Filed under: Color, Design, etc
This week, textile designer and illustrator Lena Corwin talks about the dark side of purple.
We've been following the Brooklyn illustrator and textile designer Lena Corwin's blog and her work for quite some time now. We especially love her charming map illustrations of cities all around the world and as a textile designer she has an impeccable eye for color and pattern. Naturally it got us wondering how Lena sees color from an illustrating and patternmaking stance. So we had a quick chat with her about our July color of the month, purple.
Scroll down to find out what Lena's favorite shade of purple is and how she sees it applied to a room.
We've been following the Brooklyn illustrator and textile designer Lena Corwin's blog and her work for quite some time now. We especially love her charming map illustrations of cities all around the world and as a textile designer she has an impeccable eye for color and pattern. Naturally it got us wondering how Lena sees color from an illustrating and patternmaking stance. So we had a quick chat with her about our July color of the month, purple.
Scroll down to find out what Lena's favorite shade of purple is and how she sees it applied to a room.
Portrait and vintage Missoni dress: Lena Corwin
1. Do you have a favorite shade of purple?
I have to admit that purple is not one of my favorite colors! It can be too "girly" to me--I tend to be more androgynous in choosing colors. But I love a really dark purple because it's less sweet than standard purple.
2. What comes to mind when you think of dark purple?
Eggplant, old oil paintings, the night sky, and blackberries (my favorite berry). I find dark purple to be just so rich, deep, and mysterious.
3. Do you have a favorite item that is in this dark purple you're describing?
When I moved to Brooklyn and started gardening 4 years ago, I realized my attraction to dark purple-leaved plants like cimicifuga and smoke bush. I also have a vintage Missoni dress from my grandmother that is this shade of dark purple.
4. How do you see this dark purple used in a home?
I recently took a really inspiring floral arranging class at Little Flower School with Nicolette Owen and Sarah Ryhanen. The flowers we chose from were incredible; huge peonies and roses, lilacs, etc. Nicolette and Sarah explained that placing darker foliage at the bottom of the vase anchored the arrangement. I also found that using deep, dark purples at the base made the arrangement not overly "pretty." I think this kind of balance is true for home decorating too. Dark purple can be a way of adding depth and countering the prettiness in a room.
5. What are three colors that would go well with dark purple?
Cream, yellow, and pink.
6. If you could give your dark purple a name, what would it be?
Nightshade Purple.