Monday, 24 May 2010

My Trios "colour experiment"

Trios is SoftFlex Company's name for their variety packages of three colour coordinated beading wires. There are quite a few to choose from right now, but being fond of creating colour combinations, I just had to play with the thought of what colours I would combine if I could make my own Trios. This is what I came up with.

Please note that I've only seen most of these colours on photos online, not IRL, so I can't be 100 % sure that all the colour combos actually look good together...



Patina: A mix inspired by verdigris on copper and brass. Can't choose whether to use Copper or Antique Brass (Metallics). A darker green would also work for an intense patina, this is more a matte old finish. Antique Brass is a colour I use often, even in copper jewellery, and it does look prettier IRL than in the pic.


Cherry Blossom/Neapolitan Icecream: A cute mix reminding me of pink and white cherry blossoms against brown branches. Or Neapolitan icecream, which is a mix of strawberry, vanilla and chocolate flavours. The topaz wire is browner than in the picture, but the pink might be a bit too bright for the mix.


Vintage Cherry Blossom: an "antiqued" version with bone instead of white and a different pink. Still, the topaz doesn't look as brown as IRL on this pic. Instead of the topaz, the brownish Copper would probably also look nice here. For when white feels a bit too "harsh".


Wilting Flowers: I wanted to make a colourful mix with the original grey wire. Ideally I'd want to use a light purple (lilac, lavender) and pink for more of a washed out, "transparent" pastel palette. Champagne, another colour I haven't seen IRL, might be an alternative?


October rain: More turquoise and browns, here with a hint of autumnal red. Turquoise is a sometimes forgotten part of the autumn colour palettes, but a greener turquoise is a better choice than a bluer hue, which is more for summer or winter. I written about it -- with many pics -- here.


Empress: Gold, royal purple and garnets -- this is a powerful and luxurious mix. Can't really choose between Red Coral and Garnet, though: a darker red gives a richer impression while a brighter red is more energetic and playful.


Spring wedding: White sheer spring flowers (apple or cherry blossom, wood anemones or bird cherry) with green leaves. Simple and soft. Similar in colour to the wedding napkin ring I made.


Horse chestnut: This is the Trio I forgot to add. Imagine a horse chestnut tree with creme white blossoms. I chose a soft palette with chrysoprase, but for a stronger green peridot might be an option. Also, I went with bone as white felt a bit too "crisp". Copper would probably also look nice as an alternative to the topaz wire, I keep using.


Epilogue
Colour I miss in Soft Flex's palette? A light purple, lilac, so I could make the pretty mix Lilacs from Purple Amethyst, Lilac and White wires. I would have liked to use it i Wilting flowers too.

I keep complaining about not having seen all colours IRL, which makes it hard to put together combos that will actually work, but I still wanted to give this a try. And it's just vanity: I'd be embarressed if someone actually tried these combinations out and they didn't work... And even more vain when I use colours I do know how they look, but I find the pics don't do them justice -- I just want to say "really, they do work well together!" Not trying to critisize the photographer when I say a wire is better looking IRL than in the photos on the website -- after all, it usually the case with computer screens.


All photos are borrowed from the SoftFlex Company website.

6 comments:

  1. These are great! I love that you even named your combinations. I know the colors pretty well in person and think that any of this combinations would be just as beautiful in real life as they are on my computer screen!

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  2. Lovely color palettes. I especially like patina, wilting flowers and empress. What a fun experiment in color!

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  3. Thanks! I hade a lot of fun doing these (and cutting and pasting the pics together). :D

    Most of them began with me thinking of something, like a theme, and using the colours of that object so the names for them came naturally. Others, like Empress and Wilting flowers I named after the combos were created. I really like creating names for jewellery and other products.

    I will add another combo that I forgot soon: Horse Chestnut: Chrysoprase, Bone and Butterscotch Imperial Topaz. Like a blooming tree with newly sprung leaves.

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  4. Lovely palettes! I love team all and that you have given them names. I like the idea of ready-made mixed wire palettes, but not all of them look like I'd be using them that way. What a good idea to make your own mixes on the screen. Of course it would be even better to have all those mixes, but this is a way to make it easier to decide which ones to buy.

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    1. Thanks! Naming's half the fun sometimes.

      I'd like the idea of being able to buy small spools individually or as some sort of "pick & mix" so one could get the exact mix one wants because sometimes you don't use a certain colour very often and the small spools are a useful size.

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    2. Good news! Soft Flex Co is now selling Mini Cute&Affordable 10 ft spools of Extreme, Soft Touch, Metallics and Soft Flex. Love your virtual palettes! These mini spools give us an opportunity to create exactly the mixes we want to have. IRL! Milka

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