My life brightened significantly when I met Bright Winter, Deb French! She uniquely blends her passions for movement and the natural world with her work as a dance and yoga instructor and as co-owner of Pack, Paddle, Ski - an adventure travel business, specializing in personalized trips and unique experiences.
I have had the pleasure of joining Deb on several trips - from hiking the national parks in Utah to horse back riding and snorkeling in Costa Rica. Her cheerful, upbeat, "can do" attitude was most welcome last autumn when she was my first guest in the travel van and we encountered some challenges along the journey. Traveling light with a small bag of complementary clothing all in my colors is extremely important when on trips with such a variety of weather, activities and experiences.
Deb personifies all that is Bright Winter. Her deep coloring and radiant smile are enhanced by her bright, colorful personality. She is swirling with energy and vitality and enters every situation like a breath of sunshine after a long winters gloom. When she wears bold vibrant colors in a "color block" it resonates with the energy she brings to the activity. It would be impossible to overwhelm her with too much color. Like other Bright Winters, she is enhanced in wearing them and makes the colors more dynamic.
Read more about Deb and the way she has combined her passions and her unique perspective on the colorful world we live in.
Kerry has been a “bright“ spot in my life for over a decade. When I first met her I was drawn to her style and colorful presence. In learning about Indigo Tones, her personal color analysis business I was intrigued and inspired to discover more. It made sense!!
I am a Bright Winter - bold and bright and infused with energy. My color swatch book unfolds into a rainbow of beautiful colors. When I wear them, I am full of energy and feel more able to project that to others. Upon discovering the Bright Winter colors during my color analysis, it clicked with me why those colors translate and have influenced so many aspects of my life. At first, it was a challenge to find some of the colors that matched my natural clothing style and lifestyle as active and outdoor wear is often earthy and muted created to blend in to the environment. I now see the wide variety of colors and textures in all the seasons and have added the bolder colors and use black and darker brown as a favorite neutral.
As a world traveler and guide, a dance educator, choreographer, and yoga instructor, it is people, places, and connections that fuel my soul and energize me.
From the colorful landscapes that surround us, to the colorful palate we ingest, to the colors that we project to the world through our wardrobe, color is an integral part of who we are. Color is flowing energy. It is not stagnant. The rich blend of color and energy influences, guides, and inspires us with positivity and clarity.
My travels have helped to heighten my awareness of the tapestry of color in nature, people, culture, and food all around the world. My eyes, my heart, and my spirit are drawn to this connection. I want to touch, smell, and taste all of the rich bold experiences awaiting me in every new place. Not only have I been able to experience these myself but I loved sharing in the joy of the fellow travelers awakening connection to the world.
This has also inspired my choreographic and yoga work. Color infuses any project with a creative spark. I spend months planning a dance performance considering the music, the colors, the textures, the fabrics and the mood so it is harmonious and flows.
The Chakras and their corresponding colors and elements are a natural way to connect to our internal energy and the world around us. I try to teach outdoors as much as possible in order to connect more deeply to that energy.
Pack Paddle Ski is an outdoor adventure travel company. To learn more about the trips, projects, and adventures they offer go towww.packpaddleski.com
Deb&Flow is Deb’s personal yoga and movement business. To find out more information about classes and offerings contact deb atdebdance13@gmail.com
Credentials:
Adjunct Dance Faculty SUNY Geneseo
Yoga instructor: Shakti Yoga, Breast Cancer Coalition of Rochester, Geneseo , Livonia, Honeoye Schools
Community Dance programs Zumba and fitness.
Outdoor yoga and dance classes spring , summer , and fall at various locations.
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It’s a treat to introduce you to this month's colorful lives feature, Soft Autumn Tim Stich who is also my son!! Tim’s experience with shopping for clothing and wearing color is unique as I become a color analyst when he was quite young. When he and his sister Clare were little, I tried dressing them in bright colors with strong patterns as was the style then.....but even before learning about personal color harmony, I started to sense that the clothes overwhelmed them and began dressing them in softer colors and solids. I was even shocked the other day to discover when I pulled out his school photos that every single photo (even before I learned of his color palette) was taken in a Soft Autumn color. You can see how his life has evolved wearing the soft, earthy colors that suit his ruddy hair, freckles and soft blue/green eyes.
Over the years, he has mostly been very eager to wear what suits him and looked to me to help him distinguish soft autumn colors from the two seasons nearby - warm autumn and soft summer. We enjoy shopping together, especially now that he lives in Manhattan and the shopping is abundant. It can be a challenge to find his colors in sizes and style that fit but when its perfect, it feels great and he knows it. Read on to learn more about what it’s like to be a guy whose mom is a color consultant!
I am so excited to introduce you the “entertainingly irreverent” (Associated Press) Soft Summer, Valerie Peterson. Valerie is an extraordinary storyteller in a variety of media including scriptwriting, screenplays, fiction, non-fiction and book publishing/consulting. I analyzed her colors years ago in Rhode Island at a girls weekend hosted by a mutual friend (color analysis and girls weekends make a great combo!). In the years since, Valerie has embraced her Soft Summer colors in spite of living and working in New York City where black is a standard and practical.
It was a thrill when her publisher chose a photo of my family for her wonderfully spirited book, Peterson’s Happy Hour. On page 46, you can find me with my family - brothers, Mike and Tim and my parents Marcia and J. Michael Jones circa 1970. The book features many more photographic gems and recipes for a fabulous social gathering!
In this month’s colorful lives blog, Valerie shares her journey with her color palette. As with all her writing projects, she is humorous, colorful and entertaining! She has kept in great condition and still uses the Sci Art swatch book that I provided back in those days!! Be sure to check out her large body of work on valeriepeterson.net and read more in the blog:
While doing color analysis in Boston in June, I had the pleasure of meeting Danielle Burton and giving her a 12-Season Color Analysis. Danielle had recently experienced a 4-Season Color Analysis with a House of Colour consultant and was told she was a Winter. I was skeptical that she was any type of Winter (in the 12 season system, there are actually 3 Winters - Dark Winter, Cool Winter and Bright Winter). Her light eyes, natural lighter and soft brownish hair and skin tone were much more consistent with my clients who fall into the lighter seasons, especially Summer.
Since her hair had been highlighted, we covered it with a neutral gray cap to do the testing portion of the analysis, ensuring that the lighter color did not sway the results of the analysis. It was clear from the beginning that Danielle was responding more harmoniously to the cool tones even some of the lighter cool winter drapes which was consistent with her 4 season color analysis.
But, while she contrasted with any drapes that were dark and bright, she was softened and balanced by the lighter cool tones, particularly Summer. The dark colors brought out shadows under her eyes and the brighter colors overwhelmed her and brought attention to themselves. In the end, she looked lovely and perfectly balanced and harmonious in the Cool Summer colors!
"While I had a great experience at House of Colour, I do think they are missing out on a ton of research and color science by not including the 12 seasons and variants. The added layer of cool vs bright vs dark was a huge difference for me and really solidified which category I best fit”.
Enjoy reading more about Danielle’s experience with both systems and her reaction to her diagnosis as a Cool Summer:
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Rick
September 28, 2022
Love all the colors Deb and Kerri bring to the world.