Color Inspiration - Keep Your Eyes Open, Always!

As a designer and artist, I'm always looking at colors. And the colors can come from anywhere or anything. You might find it amusing from where some of my inspiration comes when working on Dunitz & Company designs.

Some of you may know that I took a lovely vacation for two weeks, not too long ago, mostly spent in the north of Spain. It was so fun discovering locations I'd never been. The art, architecture and food did not disappoint. Maybe the food was just a little bit too inspiring. Ha. Here are a few pics that boast excellent colors. In no particular order, here are a few pics from my trip that give me pause for thought.

The art museum in Oviedo was absolutely amazing. And huge, I might add. It was absolutely impossible to see and digest it in it's entirety. You'd need days, we didn't have. This portrait by Luis Pardo definitely inspired me. I adore the way he used green to communicate the stubble for his mustache and beard. For me this is such an excellent combination of colors. Black, Green, Beige & Grey.

 

 

 

I'm addicted to sugar. This translates my having eaten A LOT of desserts on my vacation. Yum. The first cookies I ate on my vacation came from this batch. I'm sure it's the colors that spoke to me first. Brown, Red & Beige.

 

On our last day of Spain we traipsed through several parks including the Parque de El Retiro. This park was enormous and was very close to the backside of the also enormous Prado Museum. It seems odd to travel all the way to Spain for the "change in leaves." As it turned out, that is what we experienced. Every color in the earthy rainbow. Green, Gold, Brown & Rust.

 

 

 

 

 Discovering Santander was fantastic. For most tourists, this city of approximately 170,000 is definitely off the beaten path. It was lovely strolling along the coastline and taking in so much beauty. Randomly I looked left, when most people would be looking right - right at the water. What I discovered was a huge vehicle for recycling. I actually watched a woman carefully dumping things in the glass section, then the paper section, then the old clothing section and other sections. Yes to the people of Spain's efforts to taking care of the environment. And check out the various shades of green. Blue Green, Lime Green, Sea-foam Green, Yellow-Green! Nice for Spring jewelry, don't you think?

Exploring Basque Territory was fascinating. I can see why the rich and famous adore San Sebastian. It's a gorgeous resort. But gee whiz, I sure was attracted to Bilbao which was a bit more gritty. The Guggenheim Museum designed by Frank Gehry is a site to be seen. For jewelry color combinations, random painted buildings in Bilbao seemed a bit more inspirational. Here's a cool stretch of buildings with excellent colors. Beige, Pink, Blue & Garnet Red.

 

 

 

If you follow my personal Instagram, you probably know I'm a nut for street art. I'm often inspired by the color choices of other artists. This random drawing on a store gate is no exception. This was snapped in Madrid. Pinky-Beige, Ruddy Brown & Sea-foam-esque Blue. OK - that was a bit specific in my description of color. This piece of art wasn't created with just any shade of blue or brown!

 

In my past, I've been accused of being too monochromatic and having a love of neutral colors. This has never changed. I was traveling with a friend and when we couldn't choose which giant cream filled cookie we wanted to share, we opted for one of each. Chocolate Brown, Pale Beige, Snow White.

 

 

 

When in Spain, do as the Spanish do. Eat lots and lots of tapas. And it varies from city to city. Endless tapas. And often these beautiful, small pieces of art are so easy on the eyes, you hardly want to sink your teeth into them. Or perhaps you do! Yes I love anchovies and they are lovely in color. Browns, Salmon, Grass Green, Olive Green, Yellow. (I'm inclined to not add the white white of goat cheese to my color combos!)

 

This is all you get from me today on my honing in on colors. But you get the gist. I can't encourage you enough to pause and check out the artistry and color of EVERYTHING! Want to know what will inspire some of our new color combinations for the next season of Dunitz & Company jewelry? It might be lodged in one of the photos shared here. -ND

Black Clothing. An Opportunity for Accessories.

