Twenty percent of sales of our specially-designed breast cancer awareness rugs, Karen’s Rug and The Sisters’ Rug, will be donated to Komen for a Cure. Are you on Facebook? All month long, you can win one of our Passion for Pink rugs! Every Friday in October, we’ll give away one of each design to a random Facebook friend. Make sure you “Like” Company C on Facebook: www.facebook.com/colorfulliving. (Employees, family members and vendors not eligible.)

We’re always ecstatic when one of our designs inspires someone! Check out the blog post from Maison Decor – a great designer from the Boston area who recently purchased one of our April Blooms rugs from our Concord store. She made it the centerpiece of her living room and it prompted a redecorating project in both her living room and dining room! She takes you through the process step-by-step here. We highly recommend her blog for great tips!

Contest Rules: Dealers, vendors, other partners, employees and family members are not eligible to win. Only entries with valid email addresses will be entered in contest. Winner will be selected based on quality of entry and a random drawing of finalists’ names. Winner will be notified by August 13 via email.

For more information about Clay & Cotton, visit www.clayandcotton.com.

Our namesakes will receive one rug in each design and also have their story featured in our upcoming Spring 2011 catalog. Please submit your story by posting on our blog http://blog.companyc.com/ or facebook page, www.facebook.com/colorfulliving.

We will be accepting submissions through June 15, 2010.

To tell you a little more about the rugs, one of the designs features impressionist flowers full of color and character while the other rug incorporates five different shades of pink and features curlicues and circular medallions hooked in different densities to give the pattern textural depth. A spin-off of Company C’s best-selling Garland and Giverny rug designs, the passion for pink rugs are hand-hooked and made of 100 percent wool. Available for a limited time only, these rugs were specially designed to benefit breast cancer awareness and community outreach. Company C will donate twenty percent of the retail price of each rug sold to support breast cancer awareness, research and education.

Our entire organization felt very strongly about supporting this cause and what better to show our support than through the use of color and design! We hope our new designs will inspire colorful living for our customers and those affected by breast cancer.

Our Passion for Pink rugs will be available for sale to end consumers in September 2010. Both rugs will be available at more than 800 specialty retailers nationwide; at company-owned retail stores in Hingham, MA, Portland, ME and Concord, NH; and online at www.companyc.com. To find a dealer in the area or for additional information, visit www.companyc.com or call 800.818.8288.

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.

Company C recently sponsored GoodWeave’s Faces of Freedom exhibit in each of our three retail stores – Concord, NH, Portland, ME and Hingham, MA. The collection of photographs, taken by acclaimed documentary photographer U. Roberto Romano in South Asia, depicts both the horrors of child labor and the hopeful faces of children the GoodWeave program has saved from the looms. The exhibit offers a deep look into the heart of this transformation. We’ve received such positive feedback that we really just don’t want the exhibit to end so we’ve decided to launch an online version of the exhibit.

Company C has been a member of GoodWeave since October 2005. Our goal has been to educate consumers about the powerful impact their purchases can have and to help build awareness about child labor in the handmade rug industry.

As you journey through the exhibition, you’ll learn about the ancient craft of rug weaving juxtaposed with the grim reality of weavers, too young to be at the looms, laboring in poor conditions where childhoods remain incomplete. However, the bright faces and futures of rescued children will bring joy to your heart! For many of these children, GoodWeave schools and centers provided their first opportunity to be in a classroom or playground.

We encourage you to share your thoughts on the exhibit with others. We look forward to hearing your feedback.

Our design team was inspired by a porcelain vase that I picked up on a trip to Hong Kong. I was on a product development trip for fashion, but would sneak out any chance I got to shop for Chinese Arts and Crafts.

This vase is a typical Chinese floral, but we love the bright, happy color combination and the way the reds, pinks and yellows in the flowers pop off the jade green vines and navy border. We designed our own floral pattern with chrysanthemums and butterflies, loved it on a wasabi ground color, then tried it on pewter, and loved it just as much!”

Valerie Surprenant, Brand Design Manager                           

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.