The Colourist Issue 4: A celebration of colour!

Hurrah! Today is the launch of the latest issue of The Colourist, Issue 4.

Each issue is very special to me, it represents a time and a place in my life and career and I love looking back at the earlier editions to remind me of the fascinating cities I've visited and the amazing artists I've found along the way. However, I do have to admit that I feel like Issue 4 is that little bit more special... (sorry I know one isn't supposed to have a favourite child) because this is the issue that represents a very special time in my life and career - the 30 year anniversary of Chalk Paint®!



I curate a colour palette for each issue, based on the mood and the feel of the time. The palette for Issue 4 which just so happens to be timed with the start of Spring in the UK, is composed of luscious Lem Lem, grounding Graphite and the origin of Chalk Paint, Old White. Despite the hero of this issue being Old White, you'll find that the 132 pages are jam-packed with colour.



Thirty years! That’s how long it’s been since I started my Chalk Paint® adventure. Back in 1990, the first colour I created was Old White, which is why I’ve chosen white as the theme for this celebratory issue of The Colourist. And, since 30 years is a pearl anniversary, we’re launching something rather appropriate: Pearlescent Glaze. You can turn to page 128 to see how Dominique Malacarne used this beautiful, iridescent colour to create a subtle inlaid bone effect that I know you’ll want to try for yourself.



As this is such a special issue, I’ll be talking a little more personally than I do normally: reflecting, gathering and planning for the future of Annie Sloan Interiors. I’m sharing some stories about how I started this company in my 40s, and talking to other creative women following their passions and starting their own businesses.



I’m thrilled to share more about ‘accidental icon’ Iris Apfel, the fashion, textiles and interior designer who’s famous for being ridiculously stylish, witty and idiosyncratic. And, by the way, she’s in her 90s! We also feature illustrator and designer, Edward Bawden; Roland Penrose and Lee Miller’s surrealist home, Farleys House; a tour of a beautiful Dutch barge; and the home of our past Painter in Residence, Ildiko Horvath.

As ever, you'll find six inspiring step-by-step projects in the back section of the magazine, including a project by Annie Sloan Interiors' very own senior designer, Joanna Lloyd, showing you how to use the free Toile du Jouy-inspired paper pull-out. The toile features scenes from my home city and the home of Chalk Paint® manufacturing, Oxford.



That’s just a taster of what’s in store. I hope you enjoy the issue – it’s been a pleasure putting it together for you. Tag me @AnnieSloanHome on social media with the hashtag #ColouristMag so I can see what you get up to.

Yours, 

Annie. 

Lem Lem - supporting Oxfam & helping beat poverty!

It’s early Spring as I write this; here in Oxfordshire the gardens are beginning to bloom and the evenings are drawing out with beautiful sunsets. This luxuriance of verdancy puts me in mind of one very special colour: Lem Lem. So good I named it twice!

For those of you who don’t know, Lem Lem is the colour I created in collaboration with Oxfam. Along with some of my team I travelled to Ethiopia last year to see the results of Oxfam’s Seed Project. This initiative empowers women farmers to grow their own crops and sustain themselves and their families. The women I met grow alliums; and the soft green of Lem Lem is inspired by the rolling fields of healthy crops I saw. We call Lem Lem “the colour of hope”

I asked one of the women farmers, "what does green mean to you?" and she immediately said, "growth" and I thought that was fantastic. The women grow the alliums for their seeds which they then sell. One woman with four children under nine had made enough money to buy a house, a cow, an ox, schooling for her children, and a TV (its arrival promoted a party in the village). Even more unprecedented for a woman in this part of Ethiopia, she has been able to set up a bank account of her own. Growth, by anybody's definition.

The development of a new colour is always a huge undertaking and of course there was even more impetus to create something incredible for such an important cause. Click here to watch a video about my trip to Ethiopia and the subsequent development process.

Every time you buy a tin of Lem Lem you are supporting the Seed Project and other worthy causes which help impoverished women and communities around the world.

But what can you paint with Lem Lem? Lem Lem is great for creating a retro 50's look, a contemporary cool vibe, AND works well as part of a vintage floral style. Freshen up your bedroom, bathroom, garden, living room or kitchen with this calm and cool shade. Take a look at the inspiration on my Oxfam page, from Painters in Residence and friends of Chalk Paint®, for a wide range of inspiring ideas. With such beautiful projects, not to mention an inspiring back story about our sisters in underdeveloped communities around the world, there’s no better time to snap up this limited edition colour.

Click here to see one last Lem Lem project - it's a short video of me vs a very orange, very varnished pine bedside table of the type I'm sure you'll all recognise.

Remember: every pot of Lem Lem bought by YOU will raise vital funds for Oxfam, helping people beat poverty worldwide. Click here to purchase a tin of Lem Lem now, or visit your local stockist to buy, and make a difference.

That’s all from me for now – I’ve got some gardening to do and I’m feeling rather inclined to pick up a paintbrush and Lem Lem something myself, having had such a pleasant reminiscence about the incredible women I met in Ethiopia!

Yours,

Annie.