Orchid Gray

 The winner for last week's 

Retro color story 

giveaway is:
Nanann
 please email your name and street address to: info@michaelmillerfabrics.com

..........................

Now for today's color story:

Orchid Gray

To sum it up in one word: 
Luscious
 sophisticated femininity, elegant, sweet but not saccharin.

or try

EXOTIC

as in our newest print

cx4502 Road to Marrakesh

color gray

as in this gorgeous

Road to Marrakesh Quilt

by Marinda Stewart

Overall the importance of gray and all it's variations as a neutral base

to go with ALL COLORS

has been seeping into our consciousness for the past few years.

That along with the evolution of "orchid" as a sophisticated purple/pink

makes this a 

WINNER!

and speaking of winners;

Leave a comment and share your thoughts if this color story "is you"

and you could win a yard each of the prints pictured above.

the lucky winner announced next Wednesday!

Retro color story and giveaway

...........

and the winner for last weeks' 

Rouge et Noir giveaway

is:
viktoriakreations

pls. email your name and street address to: info@michaelmillerfabrics.com

Now for today's color story:

Retro

 

This color story is 

ALL ABOUT HAPPY MEMORIES

you remember, we've all got'em;

that outfit you adored

  or

  that apron grandma wore

or

that TV show

or

that toy, that bike, that car

We stash those colors in our memory like boxes in the attic.

That's why we did this group of happy Super Heroes,

by our own Super Hero:

Shawn Wallace. 

the colors and characters bring out the kid in all of us.

What's your happy retro color memory?

leave a comment and you'll be entered to win a yard of all the super hero prints pictured above.

one random winner will be announced next Wednesday!

Happy trails to you!

Rouget et Noir color story and giveaway

The winner for last week's

It's a Boy thing  

color story giveaway is..... 

Sleepless Stitch

pls. email your name and street address to:  info@michaelmillerfabrics.com

Now for today's color story:

Rouge et Noir

Rouge et noir (french translation; Red and Black) not to be confused with the heavenly

Rouge et Noir triple cream brie form the Marin Ca. company of the same name.

.

We're talking about combining 

two color combinations

with the most graphic appeal on the planet.

Red & White

and

Black & White

then combine it all with a few French accents

and it's instant

LOVE!

  if you love these too

leave a comment and let me know.

A random winner will be chosen and announced next Wed. 

to receive 1 yd. each of the Rouge et Noir prints shown above.

It's A Boy Thing

It's ladies first

for last weeks' 

It's a Girl Thing color story giveaway.....
Bonnie Colleen

you're our winner!

pls. email your name and street address to:  info@michaelmillerfabrics.com

Now for today's color story:

It's A Boy Thing 

 

The number one complaint I get is :

"There's not enough "boy" prints out there!"

No matter how many we do, it's never enough!

What they're really talking about is a very specific color range.  

Here's the no-nos in that palette:

pink, magenta, lavender - anything that suggests "girl"
when it comes down to what to make in whatever pallet for the 
"little guy in your life"
we've got 
OPTIONS!
Sarah Jane's sweet and sophisticated boy's groups from her collection:
Children at Play
After School
and
Over the fence

or
  Emily Herrick's primary colors with accents of gray and orange
Going Coastal 

or
  for a modern twist on 
"blue for boys" 
we tried Aqua and gray.

With Aqua's soothing universal appeal and the softness of gray 
it's a winner

 and speaking of winners
it's that time again
leave your comment and share your thoughts.
A random winner will be announced next wed. 
and
receive 1 yd of each of the "it's a boy" prints shown above.


Next Wed. will be Rouge et Noir!

It's A Girl Thing color story giveaway

Congratulations!
TheaM

You're the winner for last week's 

Aqua/ Red  

color story giveaway

Please email your name and street address to: info@micahelmillerfabrics.com

Now for today's color story:

It's A Girl Thing

Here at Michael Miller we try our best to please you all.  

( that's not just schmoozing, I really do mean it)  

That means listening to what you ask for and what you buy. 

The majority of you have made it very clear: 

When it comes to the colors you want for your children,

It's Pink for girls, Blue for boys.

This is soooo traditional it's embarrassing.  

But combining ballet pink with coral and gray puts a bit of a twist (and somewhat retro) on this 
traditional girly-girl favorite. 

Don't get me wrong - 

I'm not saying we need or want to pigeon-hole our kids into certain color traditions.  

I'm also not so sure that so many little girls would be drawn to all things pink, lavender and girlie 
if they weren't bombarded by endless aisles of pink and lavender in the "girl" toy aisles and the media. 

What they need is OPTIONS and this is only one of MANY.

so now it's time to share your thoughts.
Leave a comment

and next wed. one random winner 

will receive 1 yard of each of the "its a girl" prints shown above.

Next wed. will be all about BOYS!

