Spicy Avacado and Green Pea Hummus served on Wheat Thin crackers. Delicious!

*Simply click on this image to enlarge.

Walter & Chris Chapin with J.M. at our Holiday Entertaining Event.

We wish you a carefree and colorful holiday season!

To learn more about J.M. and his food philosophy visit www.jmhirsch.com. Visit one our retail store locations to find out about our other upcoming store events.

Needless to say, having fun doing what we love is what life is all about…and that’s what we did with our Color Play collection for Fall 2011.

Our Paper Chain rug and pillow are examples of how we like to mis up color and texture, fun and whimsy — to really let our child-like creativity come out to play. Don’t you remember making paper chains when you were a kid? Weren’t they loads of fun?

Now throw in a few fashionable cut outs like our Weekend Stroll and Downtown and sketchy Bike Lane pillows and you can see where our inspiration for Color Play came….right back to our childhood days.

These whimsical designs are perfect for today’s modern lifestyles–for those who love to mix up their interiors with fun. Go ahead and have some fun with us!

For our Fall 2011 collection you’ll recognize lots of experimenting–especially with our iconic Landscape rug. We wanted to create a modern interpretation of a colorful New England autumn landscape.

We approached one of our favorite landscape artists, Jenny Hansen, for our inspiration. We love her use of color and her ‘Charlestown Autumn Road‘ painting really captured the brilliant colors of autumn in New England…and so the experimenting began.

But how do we create this painterly feeling and detail on a rug and other textiles? Lots of experimenting needed. We played with yarns; we tweaked and re-tweaked the design. After many samples, we were excited with the results–colorful, textural works of art in their own right.

Here is Jenny’s ‘Charlestown Autumn Road‘ painting:

And the result–our Landscape rug and Treescape pillow!

We can’t wait for you to see the details in person. Our Landscape collection as well as other Fall 2011 products will be available online starting Tuesday, August 2. Can’t wait or want to see them in person? Check out a Company C Retail Store or find us a local dealer! To find a store or dealer near you click here.

Enjoy coloring your home for Fall!
Chris Chapin
To learn more about Jenny Hansen and view her beautiful paintings please visit: www.jennyhansen.com.

Whether you’re building a room from scratch or re-invigorating an existing room in your home our recommendation is always to start with the rug!

The first step is to identify the rug that you LOVE! For many, an area rug is an afterthought, an add-on once the real decisions like furniture have been made. But by beginning with the rug, the focus is on making selections that build upon the color, style and feeling of the rug. Now, the furniture and accessory buying process is streamlined and the subsequent choices to be made are dramatically reduced.

If you’re building the room from scratch and have already selected the rug you just can’t live without, get a 1×1 sample for color reference and carry it everywhere! You just never know when you’ll find that perfect piece of furniture or accessory that speaks to you and a sample can also assist you when shopping for furniture.

Rug samples can also assist you when re-invigorating a room! You may already have the perfect sofa, neutral, worn in and so comfortable, but you want to make sure that the rug color is just right. Order a sample or two during the decision making process to color match and confirm your choice before ordering the full size rug.

The second step in building a room from scratch is to select the furniture. If you have chosen an area rug with a modern, oversized geometric design for the living room, it is safe to skip the checkered and floral designs when selecting your furniture fabrics. While you may have difficulty describing your personal style, the rug choice points in the modern direction. Likewise, if a pastel hooked rug pulls at your heart strings, chances are the sleek little loveseat covered in solid micro-fiber is not an option. Bring your rug sample or picture of your rug and allow the furniture sales associates to guide you through the process. Selecting a fabric that compliments, not competes, the rug is so important to the overall feeling of a room.

By effectively narrowing your options to only those that build on the rug you love, the process of building your room is given direction and ends with a complete and cohesive look. Don’t make the rug an afterthought, allow it to be your foundation and you’ll be thrilled with how the remaining pieces fall into place!

See something you are just in love with? Stop by or call one of our three stores to pre-order today!

Concord, NH
800.818.8288 x16

Hingham, MA
888.771.2257

Portland, ME
888.780.1232

Not near a Company C retail location? Call our top-notch Customer Service team at 800.818.8288 or email info@companyc.com!

It’s that time of year again! We’ve decided to revive our New Year’s Resolution contest. We were so inspired by the outpouring of responses we received last year from our retailers, customers and fans – we can’t wait to see what happens this year.

There will be prizes, of course! Share your resolution via Facebook, Twitter or comment on our blog, Colorful Conversations, and you’ll be entered to win a 6′ x 9′ rug of choice. Contest runs from December 30, 2010 to January 14, 2011. So don’t delay, share your colorful resolution with us today!

Maybe you’re thinking about taking photography classes, learning to play the saxophone or donating your time to a local nonprofit who adds color to the lives of others.

Only one entry per person. Winner will be notified by Facebook message, Twitter or via email (depending on how you apply). Email entries will not be considered – you must submit via Facebook, Twitter or our blog.

Part two of our series, Iris and Witching Hour Farm, a project that was inpsired by our Iris design. The color is coming to life! Here are thoughts from the artist, Sarah El-Jallad:

Inspiration: The Iris’s movement canopies the person in the chase, and breaks up the angles of the wall. I also think it’s great that the room brings the organic and geometric elements together harmoniously.

Her process: I scoped out where I wanted the Iris positioned, and that largely depended on how I could make it interact with the wall’s harsh angle, and not seem awkward to the eye.
Once the outline was established, I used wet cloth to wash in color, and outline the edges. I wanted the outline to be smooth, and transition well from light to dark — erasing the pigment with the wet cloth worked to my advantage in creating that smooth transition, because it eliminated the harsh brush stroke.
The setting I think is great — the room is small, so blowing up the motif of the pillow’s small iris onto the wall I think creates a surreal, simple, and yet interesting composition for the viewer upon entering.

Media used: Acrylic, wet cloth, wall paint, water, brushes.