Ellen Kennon's Newsletter

I owe a debt of gratitude to designer Marc Charbonnet (mecaproductions.com), who I call my “publicity angel.” Thanks to Marc, an editor from Southern Accents was inspired to call me after seeing the “Designer Discoveries” article quoting Marc about our paints in Architectural Digest. Recently, Marc was also responsible for us being in The Wall Street Journal article “Designer’s Name Names: So Many Sites, So Little Time” on March 3rd. Marc has been using our paints for years now, and recently shared some photos of projects which show the luminosity of our paints. As you can see, Marc’s work is truly ethereal!

If all this weren’t enough, paint customer Erica Grivas, is a writer for a new Connecticut-based magazine, Home Living Connecticut. Her article in their latest issue (Chef Jacques Pepin is on the cover), “Passion for Paint,” is all about the new interest in “boutique paint companies.” (Passion for Paint article) I was pleased to see she gave us great coverage and interviewed Tom Drillot, a color consultant who used our paints often when he was living in Connecticut and is now using them exclusively in his new location in St. Croix in the Virgin Islands. Multi-talented Tom moved to St. Croix to open Virgin Island Wellness with his partner Dr. Kirana Kefalos (virginislandwellness.com) Look for new colors inspired by Tom’s new digs!

Color consultant Lori Sawaya (www.colorstrategies.net), who also uses our paints, recently sent me her predictions of popular upcoming paint colors which I think you’ll find interesting: (Lori’s Color Predictions). Lori inspired us to create a new color we call “Aqua,” which she foresees as being one of THE most popular colors on the horizon. Also, Lori has set up a display using our paint samples in Design Market Place, a collection of showrooms and design resources located in downtown Columbus, Ohio at 1800 East Fifth Avenue. (www.designmarketplace.net)

(Lori Sawaya at Design Market Place)

Last February, Designer and Color Consultant Emily Lauderback and her friend, Julie Vlasaty, opened a showroom, Color in Space, Inc., which is part of Space: A Design Build Collective (www.spacedesignbuild.com) located at 7406 Greenwood Avenue North in Seattle (Ph. 206-706-1054). Not only do they display and sell our paints, but the whole place is painted inside and out with EK Paints (Gardenweb forums’ nickname for our paints). “Space” is a collaborative of design/build professionals and craftspeople offering a wide selection of services and products for renovation and construction projects. After seeing the photo below, I’m looking forward to my first trip to Seattle sometime in the near future!

(from left to right, Merrily Matthews, Architectural Lighting Designer; Julie Vlasaty, Director of Color in Space and Emily Lauderback, Designer, Color Consultant, and Director of Color in Space)

I’m also eagerly anticipating meeting the Interior Designers in the San Francisco area June 1st, where I’ll be speaking on the psychology of color at the monthly meeting of the Peninsula Chapter of the American Society of Interior Designers. If you are in the area, I’d love to meet you in person. It will be held at the Jacobsen & Balla Studio (www.jacobsenandballa.com), designers of award-winning, handpainted “full spectrum” wallpaper. The cost for ASID members is $20 and non-members is $35. Refreshments will be served (hence the cost).

Jamie Kent, who many of you know as our valued associate, has decided that she needs to spend more time with her three small children. She’ll still be helping us during busy times, but won’t be here on a daily basis. Jamie ran what we call (for lack of a better name) our “warehouse.” This is where all samples are painted, jars poured, sets and packages assembled. When she moved from St. Francisville to Zachary several months ago, we moved our warehouse into a space on her property so she could be near her children. However, the sample business has grown considerably and it began to take over her family life.

The good news is, we now have the warehouse at Shadetree and have hired Ellen McFarland. Ellen is a licensed architect who hired me to consult on colors when she was designing our lower elementary school here in St. Francisville shortly after I moved here in 1990. Ellen is already a valued addition to full spectrum paints—especially with her architectural and construction background. When it comes to paint application, she’s more knowledgeable than I am! The only drawback in having her on board is pretty insignificant in comparison to the value she brings: apologies in advance for any confusion having two Ellens in the office might cause!

While this newsletter is more newsy than informative, I think you’ll enjoy checking out the related links and exploring the sites of the other experts I’ve mentioned. In looking forward to the Summer edition of Living Well, I’m planning to include much of the information I’ll be speaking about in San Francisco—the energy of color and how it affects so many aspects of our lives. I would have included it in this newsletter, but I wouldn’t want to be repeating myself in San Francisco for fear of being a bore!

Until next time, I wish you all the best for a great Spring and early Summer!

