,

And sitting by desolate streams;—

World-losers and world-forsakers,

On whom the pale moon gleams:

Yet we are the movers and shakers

Of the world for ever, it seems.

With wonderful deathless ditties

We build up the world's great cities,

And out of a fabulous story

We fashion an empire's glory:

One man with a dream, at pleasure,

Shall go forth and conquer a crown;

And three with a new song's measure

Can trample a kingdom down.

We, in the ages lying

In the buried past of the earth,

Built Nineveh with our sighing,

And Babel itself in our mirth;

And o'erthrew them with prophesying

To the old of the new world's worth;

For each age is a dream that is dying,

Or one that is coming to birth.

A breath of our inspiration

Is the life of each generation;

A wondrous thing of our dreaming

Unearthly, impossible seeming—

The soldier, the king, and the peasant

Are working together in one,

Till our dream shall become their present,

And their work in the world be done.

They had no vision amazing

Of the goodly house they are raising;

They had no divine foreshowing

Of the land to which they are going:

But on one man's soul it hath broken,

A light that doth not depart;

And his look, or a word he hath spoken,

Wrought flame in another man's heart.

And therefore to-day is thrilling

With a past day's late fulfilling;

And the multitudes are enlisted

In the faith that their fathers resisted,

And, scorning the dream of to-morrow,

Are bringing to pass, as they may,

In the world, for its joy or its sorrow,

The dream that was scorned yesterday.

But we, with our dreaming and singing,

Ceaseless and sorrowless we!

The glory about us clinging

Of the glorious futures we see,

Our souls with high music ringing:

O men! it must ever be

That we dwell, in our dreaming and singing,

A little apart from ye.

For we are afar with the dawning

And the suns that are not yet high,

And out of the infinite morning

Intrepid you hear us cry—

How, spite of your human scorning,

Once more God's future draws nigh,

And already goes forth the warning

That ye of the past must die.

Great hail! we cry to the comers

From the dazzling unknown shore;

Bring us hither your sun and your summers;

And renew our world as of yore;

You shall teach us your song's new numbers,

And things that we dreamed not before:

Yea, in spite of a dreamer who slumbers,

And a singer who sings no more.

Walk On By

noreply@blogger.com (The New Normal...Not) — Tue, 29 Sep 2015 07:51:00 +0000

Today I sat looking out the front window soaking up the warm rays of sunlight and thinking I should water the grass.

I was pulled from my daydreaming by the appearance of a tall, gaunt young man striding into view. His long legs carried him purposely forward while his straight, tangled black hair bounced up and down on the back of his over-sized green parka which swung out behind him. I half-watched as this twenty-something-year-old stranger passed by my house. The boy appeared in deep thought and I doubt he would have seen someone even if they were right in front of him. I continued watching him go by as I tried to remember being that full of purpose.

Suddenly, I was wrenched from my silent musings by a loud sob of such heart-breaking agony it took my breathe away. As tears sprung to my eyes, I realized it was the young man that had cried out shattering the tranquility of the quiet afternoon. He never faltered in his step but continued plodding on no longer purposeful but solitary. He stumbled and I could feel his loneliness and absolute surrender to his pain. Now past the house and almost out of sight I heard him cry out again in pain and misery that is heard only when all hope is lost and there is no one and nothing left to hold onto.

I pray for you young man with the long dark hair and too big jacket. Wherever you are tonight I pray you find your purpose again and that you will know love and joy someday soon in your life.

Merciful God,

I offer prayers for those who are wanting. Those with broken hearts and broken lives. Bless them with healing. Change their circumstances. Cause peace and prosperity to come to them in abundance. I, who have plenty, pray that I may share the richness of my soul, even as I share my resources.

~Amen

Proof that singing is good for you...Mind, Soul and Body!

noreply@blogger.com (The New Normal...Not) — Tue, 13 Jan 2015 06:58:00 +0000

Unexpected benefits of music for your body

Popular wisdom teaches us that music is good for your soul, but it can also help you in many other surprising ways. Listening, and all the more practicing music, are supposed to have immediate benefits on your body. All good reasons to have a field day and add singing to your list of resolutions for 2015.

