Spring 2013: PANTONE Color Report

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PANTONE LLC, an X-Rite company is the global authority on color and provider of professional color standards for the design industries. This past September, PANTONE 17-5641 Emerald, a lively, radiant, lush green, was announced as the Color of the Year for 2013.

The Color of the Year selection is a very thoughtful process. To arrive at the selection, PANTONE quite literally combs the world looking for color influences. This can include the entertainment industry and films that are in production, traveling, art collections, hot new artists, popular travel destinations and other socio-economic conditions. Influences may also stem from technology, availability of new textures and effects that impact color, and even upcoming sports events that capture worldwide attention.

For more than a decade, PANTONE’s Color of the Year has influenced product development and purchasing decisions in multiple industries, including fashion, home and industrial design, as well as product packaging and graphic design.

Twice a year, during the spring and fall Mercedes-Benz Fashion Weeks, PANTONE surveys couturiers about the color choices and inspirations for their collections; that intelligence is used to create the PANTONE Fashion Color Report. The report features the top 10 colors for women’s and men’s fashion for the upcoming season, along with designer sketches, quotes, headshots, and recommended CMYK equivalents.

Not surprisingly, trending spring colors include florals and fruits to evoke freshness, and growth. According to a PANTONE statement, the colors represent “consumers’ desire for self-expression, balance, and the need to re-energize.” The spring hues offer balance, and, “allow for unique combinations that offer practicality and versatility, but at the same time, demand attention and earn an appreciative glance,” states the group in a release.

Salubrious Subscription: KLUTCHclub

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With so many subscription boxes out there to choose from, how do you decipher the best? From beauty, fashion and food to boxes specifically made for moms, men even dogs, it is hard not to form a “subscription box addiction”.

KLUTCHclub is a new monthly subscription service (launched April 2012) that sends a curated box of health, fitness and wellness products right to your doorstep. You will learn about new, niche brands and products that suit your lifestyle and also get access to exclusive deals and offers from companies that share your values. Perfect for woman-on-the-go who need help with healthy eating options and staying in shape in this busy, demanding world.

Confused by all the options out there (hemp? chia? omegas?), not knowing which brands to trust – and unwilling to invest hundreds of dollars on products that she could not distinguish from the latest gimmicks vs. something that is truly hollistically healthy – founder of KLUTCHclub, Julie Bashkin, wanted an expert to just curate a collection of healthy products and then magically deliver them to her door. Because the idealized option did not exist, she created KLUTCHclub.

“I founded KLUTCHclub to find a solution to my own struggles with maintaining a healthy lifestyle while working demanding 75 hour-weeks and managing a heavy travel schedule” says KLUTCHclub founder and former McKinsey and Company Engagement Manager, Julie Bashkin. “I was on a perpetual quest to find products that would make eating nutritious food and exercising on-the-go more convenient.”

KLUTCHclub subscription service is a great way to sample new product, try new foods, wellness items and activities that you might never purchase yourself. One of the first subscription companies to give you pricing options – KLUTCHclub is extremely affordable at – $16 per month, if you sign up for a year subscription, $17 per month for a 3 month subscription and $18 per month for 1 month subscription.

KLUTCHclub currently has a monthly subscription box for KLUTCHwomen and KLUTCHmen. In the future the company plans on adding KLUTCHmom, celebrity curated boxes and boxes that donate to charities. KLUTCHclub is a wonderful option for those of us that want to improve our health without doing the research. Let KLUTCHclub do the work for you.