Sunday, June 30, 2013

Restoring Photographs of JFK

A couple of years ago, I took on a huge project of scanning family photos. My hope was to be able to scan the physical photos and be able to distribute them digitally to all of our family members. This way, everyone would have every photo, right?

Well, anyone who truly knows me, would also have known that this wasn't going to be a timely project. Some people would feel good just knowing they got them scanned and in the knowlege that the photos could never be lost.

I agree that this is great, but I am unable to just scan a photo with all it's scratches, noise, tears and discoloring. I WANT TO RESTORE EVERYTHING! It's not an illness, really. To me, it has more to do with valuing the lives and memories of my family members. Their memories are important to me.

At one point (and many times after that), I came across some very damaged photos. As I was researching the best method (s) for doing immense work on these, I found the following video. It wasn't so much a 'how to' video, but instead, a 'why to' video.

This video shows the restoration of the photographs taken of John F. Kennedy by his personal photographer, Jack Lowe. It shows the miracle of the ability to restore photos.

Restoring JFK Memories 

Sunday, June 9, 2013

How Are The Season's Hottest Colors Determined?


Did you ever wonder how the season's "hottest colors" are chosen?


In the printing industry, PANTONE is the global authority on color and provider of professional design standards.


PANTONE 's Fashion Color Palette for 2013 (Emerald being their Color of the Year)

In almost every other area of design, the colors are actually decided two years in advance by The Color Association of the United States (CAUS). 

The CAUS was established in 1915 when the department-store concept was developing. A group of textile manufactures recognized the need  to direct trends so manufacturers were able to produce large quantities of common textiles. 

Every year, the panel members meet bringing with them examples of colors that seem to speak to or resonate with them. Then, the whole panel reviews and decides the outcome... The colors WE see as the popular colors of the season.

Since it's inception, CAUS  has grown to make up five categories: 


  1. women’s fashion
  2. menswear
  3. youth fashion
  4. interiors/environment
  5. beauty

So, there you have it.