Merry Happy Holiday extravaganzas!! Now—on to the next step in the design progression of the year. I have written before about my take on the cycles of design—the seasonal influences by temperature and responses to other recent colors schemes. It’s all about reactions. Reacting to temperature, tradition, and changing from previous periods of color. It’s the yin and yang of color swings. This is true of more broad-sweeping color trends too. They are invariably a reaction to having had a scheme in place for too long—people need a change. Opposites represent a radical change.
It is also key to capitalism and keeping the economy on the move with consumers needing to own that new thing—that new color scheme. Participating in the practice of changing trends is motivational—its big money. But I digress…
As we set forth to change our displays at the shop, 
it is always a representation of what makes us feel good. So ask yourself—what do you need? Not things, but environmentally…what would feel good and what represents a change for the new season and the New Year?
Ok—so its freezing outside and you want a tropical escape—that’s not what I mean. I mean despite the temperature outside—but perhaps to compliment it too, what would feel good after the colors of fall? 
Inspired by the changing leaves, produce of the season—the results are a last burst of strength of warm oranges, golds, rusty reds, and of course the resignation of the fading vestiges of summer leaves…tired comfortable olives. Followed by Christmas, often before Thanksgiving has graced the turkey laden tables—the seasonal colors and decorative clutter insert themselves into our lives whether we like it or not.
We transition into Christmas with reds and greens—poinsettias, evergreen boughs and branches, all represented in fabrics, and ribbons, lights and decorative accessories. 
Punctuated with gold and silver…perhaps to symbolize opulence and riches…for adoration and celebration.
So again—I ask you to review those recent schemes and ask yourself—What do you need to restore, renew, refresh, rejuvenate—RE—?
As we de-cluttered the shop and dismantled the Christmas displays, we began assembling things that felt restorative and cleansing. We collectively were drawn to the refreshing cool tones of icy aquas and the fresh clean bling of silver. 
We are not going to deny the frigid temperatures (although this is not true for everyone) of winter, but it is also true of purging the heavy colors of fall and the holidays to refresh with something that is opposite of all the warm tones.
I must say, at this juncture in my theory, that Hanukkah jumps the gun with refreshing cool color following the heavy warm tones of fall and amidst the traditional colors of Christmas. Hanukkah presents a refreshing color scheme smack dab in the middle of the full force of the red and green. 
The blue and white might be the choice of the celebrations because of the Israeli flag, but as Amanda Green writes in Mental Floss: “Blue and white come with universal associations, too. White suggests purity, peace, and light. Blue is associated with the sky, faith, wisdom, and truth. (The expression isn’t “true blue” for nothing.)” We also see silver punctuating the festivities in Hanukkah decorations. Ms Green writes…”some people think the holidays call for a little more sparkle, not to mention the popularity of silver menorahs. Blue and white clearly aren’t just the colors of Hanukkah. They’re symbolic all year long.” True too is the fact that blue and white are a classic color combination in interior design for many cultures over many centuries.
So if it feels good…guess it means that changes are supposed to be for the good. Positive, restorative change…renewing, refreshing, rejuvenating—RE!
About the prefix from the Online Etymology dictionary: http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=re-
“word-forming element meaning “back to the original place; again, anew, once more,” also with a sense of “undoing,” c. 1200, from Old French and directly from Latin re- “again, back, anew, against,” “Latin combining form conceivably from Indo-European *wret-, metathetical variant of *wert- “to turn” [Watkins]. Often merely intensive, and in many of the older borrowings from French and Latin the precise sense of re- is lost in secondary senses or weakened beyond recognition. OED writes that it is “impossible to attempt a complete record of all the forms resulting from its use,” and adds that “The number of these is practically infinite ….” The Latin prefix became red- before vowels and h-, as in redact, redeem, redolent, redundant.”
Cleansing aqua, white, silver…preparing for a refreshing Happy New Year!!!
