With summer’s end, social life of NY interior design and architecture community picks up. In the city with 3 hi-rise buildings devoted entirely to big names in goods and materials for the trade, besides numerous small players scattered elsewhere, the beginning of season means receptions and parties. Fall - time to promote a new line, to remind of their existence to specifiers and, simply, snub the competition.
Benjamin Moore Paints is no small player. For many decades the company is considered to be industry standard for quality paints. With 16 million colors available, it is a giant that construction and manufacturing industries depend on.
And here's is an example of what I take to be market forces in action; those of you well-versed in economics and social studies might find my example simplistic. However, what I applaud to, regardless of much talk and theories on its inefficiency, capitalism, pushed by market forces, still works, for our mutual benefit.
BM’s close competition, Sherwin Williams, greatly expanded their market in the last few years. They provide seminars for designers, their new colorways are gorgeous, binders well-organized, their formulations reliable. Not that BM didn’t do all that, but they slowed down, got too sleepy on their laurel bed of industry leader and competition started to close the gap behind them. Recently BM underwent complete transformation. Interior perturbations, rumors of which I’m not authorized to disclose, resulted in new color selection system, catalogs, improved website (where they offer to download BM palette to CAD-users for free, ensuring automatic BM paints selection) – and introduction of new Industry Award.
Thursday's party program included
- Runway of Color Future
- Hue Awards in 5 categories, including Life Achievement
- Pre-party cocktails, followed by dinner and dessert during runway show.
Now, I consider color my special passion and skill among other professional duties. I’ve done a few projects where colors work well together, and more often than not they were BM colors. But as much as I would love to participate (as if I'd stand a chance against David Rockwell!) I have to follow the policy of the firm I work for, and the policy is – no competition entries. What can I say? Well, I can say plenty but I’ll better put on my professional poker face and you’ll hear not a squeak escaping my mouth.
And so it happened that I entered the hall today as a guest only. High level of the event became apparent at the doors, by abundance of stocky neckless guys with phone/mike on one ear, 3 consecutive list checkers and cascades of polished minerals sparkling on deceptively modest ladies’ outfits. Celebrities shined among mortals. Champaign flowed, BBQ beef skewers and shrimps in lemon mayonnaise made rounds. I’ve met a few acquaintances, among them a design school classmate who turned out working for one of the Award recipients, Jamie Drake, circulated, chatted, even introduced myself to Ivan Chermyaeff, renown graphic designer/ muralist behind an amazing Oceanarium I saw in Lisbon recently.
The acceptance speeches beat Academy's big time; may be because architects do not succumb to fallacy of mistaking their achievements for those of God Almighty's.
Mr. Drake dressed for the ocasion, in purply pink taylor suit and a tie he said he tried to incorporate all BM colors in but fell short 32; I can testify to the god-honest truth of this statement.
Others were not less entertaining, but I was a bit distracted by cameramen blowing on their "burned" fingers in front of our table, and couldn't exactly follow. [Rachel, I finally wore my tango shoes].
The runway was a great success. Dancers - or should I call them models? – presented, through their extremely sparse costumes (and diverse personal tones) the new BM marketing slogan: SKIN.
Displayed amount of which, in parenthesis, in conjunction with 3 flutes of Champaign produced very pleasing effect. Especially I lovedlovedloved trim Mediterranean gazelle in headdress of peacock feathers and a chocolate bomb-boy with moss-sequined torso in miniscule rose-beige Lycra ..er..mini-undergarment. You heard me.
Now, attention, shoppers: the climax of the evening, these will be new color trends for the year 2007, as announced by Benjamin Moore Color Technology director.
Human skin
I’m given summarizing brochure, which offers the following sentence “Living in our skin…is to find DNA of being true to ourselves”. Hmmm, never mind. All you need to know, in this category, is that neutralized palette of red-based and cosmetics-influenced skin color tones is IN, as well as “baby-soft, finely lined and deeply wrinkled” textures.
Nature’s skin
As I’m told by my wise brochure, “the Earth is crust”. So it breaks into a spectrum of vivid organic neutrals with names like “Edgewood rocks”, “Amethyst sky”, and “”Polished Slate”.
Cultural skin
Expressed by the image of densely tattooed with Goth graffiti, moderately pierced young lady, culture in BM terms translates into colors of fine appliqués, silk, etching and knits. Countries quoted are (very, very important!): China, Russia, India, Estonia and Latino. (er, “Latino”? where’s this country, again? Oh, don’t be such a party pooper)
We’re talking deep saturated tones and spiced organic brights, with texture of regional crafts.
Industrial skin
I am advised by my indispensable brochure (and I quote) that “cushioned floors resonate with sound and memorize impressions when tread upon”. Debatable statement, I’m afraid. Let’s try another: “Medicine and aerospace behold the future of technological skins”.
Which means achromatic gray metallic, in amorphic/ gel / silicone textures.
So, ladies of all genders and aerospace/medicine professionals, there we go and here we are. Or will be. We’ll see, in 2007.
Update:
Fri. What did I tell you about capitalism? I just got an e-mail invitation from Sherwin Williams, for their presentation, on Oct 27, of the New Color Trends of 2006. What a brave little soldier, SW, is!
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