Living Well Newsletter Spring 2006
Dear Friends, Living Well is a newsletter which is usually inspired by the change of the seasons. In my last newsletter, I wrote that it seemed more like Spring than Winter, and now that we are well into Spring, I’m having to report that for the past couple of weeks, it has seemed like Summer. April normally would bring daily showers and pleasant temperatures, however, it rained for the first time in weeks yesterday, and the temperature has been in the nineties. Global warming, and the part we humans play in it, is most definitely something for us all to be concerned about! As I write this, it is Earth Day. A day for environmental awareness, reminding us that now is the time to act to protect our planet. Several magazines including The New Yorker, a publication that does not suffer fools gladly, urge us to put politics aside and view Al Gore’s documentary “An Inconvenient Truth,” which is due out next month. New Yorker columnist David Remnick says the movie “…is not the most entertaining film of the year. But it might be the most important.” On a personal level, I am trying to learn more about what I’m doing that contributes to global warming, so that I can do my part to make the changes needed to help protect Mother Nature. On a professional level, I’m delighted to report that ICI Paints, the manufacturer of the paints we use, has recently made some improvements to their VOC-free Lifemaster product, which has been certified as a “green” paint because of its environmentally friendly composition (Of course, even “green” paint comes in a rainbow of colors!). ICI Paints recently won the “Enlightened Product Award” by the International Design and Furnishings Industry and was the first paint company in North America to offer interior latex paint free of organic solvents. Their award-winning Lifemaster product now comes in a more durable 100% acrylic formula. If you’ve been using our scrubbable flat Velvet Sheen wall paint, not to worry! Velvet Sheen is one of the lowest “low VOC” paints on the market. However, we are eagerly awaiting the new improved “green” Lifemaster paint which should be on the shelves any day now. As paint changes from a liquid to a solid when it goes on the wall, it still emits VOCs. These can irritate the eyes and respiratory system, and cause dizziness, headaches and other health problems, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. By reducing toxins and waste as you adorn your walls with new colors, you'll protect your family's health and the environment: Lifemaster Product Information It has been a season filled with publicity for Full Spectrum Paints, and thankfully, the response has been wonderful, yet manageable. The March/April issue of Southern Accents Magazine, although regional, is bringing in calls from all over the country. We are in the southwestern region issue, yet it seems lots of folks all over the country have subscriptions; and Costco stores in the northeast must have it, because I had a woman calling me from a Costco in Virginia while she was waiting in the checkout line! In any event, it’s afforded an opportunity to make new friends and acquaintances. If you haven’t seen it: Southern Accents article
I owe a debt of gratitude to designer Marc Charbonnet (mecaproductions.com), who I call my “publicity angel.” Thanks to Marc, an editor from Southern Accents was inspired to call me after seeing the “Designer Discoveries” article quoting Marc about our paints in Architectural Digest. Recently, Marc was also responsible for us being in The Wall Street Journal article “Designer’s Name Names: So Many Sites, So Little Time” on March 3rd. Marc has been using our paints for years now, and recently shared some photos of projects which show the luminosity of our paints. As you can see, Marc’s work is truly ethereal!

If all this weren’t enough, paint customer Erica Grivas, is a writer for a new Connecticut-based magazine, Home Living Connecticut. Her article in their latest issue (Chef Jacques Pepin is on the cover), “Passion for Paint,” is all about the new interest in “boutique paint companies.” (Passion for Paint article) I was pleased to see she gave us great coverage and interviewed Tom Drillot, a color consultant who used our paints often when he was living in Connecticut and is now using them exclusively in his new location in St. Croix in the Virgin Islands. Multi-talented Tom moved to St. Croix to open Virgin Island Wellness with his partner Dr. Kirana Kefalos (virginislandwellness.com) Look for new colors inspired by Tom’s new digs!
Color consultant Lori Sawaya (www.colorstrategies.net), who also uses our paints, recently sent me her predictions of popular upcoming paint colors which I think you’ll find interesting: (Lori’s Color Predictions). Lori inspired us to create a new color we call “Aqua,” which she foresees as being one of THE most popular colors on the horizon. Also, Lori has set up a display using our paint samples in Design Market Place, a collection of showrooms and design resources located in downtown Columbus, Ohio at 1800 East Fifth Avenue. (www.designmarketplace.net) (Lori Sawaya at Design Market Place)
Last February, Designer and Color Consultant Emily Lauderback and her friend, Julie Vlasaty, opened a showroom, Color in Space, Inc., which is part of Space: A Design Build Collective (www.spacedesignbuild.com) located at 7406 Greenwood Avenue North in Seattle (Ph. 206-706-1054). Not only do they display and sell our paints, but the whole place is painted inside and out with EK Paints (Gardenweb forums’ nickname for our paints). “Space” is a collaborative of design/build professionals and craftspeople offering a wide selection of services and products for renovation and construction projects. After seeing the photo below, I’m looking forward to my first trip to Seattle sometime in the near future! (from left to right, Merrily Matthews, Architectural Lighting Designer; Julie Vlasaty, Director of Color in Space and Emily Lauderback, Designer, Color Consultant, and Director of Color in Space)
I’m also eagerly anticipating meeting the Interior Designers in the San Francisco area June 1st, where I’ll be speaking on the psychology of color at the monthly meeting of the Peninsula Chapter of the American Society of Interior Designers. If you are in the area, I’d love to meet you in person. It will be held at the Jacobsen & Balla Studio (www.jacobsenandballa.com), designers of award-winning, handpainted “full spectrum” wallpaper. The cost for ASID members is $20 and non-members is $35. Refreshments will be served (hence the cost). Jamie Kent, who many of you know as our valued associate, has decided that she needs to spend more time with her three small children. She’ll still be helping us during busy times, but won’t be here on a daily basis. Jamie ran what we call (for lack of a better name) our “warehouse.” This is where all samples are painted, jars poured, sets and packages assembled. When she moved from St. Francisville to Zachary several months ago, we moved our warehouse into a space on her property so she could be near her children. However, the sample business has grown considerably and it began to take over her family life. The good news is, we now have the warehouse at Shadetree and have hired Ellen McFarland. Ellen is a licensed architect who hired me to consult on colors when she was designing our lower elementary school here in St. Francisville shortly after I moved here in 1990. Ellen is already a valued addition to full spectrum paints—especially with her architectural and construction background. When it comes to paint application, she’s more knowledgeable than I am! The only drawback in having her on board is pretty insignificant in comparison to the value she brings: apologies in advance for any confusion having two Ellens in the office might cause! While this newsletter is more newsy than informative, I think you’ll enjoy checking out the related links and exploring the sites of the other experts I’ve mentioned. In looking forward to the Summer edition of Living Well, I’m planning to include much of the information I’ll be speaking about in San Francisco—the energy of color and how it affects so many aspects of our lives. I would have included it in this newsletter, but I wouldn’t want to be repeating myself in San Francisco for fear of being a bore! Until next time, I wish you all the best for a great Spring and early Summer!