Group singing influences your heart
A study carried out by researchers at the University of Gothenburg revealed that members of the same choir have a natural tendency to synchronize their heartbeat when singing together, which creates a calm atmosphere similar to Yoga (which also requires breath control). Furthermore, the USA is seeing a new activity emerging (born in Los Angeles) called Vocal Yoga.

Music improves your sleep
A study by the National Library of Medicine outlines the fact that Classical Music is good for your sleep. If not for helping to fall asleep, it also improves the quality of sleep with its powerful ability to calm, thus reducing nervous activity and helping you to sleep better.

Singing makes you look good
No magic potion here, it's all about your posture. When singing, your body has a natural tendency to straighten up to create the air column, and you quickly look more confident.

Music reduces stress
It's not a surprise, Music helps reduce stress levels. It stimulates your body's stress reducers and is supposed to have the same effects as a massage.

Furthermore, slow and smooth music can change how fast your brain creates new connections, bringing the person close to a meditation or hypnotic state. Indeed, this can be very useful for people suffering from behavioral issues.

Recover from a cold with some singing When singing, you force your sinuses, those small respiratory channels in your nose, to open up, as well as your respiratory tract. The result is breathing easy and feeling better!

Music increases your brain's abilities
Upbeat tempo helps in preparing for an important competition by reducing the level of stress, and therefore increasing the overall performance.

In addition, listening to music when working on a task that requires a lot of focus can help you increase your performance. Research published in Psychology Today has outlined the benefits of music on cognitive abilities, which are used when working on activities that require a lot of thinking.

As seen in http://www.karaoke-version.com
01/01/2015

Happy Birthday Kristine Partal

noreply@blogger.com (The New Normal...Not) — Tue, 16 Dec 2014 09:25:00 +0000

Happy Birthday Kristine,

I hope it is everything you want it to be.
I have loved you from the day I first heard your name all those many years ago when Ricky was hiding at your house. I know people have compared you to Ashley and this is true. Yet I see something else in you as well. As I have watched you grow up I see many similarities to Ricky's Grandma Angie. These characteristics can not be learned or copied, they are not installed by a parent, found in old souls or passed on to those born of privilege.

Family came first, all of them. She, like you was a caregiver and took care of her parents, brothers, neighbors and even her son’s new girlfriend. She never judged or held a grudge. She was an absolute lady from head to toe with a backbone easily strong enough to carry the responsibilities of her entire extended family. I loved her, admired her and miss her everyday. I try very hard to live my life as she would have wanted me to.

She would have loved to have met you, and you her. You are an amazing women and I am admire your convictions and grace under pressure. I know she would be happy that you and Ricky are following your own paths and dreams.

They say there is only one other person that can love a son as his mother does and it's true. I can see your love for him and his for you and I look forward to celebrating many happy birthday's with you. All my love,

Mom

PS: I hope you take some time for you today. I wanted to share what I started for your wedding blog with you and this seemed like a good time.

Is Your Social Media Campaign Successful?

noreply@blogger.com (The New Normal...Not) — Tue, 01 Jul 2014 05:29:00 +0000

How can you tell if your social media efforts are paying off?

Have you been posting regularly with a mixture of content to appeal to your fan base? Are you watching your insights to understand the best day of the week and time of the day to post for maximum exposure?

Do you keep current on the latest trends and social media techniques? In short you are doing everything just right and still at the end of the day you wonder if your efforts are paying off.

The first thing to do before trying to answer that question is to establish what your goals are for the campaign. Is it tied to a corporate marketing objective? Do you hope to grow your customer base through social media engagement? Or is it a sales tool to announce new products and offer specials? Maybe your goal is to re-brand your company using educational blogging and live video chats using customer interaction as your gauge to success? Do these goals sound familiar? They should, social media is just another quiver in your marketing arsenal, another avenue to help you meet your marketing objectives as outlined in your corporate business plan. No business plan? That would be another discussion.

For those of you looking for a quick rule of thumb, the chart below gives you an idea on how you stack up against other current social media campaigns.

I hope this was helpful. If you would like to learn how a social media campaign could help you feel free to give me a call or email. There is also lot of really great information out there if you would like to investigate for yourself or read some of our past blogs.