Once again, I'm scheming for Dunitz & Company and working out colors for our next season of fair trade jewelry. Currently, I'm obsessing about Fall 2020. Last year it seemed many of the biggest clothing designers incorporated lots of color into their designs.  This year, I'm finding many are playing it safe.  When checking out all of the runway shows, I saw fields of models in black clothing strutting their stuff. All of 'em. Check out samplings from Stella McCartney, Miu Miu, Lanvin, Elie Saab, Altuzarra and Alexander McQueen. You could randomly take a peek at just about any show from Fall 2002 Ready to Wear and New York Fashion Week. You'll find a lot of black. (Red probably was the color that popped up the most, and mostly as an accent.) What does this mean for accessories? Just about anything looks good on black! It means I can offer any gorgeous color I darn well please.

I always create new color combinations to keep things interesting. (Stay tuned.) I do this as much for my customers as I do it for myself.  I also know from creating color combinations for over 30 years, sometimes you can't improve on your best. You can count on Dunitz & Company to offer some of our strongest from the past.  The assortment might include some of these pictured. (A little hint.) Do you have a favorite? I'm always game for input. Yes, we'll offer a bit of red for Fall 2020. (Shades and tints to be determined.) And you can always count many varieties of blue. You've heard me say it before. I'll say it again and again. Blue is always a top seller and most requested of us.

Can you believe I'm even writing about Fall 2020 when many of us are waiting for the snow to melt?  I have to be a few steps ahead, always. Keep reading and watching our websites. We appreciate you over here at Dunitz & Company. Thank you.  Because of you, we can continue to support the many artisans we work with in Guatemala. -ND

Day of the Dead Inspires Next Year's Colors

I'm crazy for colors. Bright colors. Neutral colors. Primary colors. Unusual colors. And I adore pairing all types of shades to find the most pleasing combinations for Dunitz & Company's fair trade jewelry collection. That's why when I was on a recent vacation in San Miguel de Allende smack dab during Day of the Dead festivities, I snapped endless photographs of color everywhere. Here are a few that might inspire next year's color combinations. And besides, I wanted to share these fun images with you.

Cempasuchil flowers flourish in every altar, hairband and costume. And trust me, during this time of year there are endless altars, hairbands and costumes. The orange is bright and festive. And it seems to combine very well with teal blue and several shades of purple. Worth remembering.

If you've been a fan of Dunitz & Company's jewelry collection for many years, you have noticed that I am often the queen of neutral color combinations. This skeleton with her lace veil shows how black, white and peachy flesh tones work really well together.

Check out this lucky sighting. I was outside and in front of the entrance of San Miguel de Allende's smaller cemetery (not far from the central garden square) on Friday the 1st, Day of the Dead. We followed a parade with hundreds of people in costumes and musicians as they headed to this area replete with altars and decorations. This photo captures a small section of a very large decorated monument.  What I was drawn to was the vibrant sapphire blue combined with shades of deep gold. A light bulb moment for me.




Brunch food often boasts great color. One of my favorite dining discoveries in San Miguel was Lavanda Cafe. When you visit, go early. There's always a line. When I saw how the clay pot, egg yolks, bacon, tomatoes and greens looked together, I immediately thought of rich fall fashion colors.

Bright colors are everywhere in San Miguel. And sometimes you can find ones that are more subtle. Even up on walls. I had rented an airBnB in Colonia Guadalupe. This area of San Miguel is known for murals. Check out the earthy shades of brown on this one.  I love shades of brown. For me there is nothing boring here at all!








This green beauty with her magical eyes is stunning. But, it was the paint below her that caught my attention. Shades of tan, caramel with soft blues and greys. Yup. That's a Nancy sophisticated color combination in the works.









I've very often been afraid of too many bright bright colors. When I first started working in Guatemala in the late 80's/early 90's, I was amused by some of the vibrant color combinations I discovered. For Guatemalan taste, it seemed brighter was better. And it seemed the more colors used in any textile or painting was even better. This was challenging for me since I often leaned toward monochromatic color combinations.  Years later, my colleagues in Guatemala have toned it down.  And I believe American tastes have allowed for a bit more jazz.




