colorful conversations

Archive for the ‘Inspiration’ Category

• 05.15.12 

  Great finds at #brimfield!

  We’re back after a fun few days in #brimfield for the 2012 Tweetup. Gretchen Aubuchon of @gaubuchondesigns & @fashionanddecor and Cynthia Bogart of @thedailybasics organized this fabulous social media event that attracted interior design bloggers from across the U.S. and Canada—all headed to #brimfield to meet up with other tweeps and bloggers, and to find fabulous treasures at the largest outdoor antique market in the United States!

  Here are some photos of friends and treasures from Brimfield!

   

  

  Brimfield swag

   

  

  Company C Lounge

   

  

  Erin McLaughlin from Style at Home Magazine

   

  

  Hmmmm....New Inspirations

   

  

  Colorful glass

   

  

  Walter digging for treasures

  

  Tweeeeeeting

  

  Chris amidst vintage fashion

   

  

  Gretchen & Shane HAM it up for camera

  

  Peak at Rockport Ottoman Spring '13 Colors!

  

  1 Comment | Share This

• 04.19.12 

  GoodWeave’s Project Muskan: Weaving a Brighter Future

   

  By Company C • Posted in Social Responsibility • April 19, 2012

   

  Company C joined GoodWeave in 2005 as part of its mission to give back to the weaving communities in India. By donating a percentage of each tufted rug sold, we help support families like Monish’s. Twelve-year-old Monish used to watch with disappointment as his friends left for school. With four siblings and the government school far from his village in Varanasi, Monish’s father could not afford his eldest son’s education. This all changed when GoodWeave launched Project Muskan (meaning “smile” in Hindi).

  

  Children often stay at home to help their parents on the looms because classrooms are literally out of reach due to their remote location as well as the prohibitive cost. In 2010, in partnership with the Human Welfare Association and The Global Fund for Children, GoodWeave was able to reach Monish and over 200 children like him. They are now enrolled in non-formal education centers, which offer an accessible and accelerated learning program for kids from impoverished and illiterate weaving communities.

  These non-formal education centers are just one of the effective interventions that GoodWeave has spearheaded over the years along the carpet belt of South Asia. GoodWeave provides an array of social programs, from rescue, rehabilitation and education of child laborers to mobile health clinics, day care services and adult education for weavers.

  

  In 2011, GoodWeave launched the second phase of Project Muskan and as a result, successfully enrolled 1,100 children in these non-formal education centers. Monish is no longer disappointed: “Now when I am studying, I feel confident and happy.” To read more stories of children whose lives have been transformed by GoodWeave, click here.

  

  About GoodWeave

  GoodWeave is an international non-governmental organization working to end child labor in the handmade rug industry and offer educational opportunities to children in weaving communities. The GoodWeave certification label is issued to rug manufacturers that adhere to the GoodWeave standard, agree to its independent verification and voluntarily join as licensees. For more information on GoodWeave, please visit www.goodweave.org.

   

  

  No Comments | Share This

• 04.11.12 

  #Brimfield: The Brimfield Antique Show

  By Gretchen Aubuchon • Posted in Colorful Living • April 11, 2012

  Company C Sponsor of #Brimfield Tweet Up on May 10th – May 11th

  A bi-annual event merging

  the new in social media and the old in antiques

  at the Brimfield Antique Show.

  #Brimfield brings interior designers, decorators, design bloggers and fashion & retail professionals to the Brimfield Antique Show under one umbrella for two full days.

  

  The #Brimfield event held this past September brought together 120 interior designers/decorators and design bloggers.

  

  The #Brimfield tent is a ‘home base’ for VIP registered attendees, a place where guests can relax and regroup before heading back out to do MORE antique and vintage shopping. On shopping breaks, our guests can relax and enjoy chair massages, wine, cocktails and snacks, get connected with our WiFi service and laptop/phone charging stations, find inspiration in our sponsors’ product displays, and, last but not least, socialize and network with a fabulous group of like-minded people!