New Timelines For Business Pages

noreply@blogger.com (The New Normal...Not) — Fri, 04 Apr 2014 11:03:00 +0000

Facebook Re-invented ...again
The latest addition end users will see is a numeric rating summing up the stars previously used to rate a local business. NOTE: This only applies to busiensses with a local address.

Facebook has been working on the layout for business page timelines

A timelime's right-side column will now display all of a Page's posts consistently on the Page and in the News Feed.
The left-side column will have the kind of information you might expect to find on an About Us Page of a website.
Depending on the type of business there will be a few differences in the information offered. Local businesses will have contact information listed and a map.
Page Admins will have the ability to rearrange the order of this information although this will roll out at a later date.

Below is the information that will be included on all company pages

Local and Online Businesses will show:

Likes

Information about your business

Apps (if relevant)

Photos, videos

Posts to Page

Pages your Page likes

Local businesses will show:

A map

Phone number

Hours of business

Tech~Editz Points To Ponder:
Facebook is investing in building technologies to deliver new types of connectivity on the ground, in the air and in space. Yesterday, Facebook announced its Connectivity Lab is working to connect the world from the sky with drones, satellites and lasers.

Much of this information was pulled from the following article: http://goo.gl/AsZpUv.

noreply@blogger.com (The New Normal...Not) — Wed, 17 Jul 2013 19:57:00 +0000

Area Floors Joins Axiom Luxury Homes

2013 Parade of Homes

Area Floors is partnering with Axiom Luxury Homes again this year for the Clark County Parade Of Homes. The homes will be open from July 12th through 28th in the the Felida area of Vancouver. The homes are open daily from 10am to 7pm.

It’s that time of year when the best of the best come together to create a parade of dream homes. Each home is breathtakingly beautiful with design features focused on the beauty of the home. The 2013 parade will showcase all the latest styles and trends including the multitude of textures found in everything from carpets to hardwoods, from backsplashes to area rugs. However, this year there is another design element stepping up to take center stage besides its flashier roommates. A tribute to our growing awareness and respect for our natural resources it is the furnace that many parade attendees will be interested in. This 95% furnace, is joined by an HRV unit to remove the stale air from the home replacing it with conditioned fresh air, a recirculating hot water pump and even a new type of shingle to increase insulation efficiency. Visitors will be treated to a variety of cost-efficient and sustainable living practices as they tour Axiom’s entry; The Nantucket.

Design Highlights

“It’s an honor to be able to collaborate with Oregon Tile and Marble and our other suppliers to help provide innovative design solutions for this stunning Axiom home. ” ~Brandy Marsh, Owner Area Floors

In case you were worried that the furnace was the highlight of the tour let me share some of the other custom design elements our suppliers have brought into this never-wanna-leave home show. The architectural details of this home are offset by the balance of color and textures found throughout this home. Immediately upon entering the front door your senses are engaged.

Cronin Wood: The dark satin sheen finish of Cronin Wood’s handscraped solid maple hardwood flooring offers a rustic, aged beauty that starkly accentuates the whitewashed wood work and elegant design features. This elegant flooring with its vivid texture is as durable as it is eco-friendly.

Caress by Shaw: Inspired by the natural colors of the outdoors, the softness and warmsophistication of the Caress carpet directly contrasts the gleaming artisan hardwoods. Produced using the softest natural fibers in the world and crafted with the anso yarn system this is undeniably the softest carpeting in the world. Caress is the perfect carpet selection for this green home given Shaw Floors use of recycled materials that are engineered to be recycled and the Anso® nylon contains post- consumer carpet and has cradle-to-cradle certification. This Made In America flooring company added a patented R2X® Stain and Soil Resistance System making this carpet perfect for busy pet-loving families.

Oregon Tile and Marble: Carrara Marble: Always timeless and classy, the much loved natural stone Carrara Marble is given a more edgy and modern feel by creating unexpected shapes and patterns. The Nantucket has used Oregon Tile and Marble’s 2×2

hexagon Carrara marble for the backsplash in the kitchen creating a unique design element breaking up the smooth texture of the marble countertops and the clean lines of the traditional Hayes Cabinets.