Aqua/ Red Color Story giveaway

 and the winner is:

Gail

yep, that's right 

you've been randomly chosen

to receive last weeks' 

Citron Gray 

Color Story 

Please email your name and street address to: Info@michaelmillerfabrics.com

Now for today's color story:

Aqua /Red

 

If I had to choose 

one word

to describe the pairing of 

Aqua and Red 

it would be:

HAPPY!

(maybe that's why I love seeing polka dots in these groupings.  Nothing says happy like polka dots.)

lighthearted, fun loving, modern, retro, hip. 

Graphically eye catching 

(used on many magazine covers, a Martha Stewart "go to combination")

once you start noticing it;
you'll see it EVERYWHERE.

Here's what I had within arms reach in 2 minutes here in the studio

now it's your turn.  

I'd love to know if you've used these colors 

to celebrate a happy occasion 

or

  to make something

and made someone 

HAPPY!

we'll be announcing a random winner next Wed.

along with a new Color Story 

and

GIVEAWAY!

Citron/ Gray color story giveaway

Congratulations!

Megan N

you're the randomly chosen winner 

for last weeks Sorbet Color story  giveaway

Please email your name and street address to: Info@michaelmillerfabrics.com

 Now onto today's color story:

CITRON/ GRAY

The color citron (and all it's variations) is a great example of how color trends evolve. 

.

Color trends usually start on the fringes.  That's why I like to say, "pay attention to what you don't like". Your negative reaction may stem from the fact that it's "new" and your eye hasn't become adjusted to it.  For example this ad was from around 2006.   When I've shown this the reaction is usually negative.  Comments like, "I could never wear that color  next to my skin".  But it's amazing how the more we see a color over time, the more we start to accept it and before you know it we're buying it.  Probably not in this super saturated undiluted Dior couture creation but it'll start sifting into the mix of everything you buy from your clothes right down the line to the plastic storage bins you stash them in for the next season.

just for fun check out this scene from the movie:

The Devil Wears Prada

So once again I've shared my thoughts, now share yours. 

Leave a comment and a yard of each of the  

Citron Gray Collection 

 prints pictured above

could be yours.

The randomly chosen winner will be announced next Wed. along with a new color story 

and another 

GIVEAWAY!

Sorbet Color Story

As promised, I'll be sharing a new color story 

every Wednesday

along with the thought process behind it.

and

a

giveaway!

Let's get started with one of my personal favorites Sorbet.  

It's feminine and flattering to many (especially blondes). 

Since I mentioned Blondes I'm going to share something with you:

Before starting Michael Miller one of my many jobs was working as a "customer stylist" for different fabric companies.  When a manufacturing company (apparel, handbags, uniforms; medical scrubs, home accessories, etc etc) needed custom designed fabric I'd come up with the print and color combinations to their liking.  It was a terrific  education.  

I developed a little game with myself;

  Most of the clothing designers I worked with were women and seemed to have predictable color preferences based on;   

hair color

skin color

the state she lived in

Keep in mind I wanted to present artwork that got approved.  

People pleasing 101.  Give'm what they want.

Obviously I wasn't always right, like I said it was a game I played in my head.

This is a girly girl color story. It's one of those trends that cycles in and out of fashion but never really goes away.  

Loved by blondes/ some redheads/light brunettes/a sunshine state fav.

(the lighter the color the lighter the hair)

(the more intense the color the darker the hair)

So there you go, I've shared some of my thoughts, 

now share yours.  

If  "Sorbet" is "YOU" leave a comment and let me know if you fit the profile.

 A yard of each of the sorbet collection prints

pictured above could be yours.

The randomly chosen winner will be announced next Wed. along with a new color story

and

another

GIVEAWAY! 

color story inspiration

Color Story inspiration boards at Salt Lake Quilt mkt.

nothing says it better than a picture,

A REALLY BIG PICTURE

4' by 8' panels

The fascinating thing about these were listening to the emotional responses:

"oooh! This is soooo me"

or

"these were my wedding colors"

or

"I did the nursery in these"

In January we started grouping our prints by color stories. By the time we got to Spring market the little brochure we'd planned had morphed in this hefty piece of work:

table of contents:

The concept of grouping print collections based on color trends is something I've been doing for quite awhile. But this was the first time I'd presented it in a  way that gave it a focus and a framework for others to understand.  Each collection has it's inspiration page followed by the prints - some stories have been evolving for years, some are in their infancy.

It takes time for trends to evolve and our eyes to become accustomed to them. 

Identifying, tracking and making sense of it all I find endlessly fascinating.

The research starts here and just about anywhere my eyes land.  I travel, read voraciously and keep a catch-all file that gets sorted later. 

and yes I've discovered Pinterest (the nights just got longer)

keeping track of what goes with what 

follow me as I share  the process and 

a new color story

every Wednesday

with a 

giveaway!

Friday's inspiration

I agree with the whole process 
except 
the way I work (and bake) 
there's not much sitting involved.

good food

good music

good company

good view

ahhh..yes.. 

it's all good

have a great weekend!