Another skeleton. Another sombrero. This Day of the Dead lady is decked out in vibrant purple and fuchsia pink. Purple. Pink. Got it. We might have to tone down the pink, though. I've learned over the years that most of the glass beads we've been able to source in vibrant pink don't hold their color. The color fades and often rubs off. (We're always careful about our quality control, and this has always been a concern of ours.)

I had to share this photo! On Halloween night, this was the most handsome couple I laid eyes on.  In the past, I have paired green and gold together, and successfully so. Honestly, these skeleton costumes are a bit bright. Tone down the shades, and I know it works.

Believe it or not, this was the very first photo I snapped on my recent trip to San Miguel de Allende. It was morning and not that early. How I managed this pic without a single person in the frame amazes me. I wanted to capture the waving prayer flags. Does this image show off great bright primary colors or what? And the vibrant buildings in the background. Perfection. Viva la Mexico and all of it's color.






Want to see how my travel adventures affect my design work? Check out our fair trade jewelry line and the colors we offer. And check us out often.  Let us know if you think my trip to San Miguel de Allende influenced any of our recent offerings. -ND

Color Inspiration Everywhere - My Trip to Pakistan

Some of you may know this about me. I love to travel and adventure to all kinds of places, often those offbeat and difficult to access. And although Dunitz & Company offers beautiful fair trade jewelry from Guatemala, my design choices are often inspired by things I see a million miles away from where I work. Point in case. Earlier this month I traveled to Northern Pakistan with a group of friends.  From the streets of Lahore to the apricot blossoms of Hunza Valley, I was inspired by the colors I saw everywhere.

The Wazir Khan Mosque (Lahore, Pakistan) is a 17th century mosque that was commissioned during the reign of Moghul leader, Shah Johan. Much of the building has been restored and/or still boasts preserved mosaics and frescoes. How could one NOT be inspired by these wonderful colorful stones, tiles and paint. Our clients always love blue with jade. Add vibrant gold and terracotta and, yes, I've been inspired by Shah Johan's choices!







The Badshahi Mosque (sometimes referred to as the King Mosque) is probably the most visited site in Lahore. It's absolutely magnificent.  This grand structure was commissioned by Emperor Aurangzeb in 1671 and only took a couple of years to build. We visited early on a Sunday and there were several wedding contract signings in process. For the most part the men and women were grouped separately in different rooms of the mosque. We were allowed to watch. In fact, the families flocked to me and my (Thai) friends. They wanted to have photos taken with us. And they wanted us to take photos with them for our future pleasure too.  One father insisted that his daughter lift her veil so I could snap this photo. And talk about color. Salmon. Peach. Dark Pink. Gold. Yum. Now this IS inspiration!



Trucks. I went nuts for the Pakistani trucks and buses. These guys know how to decorate a moving vehicle. My friends had so much fun teasing me.  "Truck Truck Truck!"  Every time I saw another truck I salivated over the colors and the painting. They're glorious. Here's a detail from one. These grouped colors provide endless inspiration for...well....tens and tens of bead color combinations. Thank you, Pakistan.

And the women (of all ages) seemed to have amazing color sense. These women from Hunza Valley grouped all sorts of shades and tints of green, blue, red and pink together in ways I may have never thought of before.  And each one of them looks absolutely fabulous!









We met these sisters on a trail leading through the old village of  Passu.  Their uncle was our special tour guide for Hunza. And it turns out the young woman on the right is part of the Pakistani Olympic cycling team. There's no way you'd know she was a pro on a bike from this image. What we do know is that these women possess color savvy. My gosh. Look at how they combine pumpkin orange with rose, beige, pale yellow and black. I'm completely inspired by their color combinations.





So here's the thing. You may soon purchase the perfect piece of fair trade beaded jewelry or fused glass jewelry from Dunitz & Company. You'll know your new piece was beautifully crafted in Guatemala. And now you also know the colors may have been inspired by my trip to Pakistan. -ND