Pental: Carrara Marble: Bullet Mosaic Honed White Carrara marble is another modern twist of the timeless, elegant Carrera marble slab. In the Nantucket this pattern has been used as a design element on the fireplace adding depth and acting as a frame for the opening of the fireplace. The soft veins running through the carrera marble further fragmented by the bullet mosaic creates a stunning centerpiece without the accompaniment of color or other ornament.

S’Tile of Portland: Like its namesake Silk porcelain tile is crafted from 100% natural product. Long known for its understated elegance silk is a strong scratchproof surface, both non-porous and highly durable. This tile can be found in the Laundry Room confirming Axiom’s commitment to go above and beyond in all aspects of the home building process. Axiom Homes has taken every detail into consideration leaving no doubt that this is a Luxury home. Silk porcelain tile can only be created by skilled master artists using the newest digital technology available to create this glazed porcelain tile with its varied nuances and unique details.

United Tile – Urban Concrete: Distinctive shading creates a contemporary appearance that concrete aspires to achieve. The colored body makes it a material ideally suited for applications where the edge detail is an important consideration. The large sized tiles create a smooth clean line. found in the children’s bathroom this is an ideal location for this low maintenance material.

Modern Surfaces: The backsplash in this ultra modern bathroom is of mixed glass linear mosaics from the New York series. Adding texture and simple sophistication this breaking glass line has high quality painted back glass mosaics, cut into various sizes. This series with its beautiful new designer colors contrasts in texture and pattern to the sleek shower walls resulting in an elegant translucent contemporary look.

Axiom Luxury Homes – The Nantucket: Highlighting the best in custom design, energy efficiency and creative use of space this home is a marvel of clean lines, elegant sophistication and latest design trends and features. Axiom is a local developer with impeccable designs and a meticulous eye for detail. their designs combine luxury living with functionality and sustainability.

Area Floors: Portland flooring store locally owned for over 40 years. Experts in flooring consultation and home remodeling we can help you find the right carpeting, hardwood flooring,marble tile, vinyl, laminate or other surfacing material at wholesale prices. We carry many different Eco friendly coverings including bamboo flooring, cork flooring and Shaw Anso nylon carpet and countertops of 99% recycled glass as well as many more sustainable product offerings. From the ground up or one room at a time we are here to help you go beyond the surface.

The 2013 Parade of Homes: Sponsored by The Building Industry Association of Clark County will take place from July 12th through 28th in the the Felida area of Vancouver . The homes are open daily from 10 am to 7 pm and tickets can be purchased online. There are also coupons available for some of the Parade events by following the link below.

Coupons Link

###

2013 Parade of Homes

The well-known Black & White Tag Team of Google’s Penguin and Panda algorithms are back and a New Link Network Targets awaits in 2013

noreply@blogger.com (The New Normal...Not) — Fri, 17 May 2013 16:06:00 +0000

THE BAD:

Google’s head of search spam, Matt Cutts, announced new updates with Google’s Penguin and Panda algorithms and new link network targets in 2013. Matt announced this during the SMX West panel, The Search Police. will be coming home with Sarah.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN MEDIA MAVEN?

Do not be surprised or alarmed to see your organic KEYWORD placement take a sharp dip & your website may be jeopardy. If your site is with me I'll be watching.

THE GOOD:

4 Metrics You Should Track on Google Analytics

Google Analytics can be a confusing tool if you don’t know what you’re looking for, but it reveals essential information you should know about your website. These 4 metrics are a great starting point in knowing what you should be tracking:It could all be a drill.

Unique visits: This key performance indicator is very basic and tells you how many individual people have visited your site based on unique Internet connections. You can also see new vs. return visitors to your site.
Average duration of visit: This metric is useful in telling you how good the first impression is of your site. If the average time spent is only a few seconds, it means something needs to be changed. Maybe your homepage doesn’t clearly portray what your company offers, or the information isn’t presented in an engaging way. Ask yourself, what is keeping someone from staying on the page or clicking through your site?
Bounce rate: This statistic is given as a percentage, which shows the percent of people that arrived at your site and left before clicking through to another page. A high bounce rate can mean the design of your website is confusing or that the content isn't engaging. However, it could also mean that your visitors discovered the information they needed right away.
Visits with transactions/conversion rate: This statistic is most closely tied to how valuable your website is, and it is the core way to know if your site is bringing you leads and/or revenue. What qualifies as a transaction or conversion? It can be making a purchase, downloading a form, filling out a report, signing up for a newsletter, or basically anything that requires visitors to actively engage.