  We are thrilled to have Company C join co-lead sponsor, Benjamin Moore, at #Brimfield again this May. Two colorful brands under one tent at Brimfield, surrounded by miles of antiques…What could possibly be better?

  Cynthia Bogart of The Daily Basics and I invite you to join us this May at #Brimfield. We HOPE to see you there with our friends at Company C!

  

  Sign up today at http://brimfieldtweetup.blogspot.com/

   

  #################

   

  Guest blog post by Gretchen Aubuchon, Founder and Editor in Chief of Fashion + Decor and Co-Founder of the #Brimfield Tweet Up.

   

  About Fashion + Decor

  Style your home…Style yourself.  Fashion + Decor is the web’s only dedicated space for exploring the intersection between fashion and interior design.  Discover how trends make their way from the fashion runways straight into your home.  The StylePair collection at new website www.fashiondecor.com launches April 2012!

   

  About The Daily Basics

  Cynthia Bogart, Founder and Editor-in-Chief of The Daily Basics and Co-Founder of the #Brimfield Tweet Up. The Daily Basics is a community built of lifestyle bloggers in the fields of Home & Garden, Travel & Living, Food & Drink, Body & Fashion and Arts & Literature. It is a place where ANYONE can come to find all of those wonderful articles you loved reading about in your magazines but can find them now in one place online instead.

  

  1 Comment | Share This

• 03.21.12 

  Love the Fashion Blues!

  One of my favorite runway designers is Oscar de la Renta and his gowns. They are so dreamy. In his Spring 2012 designs, he captured crisp navy and white in a casual yet elegant way in his masterpiece below. Reminded me of our Imperial Paisley bedding collection.

  

  Reference Site: http://www.oscardelarenta.com/?folderId=/collections/runway/spring2012#lookId=60&

   

  

  Pictured: Company C Imperial Paisley bed with our Regalia pillow.

   

  Dreamy, dreamy, dreamy!

   

  

  1 Comment | Share This

• 03.11.12 

  We’re Feeling Blue!

  This month’s Stylesight Newsletter features an article about key colors of 2012–#Sky Shades below.

  

  We especially love adding all shades of blues to our spring and summer designs.

  Click here to view inspiration behind our Spring 2012 Coastal Blues Collection or our Blue Inspiration Rooms.

   

  

  No Comments | Share This

• 12.20.11 

  Holiday Entertaining with J.M. Hirsch

  We had an such an amazing time with author and Associated Press Food Editor, J.M. Hirsch, at our December holiday entertaining event. With the holidays approaching quickly, we thought we’d share a few recipes from the event to help make your holiday entertaining a little easier.

  

  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.

  

  No Comments | Share This

• 08.26.11 

  We’re having some fun!

  By Chris Chapin • Posted in Inspiration • August 26,2011

  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!

  

  No Comments | Share This

• 07.14.11 

  A look ahead…and behind…our Fall 2011 collection!

  A blank canvas awaits us at the start of each design season and our creative process begins! We explore many cities, museums and antique markets for sparks of inspiration. We watch fashion trends, and many times, we just experiment with new colors, designs and textures.

  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.

  

  1 Comment | Share This

• 06.13.11 

  Building a room from the ground up!

  This is a subject we have touched on before. However we still have those customers that come in, fall in love with a rug and then share with us that they just invested in furniture; regretfully the rug they love isn’t going to coordinate. As we all know the majority of the time furniture is custom made and difficult in not possible to return. We don’t ever want you to feel regret when it comes to a large purchase like furniture so here is our guide to building the perfect room in your home.

  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!

  

  

  1 Comment | Share This

• 06.10.11 

  A Sneak Peek of Fall 2011!

  We had a great turnout and overwhelming responses to the new Fall 2011 collections yesterday. A sneak peek of fall was featured at each of our three retail stores but in case you missed it, here are some photos of the fabulous new products!

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

   

  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!

  

  5 Comments | Share This