Why Color Analysis
a personal story
The Significance of 5/300,000,000
It didn't seem like a big deal for many years, just something out of the ordinary to tell friends. And the outfits my sister and I giggled about from time to time when we were still pretty young. But when my brother was older and the stakes were higher, he'd come to me to make sure things matched before leaving the house, trusting completely, seeking confidence, and wanting to put his best foot forward as he went about normal life. Years later when we'd grown and had families and homes of our own, he came over to help on our property. The project: remove several Noble firs which had sickened and died. He was surprised. Where were they? I'd almost forgotten his colorblindness- but here it was again. The trees were as brown as could be in the midst of the lively greens western Washington is known for. What would a world be like where brown and green trees look the same?
Wanting to know more about that, I turned to the internet and the searching eventually led to the video linked below:
Maybe you've seen some of these stories before; I've shown this to many people and every time I fight back tears. To experience the full range of color for the first time-the astonishment and the wonder of it all. In a way, I think we all are colorblind, even with normal vision, failing to appreciate what surrounds us everyday.
And now! Becoming a Personal Color Analyst has helped me help others to see just how color impacts the face they present to the world. What a great privilege it is to have people come to the studio and watch as we go through the analysis, how the drapes interact with each person's unique color chemistry. Always there is wonder at the effects seen, memories and stories accompanying this or that blue or red. When the correct season reveals its synergistic relationship with the man or woman, the effect is mesmerizing. There's no better word-just magic, experiencing the power of color to the fullest.
There are 300,000,000 people in the world affected by colorblindness; five (5) members of my family share this trait. I can't do anything about that, but it is exciting to know that tools are being developed to help them see the world as it truly, colorfully is.
I have this crazy idea that one day not far off Personal Color Analysis will become as common as _______________ (fill in your favorite idea, we all can dream!)-it will just be something everyone does, an understood aspect of our working vocabulary. Of course, the practical merits are many: it would revolutionize online shopping, hair color, finding the right lipstick, making the greatest personal impact, enjoying how good it feels to consistently wear attractive clothing, among others. But there's something more. Unlike putting on glasses to correct for the missing cones, Personal Color Analysis is a chance to take off our blinders and see the beauty waiting to be appreciated, something that's always been there, and auto-correct the messages we've repeatedly told ourselves. If we finally allow it, in this arena, to come home to ourselves, secure and at peace, unique and belonging: 1/7,700,000,000.
Querencia
Color Illuminated
What's in a name? More than meets the eye, and choosing one for your business turns out to be a surprisingly difficult proposition. When I first saw and heard this word, it just looked and sounded beautiful. A web search for the word reveals a number of feel-good definitions, and I am happy to focus on these. But it hasn't always been so. What does this word—with its roots in a bullfight— have to do with finding your distinct seasonal color identity? What can it teach us?
Querencia was the place the bull chose near the entrance of the ring where he felt most confident, where, if he returned, he could regroup and recover. In that state of being, he was considered nearly invincible.
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Though we are not bulls in a fighting ring, each of us is on a journey, making the most of this life we've been given. Our battles may be larger or smaller depending on the day, and the colors you wear may seem inconsequential in the whole scheme of things. Nevertheless, personal experience and science both reinforce the advantages aligning ourselves with our best colors have on our attitude and expectations of success, not to mention the perception those around us make of our capability. Discovering and applying your particular season is an intelligent, understated undertaking which reveals your individual strength, helping you feel comfortable in your own skin, at home as your most authentic self.
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Querencia (n)
The place where one's strength is drawn from; where one feels at home; the quality or state of being one's most authentic self.
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