International Interior Design Society of Portland 4th Annual Color Event

noreply@blogger.com (The New Normal...Not) — Fri, 17 May 2013 16:01:00 +0000

Annual Color Forecast 2013; Gretchen Schauffler, Founder of Devine Color Presented at the Portland Chapter of the International Interior Design Society

Color Forecast 2013

March 27, 2013 | Posted by admin in Friends of Area Floors, Interior Design Talk

The Portland Chapter of the International Interior Design Society celebrated their 4th annual Color Event with a lunch and presentation by Gretchen Schauffler, Artist & Founder of Devine Color and a nationally recognized speaker. The event was hosted by Area Floors owner and long-time IDS member Brandy Marsh, at her showroom located in Tigard, Oregon.

Gretchen began her presentation with a review of the last few colors nominated by Pantone for Color of the Year and how they were selected based on current trends of the times. According to Gretchen the color choice itself is a “fad reworked from something that has been here since eternity”. She pointed out that the same 6 colors of the rainbow we see today have been with us since the beginning of time and it is these same 6 colors that are reworked each year based on economic, political and environmental events and the effects these events have on society.

Knowing the difference between a trend and a fad helps to substantiate the idea that color itself is trend-proof. As explained by Ms. Schauffler fads come and go while trends slowly move us into change. Using Pantone’s 2013 Color of the year as an example, emerald is the fad and the trend is bold color. It is the growing confidence of women that is allowing the bold colors to continue as a trend. This boldness can now be seen in more than just color, it is seen in patterns, fabrics, all kinds of materials including carpets and other flooring. Some of the other examples she highlighted of colors,based on trends included Blue Iris, the 2008 color of the year chosen for reassurance in such a year of major changes. The following year 2009, Mimosa as first seen on Reese Witherspoon, was the color of choice and showcased the feeling that ”optimism is paramount”. She went on to discuss other trend proof colors such as white and the purposeful use of white as paired with color, not the absence of color.

Although the annual color choice is selected based on social trends, the popularity of a color and the enthusiasm with which its received is still based on personal experience. As an example, Gretchen shared the special meaning Emerald Green held for her. She also shared her experience with red and asked the audience to consider the impact of certain colors on their choices throughout life. Gretchen expressed her belief that “This personal experience with color allows the buyer to connect on an individual level”.

Gretchen concluded her presentation with a philosophical look at where we are going based on the popularity of current and upcoming movies. Citing Beast of the Southern Wild, Moonrise Kingdom, and others she see’s us heading towards a period of deep meaning and understanding. The remaking of The Great Gatsby and other upcoming movies will lend a maternal quality to this period of self-expression and strong femininity which will drive our design styles and color choices. This feminine strength will be coupled with the need for re-purposing and recycling. This nostalgia for what we have will play out in different ways, including pennies showing up in flooring materials and floors made of old leather belts. Looking past the immediate future Gretchen sees these current trends meeting digital technology such as the Google Project Glass.

Coming to a close she reminded us that nothing under the sun is new, rather everything we find is rediscovered and reworked by artists, designers, poets, visionaries, geeks and musicians thriving through the colors. Finally, she concluded by opening the floor up to attendees to voice their thoughts on next years color of the year. Gretchen closed with her vote for Violet as Pantone’s 2014 Color of the Year. Following the presentations there were door prizes provided by Area Floors, and some of the other vendors in attendance including Mark Fishback from Dal Tile, Molly Murphy from Pental, and the Kentwood local distributor Dave Scherrod of Metropolitan Flooring.

Follow the links below for more about:

International Interior Design Society

http://idsportland.org/

Lu's Sports Bar & Lounge

noreply@blogger.com (The New Normal...Not) — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 06:48:00 +0000

noreply@blogger.com (The New Normal...Not) — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 16:10:00 +0000

Ellen Partal | Create Your Badge