Colorful Lives, Light Summer Lisa Swisher

May 31, 2021 3 min read

Indigo Tones Colorful Lives Blog Light Summer Lisa Swisher Owner of Sew Creative Fairport NY

Meet Light Summer, Lisa Swisher.  Lisa and I met each other years ago watching our son's play baseball.  We were always interested in each other's businesses so I welcomed the opportunity to speak about color harmony at an event at her fabric shop, Sew Creative in Fairport, NY.  The audience attendees were primarily experienced sewing enthusiasts who made their own clothing.

Sew Creative is an excellent setting for a discussion about color harmony because the shop is filled with gorgeous colorful fabrics surrounded by beautiful quilts, table cloths, clothing and other creative projects that provided the perfect visual in explaining the difference between a masterpiece and one that doesn't quite work.  

When you spend the time to create your own clothing, it is particularly important to ensure that you get the right colors, styles and understand the science.

I have been working with color my entire career. As the owner of Sew Creative, I am constantly dealing with color in both merchandising and product selection.  Back in the 80’s my mother also did color analysis for our customers.  Does anyone remember Color Me Beautiful? 

Carole Jackson's Color Me Beautiful and her home-based 4 season color analysis system were a 1980's pop-culture phenomenon.  We have Color Me Beautiful to thank for bringing personal color analysis to the mainstream.  Because it was over simplified into a 4 season system and structured to accommodate home parties and quick determination of a season, it made personal color analysis a frivolous trend. 

Professional color consultants are still overcoming that stigma and the misleading information cultivated decades ago. Many people, including me, struggled to figure out what colors suited us until discovering the more fine tuned 12 season personal color analysis system based on Albert Munsell's color theories.  

Lisa and I had typical experiences in the 4 season color system. She was told she was a Summer and I was told I was a Spring. The colors were close but just didn't give the magic of our Light Summer seasonal tone which falls between Summer and Spring.  For her, the Summer colors from the 1980's were just a bit too muted and cool. For me, the Spring colors were too bright and warm. With the 12 color season system we now have the perfect balance of all 3 dimensions - light, cool and soft. 

When I came to Kerry’s studio with our group to have our colors done I had an idea that I would be in the summer range.  I was amazed at how precisely Kerry was able to define our color palettes.  It was really an exciting experience. It really is empowering to know what color will be the most flattering and I always get compliments on what I am wearing when it is in my palette.

I am now much more conscious of choosing fabrics for the shop in a wide range to allow all of the seasons to find something that will appeal to them. I really enjoy watching my customers wandering through the fabrics and seeing what colors they are drawn to whether it is for a garment they want to make or a quilt they are imagining.

Sew Creative offers a wide variety of classes and special events in addition to fabrics, notions and equipment.

Read about other's colorful journeys in these recent blog posts! 

Financial Wellness and Harmony Advisor, Light Spring, Erica Cummings

Capsule Wardrobe Specialist, Warm Spring, Andrea Bonawitz

Personal Stylist, Bright Spring, Kelly McCarthy

Community Educator, Bright Winter, Danielle Raymo


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