09 Dec Inspired by Travel – Give the Gift of Color this Holiday!

From the rooftops, sunsets, and textiles of Venice to crystal chandeliers and fashion in Milan, my family trip to Northern Italy this summer was full of color inspiration. Traveling has a way of doing that for me, and I’m sure you too. It gives us a chance to see our world from a different perspective, to experience different cultures and to explore the food, people, art, fashion, and design that inspires us.

We all need color in our lives. I believe color is integral to happiness in our lives.  And we are surrounded by it everywhere.

Whether its to stimulate our senses with bursts of sienna, orange, tomato red, gold and rust, or provide calm and peace with Pantone’s new colors of the year: Rose Quartz & Serenity. Below are the new Pantone colors seen here in the incredibly inspiring Armani Exhibition we went to in Milan.

So please join Deborah Main Designs and Amy Wax (developer of the award-winning Color911 App) this holiday season and #ColorYourHoliday with the “Gift of Color”. Follow our blogs and start using the hashtag above because we’re going to announce our contest very soon and we think you’ll like the winning gift!

I don’t know about you, but if you’re like me when you travel, you want to bring back meaningful gifts for friends and family and find a way to capture those colorful memories.

This Deborah Main Designs’ holiday ornament above from our Les Petits Bijoux Collection does just that. It was inspired by the rich amber and golden sunset on the Grand Canal in Venice and the golds and creams in this 1960’s gown (below). I love how Amy’s Color911 App pulls out all the colors so one can easily find a gift to complement your holiday tree or home decor.

When I learned that the Fortuny showroom and factory was on Giudecca island right near our hotel….well I planned ahead and scheduled THE most amazing private tour. Here is a gorgeous gold, pinkish rose Fortuny textile that also inspired me for this holiday ornament.  See all of their textiles here.

I even get inspiration from the food I eat, like this delicious plate of Gnocchi and the richly painted buildings.

I made this holiday ornament as a special gift for the owner of La Bella Fiona, a new luxury online store that features our collectible Les Petits Bijoux holiday ornaments. (Note: when wholesalers and the Trade buy a dozen, we make a complementary 13th one especially for them. We also do custom orders for all of our clients). Be sure to spend some time looking around this fabulous new online site, as it sells many other gorgeous items to give as gifts this holiday season. And watch for more Deborah Main one-of-a-kind luxury pillows on  La Bella Fiona, like this classic gold silk brocade (available any minute now!) that will look lovely in the same room as the ornament.

Now onto the meaning of Christmas and this holiday season we are so blessed with, giving the “Gift of Color”.

One of the reason’s my passion is handcrafting luxury pillows, is because I love to create beautiful, meaningful gifts for you and your home.

Historically in the 1940’s and 50’s, travelers brought back souvenir handkerchiefs and scarves to remind them of their holiday vacation. In the US it was state hankies to remember their road trip along Route 66, but in international cities, like Rome or Paris, it was large, satin or silk scarves like this Parisian beauty below.

We here at Deborah Main Designs collect “original” vintage souvenir scarves and hankies and love to transform them into collectible art, beautiful pillow keepsakes.  You can decorate your home with them or give them as house-warming gifts.

You also can keep a souvenir pillow out year round, or just for the holidays or summer, like many of us often bring out a special set of dishes or china during the holidays, or change up our decor seasonally.

I particularly love the fall colors in this Paris souvenir scarf pillow, (which happens to have “special holiday pricing” in our online shop) because, like the City of Lights, it reminds me of colors in nature you might see on a stroll along The River Seine, maybe even at sunset – from a buttery yellow and leafy green to a tomato red and bronze rust. There’s a little bit of everyhing…and let’s not forget the landmarks we love so much, like the Arc de Triomphe, Musee d’Orsay, and the “piece de resistance”, the Eiffel Tower.

So when you’re thinking about gift-giving this holiday season, I’d like you to think about one main thing: 

What is a unique, meaningful gift you can give someone you care about, and how can you give the “Gift of Color” to make that someone special happy and joyful this holiday season.

When shopping for holiday gifts, or decor, you can never go wrong with selecting a pillow of the state, or country, your friend is from, or where you and your hubs spent your honeymoon. And you can never go wrong with a golden one-of-a-kind ornament for someone’s tree.

Sure, we all decorate our homes in a variety of colors from teal and aqua, like we showed you in last week’s post, to traditional reds and greens you’ll see on the blog next week. But I personally don’t think you can ever go wrong giving a meaningful “Gift of Color”. (And don’t forget, you can even gift the Color911 App right HERE).

Because color and travel evoke fond memories for many of us. And a unique and special heirloom-quality gift, like Deborah Main Designs’ one-of-a-kind and limited edition pillows, (with “special holiday pricing through December) will always be valued. And who knows, maybe even passed down to the next generation of travelers and gift-givers.

Give the gift of love and #ColorYourHolidays with Deborah Main Designs, La Bella Fiona, and Color 911. And color expert, Amy Wax, gives you some fabulous decorating tips right HERE. Till next week, when it’s onto more traditional holiday decor, hope you’re staying safe and close to family and friends throughout the holidays, and maybe even taking a special holiday vacation too! XO PG