Thank you to everyone who participated in our New Year's Resolution contest. Love reading all the entries! Stay tuned for winning entries...
7:53 PM Jan 16th
Last day to enjoy free shipping! http://t.co/oE1XdJSn
7:49 PM Jan 16th
New conversation: Fresh for 2012!: Stop by and see the recent changes in our Hingham, MA Store at the Derby Stre... http://t.co/ZjoEZwbQ
3:45 AM Jan 12th
Read our entire twitter feed
Company C co-founder Walter Chapin has been visiting with the skilled artisans from all over the world that bring our colorful designs to life. They’re busy working on our Fall 2011 Collections now and we’re so excited we just couldn’t resist sharing a preview of a textile design with you! 
We are thrilled to share some pictures of the grand opening of a new Clay & Cotton, one of our fantastic partners. Their third store in Kirkwood, Missouri creates a presence in the St. Louis area in addition to their two successful locations in Louisville, Kentucky.
For more information about Clay & Cotton, visit www.clayandcotton.com.
Today we celebrated Earth Day–a day to inspire awareness and appreciation of the Earth’s environment. At Company C, we also take the time to care on days other than April 22. Our Natural Grounds rugs are naturally beautiful in more ways than one: We use untreated 100 percent natural wool when constructing these rugs, greatly reducing the amount of dye used to make them. The less dye used, the fewer natural resources are consumed. The natural colors of wool range from shades of ivory and ecru, to medium browns and grays, to almost black. When we use natural yarn, it instantly adds warmth to the design because it’s less flat; there’s an inherent variation in the shades that adds depth.
Our Natural Grounds collection includes four rugs–Sachi, Wentworth Floral, Yukata, and Yuri. The overscaled chrysanthemum designs in the Sachi rug are fresh and modern. “Sachi” is a Japanese name meaning “Happiness,” and this rug will surely make you smile. Wentworth Floral boasts an arresting floral pattern in all natural shades of gray. The Yukata rug was inspired by the brightly colored kimonos worn in Japan. By layering vibrant red, teal, wasabi and gold colors on the black bean ground of this rug, this rug is a true statement piece. The Yuri’s Ikat patterns in brilliant colors make for a dramatic contrast against the dark charcoal (and natural) ground.
And don’t forget our Natural Grounds rugs are GoodWeave certified, assuring you that your handmade rug was created without the use of child labor. Join us this month to celebrate these naturally beautiful rugs. Enjoy 25 percent savings on our Natural Grounds rugs. Make a statement in your home–be naturally beautiful today and every day.
We DARE you. Go ahead, defy the social norm. Dare to live colorfully. Here at Company C, we challenge ourselves every day. It’s easy to get caught up in mundane day-to-day activities. It’s hard to put down your Blackberry. Time eludes us all. We know. That’s why we dare you to unearth and truly embrace Colorful Living.
Sara Joncas - Create Your Own Adventure
In January, we announced a Facebook contest asking you, our fans, to post a photo and short description illustrating what Colorful Living means to you. What a refreshing few weeks we’ve had here at Company C! Through reading your posts, we reaffirmed that we all share the same vision–to be inspired by the joys of Colorful Living every chance we can. Thank you for being so bold!
All that said, it was very difficult to choose a winner because there were so many uplifting responses. Not to mention that Colorful Living is meant to be personal; each one of us sees the world through a different lens and has a different outlook on life. Our focus was on the posts that embodied Colorful Living as a lifestyle. So, drum roll please…
Mary Kate Goodwin-Kelly - Go out on a Limb
The winner of the 6′ x 9′ rug of choice is Sara Joncas, who believes “Colorful living is… Creating your own adventure.”
And drum roll again…so many posts were so inspiring that we couldn’t help but choose runners up, who will receive a 2′ x 3′ accent rug of choice:
Mary Kate Goodwin-Kelly “Living colorfully entails going out on a limb every once in a while.”
Brenda - Energy for Creativity
Brenda “Every day, I have authentic color in my life. I am an art teacher of young children. Through their artwork and their energy for creativity, I am happily surrounded by color!”
Make Colorful Living your standard. We dare you.
