As any of you know that have read my ramblings, I’m not a big fan of color trends. However, something happened the other day that even I could not deny. I was working with one of my longtime designer clients, Carmen Gillis, when I noticed something oddly familiar. As we were playing around with some of the ultimate paint chips in my store I remembered having recently been working on some new color prototypes. I say prototypes because I had not yet decided that I wanted to show them to the general public, but had gone so far as to formulate them and roll them out on big sheets.

I told Carmen to wait a minute as I went and got them. When I returned much to our surprise and delight we were looking at colors that were in a similar color space. One was a silver blue, the other a shrimpy red-orange and the third a brown mustardy gold. It struck us both as oddly co-incidental that we were on the same wavelength more or less. We laughed and enjoyed the moment of synchronicity.

That would have been strange enough, but later that very day two gentlemen came in the store and ordered up test pints of two of the same three colors values. The silver blue and shrimpy orange red were going out the door together for the second time that day. I couldn’t help but notice this.

So there you have it-an instant color trend in real time. The photo above is of the three colors that I had made using Fine Paints of Europe’s Eurolux Matte. I reference the following C2 colors to give a general idea of the color space that these colors live in. I haven’t named these colors yet so if anyone has any great ideas feel free to give suggestions.

C2-041 Turkish Market

C2-477 Silver Screen

C2-130 Garam Marsala

In these times of increasing consolidation of all industries, the independent paint store as we have come to know it is increasingly under attack. As conglomerate paint companies become ever bigger in their size and reach, it is harder and harder to represent truly independent brands that are not controlled by a centralized company dictating to different market niches. As a result of this growing centralized control, independents such as G&R Paint Company are increasingly under pressure from the remaining few national brands to become more and more focused on their products alone.

This winnowing of choice brings heavy consequences to independent paint stores and ultimately to the consumers who rely on them for superior products, knowledge, and service. We have all experienced this phenomenon in other aspects of our daily lives. We are bombarded with endless marketing that points to fewer real choices in the end. Every-town USA is beginning to look and feel more alike.

This phenomenon in the paint industry has a distinctly negative affect on color, my main passion. When I hear designers and homeowners raving about some great color palette, more often than not it is NOT something that was created by one of the national brands. In fact my own Philip’s Perfect Colors relies on the partnership that I have with C2 paint , (a co-op of independent dealers) to bring it to market. Boutique brands and individual creative efforts are what are bringing truly great color choices to the market. If we leave our color work to the national and multi-national brands we are sure to get the type of vanilla offering that will appeal to many but excite none.

I have had to make a choice in my own business recently to eliminate one of the biggest paint manufacturers in North America because of their unwillingness to help me create a succession plan for G&R Paint that included all of the unique brands that we currently offer our customers. I was faced with a difficult choice to either eliminate the unique interesting brands that help to differentiate us in the marketplace, (and thus ultimately insure our survival) or let go of the biggest most dominant brand in the store. I am happy to announce that we have chosen the latter. If I am committed to one thing, it is bringing the best and most unique color work and paint quality to my customers. This cannot always be found under the heading of one brand; therefore it is necessary by definition to have multiple competing brands within the store environment to insure that the customers always have whatever it is that fits THEIR needs. We at G&R Paint Company thank you for your continuing support, and for allowing us to be “Your Source for Color.”