Have ideas for future Facebook contests? Post your ideas on our wall at www.facebook.com/colorfulliving.
Our tag line at Company C is “designs for Colorful Living.” We’re often asked how did we come up with this statement?
Just before starting Company C, Walter and I listened to a cassette tape —Live Your Dreams by Les Brown. We both love design, love business and love to travel… so how could we live our dreams—and create a business out of them?
I can remember listening to the tape as if it were yesterday. Our son Alex was 6 months old (he’ll be 17 next month!) and we were traveling in our white Isuzu Trooper on our way to our family cottage in western Massachusetts with our golden retriever, Major, happily catching air out the window. We listened intently to the tape and were very inspired…that trip set in motion our dream to create our business—Company C!
Walter and I both love adventure. Traveling. Living in the great outdoors. Skiing in the Rockies. Kayaking on Frenchman’s Bay in Maine. Cooking fabulously colorful meals (Walter). 
Mixing paints by the ocean (me—and trying to make a painting out of them!). 
And we share these adventures with our two teenage sons, friends and family. So living colorfully needed to be an important part of our business.
We love color and it’s our signature at Company C. Our design team experiments with many color combinations every day. We add adventure to the combinations, always keeping them fresh.
Colorful Living has a double entendre for us! So…Dream…with your mind soaring to the sky, imagine what you can create.
What’s Colorful Living mean to you?
Chris & Walter Chapin
In 2010, Company C resolves to be a customer first organization that delivers extraordinary experiences resulting in raving fans.
Our owners wanted to share their New Years Resolutions as well….
Walter Chapin, Co-Owner and President
I will ask more questions and listen, just like I “tell” my kids to do.
Chris Chapin, Co-Owner and Design & Creative Director
I resolve to finally finish decorating our house! You’re thinking “I can’t believe Chris & Walter’s house is not totally finished.” Well …the story goes something like this…we moved to this house four years ago…during this time; we’ve used it for three photo shoots, with another Fall 2010 shoot going on this week! Our house is constantly in motion with rugs and furniture moving frequently in and out. It’s never quite settled because with each new season, I want to live with our newest collections. So in 2010, I resolve to finally finish it—top to bottom. And to make sure I stick to my resolution, I’ll take you on the journey with me—with monthly updates in our blog.
I also want to continue to follow my passion for adventure and developing colorful, new products. My overactive brain wants to explore so many places and is always thinking of new ideas and designs. So for resolution number two—I will travel to an exotic country where I haven’t been yet, to live adventurously, explore and develop a colorful new collection. I’ve been designing it in my head for months now. Stay tuned and I’ll reveal more of the concepts as the year progresses…
Thanks everyone! Hope to hear from you all soon.
Turkey, stuffing, football, pies, cornucopias, afternoon naps, hot toddies. Just a few words we all associate with Thanksgiving. But really, I think we sometimes forget what it’s truly all about—a time to celebrate everything we’re grateful for. I was reminded of this when I was reading the recent issue of Martha Stewart Living. It’s not a magazine I read often, but I have to say I was mesmerized by all the creative, and surprisingly simple, holiday project how-tos. I came across one that is a balanced mix of charming, fun and meaningful. Called “leaves of thanks,” the idea is to have family and friends write down what they’re thankful for on leaf-shaped paper cutouts (makes for a festive decorative piece, too!). Turn it into a game by having everyone guess who wrote what or just read the sentiments aloud with everyone around the table.
leaves of thanks, Martha Stewart Living, November 2009
So stop, and think for just a moment, “What am I thankful for?” The most important things come to you first, and then when you really dig deep, you realize how much there is to be thankful for. It’s inspiring.
I’m thankful for people’s ability to love—family, friends and even strangers. I’m thankful for laughter, whichever way it comes about, and I’m thankful for opportunity. How about you?
Freedom to Create!
What powerful words…the philosophy and tag line of the MacDowell Colony in Peterborough, NH.
The MacDowell Colony was founded over 100 years ago by Edward and Marian MacDowell – its mission “to nurture the arts by offering creative individuals of the highest talent an inspiring environment in which to produce enduring works of the imagination.” Read the rest of this entry »
