Last month, to celebrate ‘Paint of the Decade’ and as part of our campaign to bring transparency to the paint market and to tell you how our paint is made we launched our pigment of the month. Amazingly Edward has created our collection of over 100 colours from just 12 natural earth and mineral pigments. We thought you would be fascinated to learn about these pigments, their history and which colours they create. This month it’s all about the blues, introducing you to the pigment Prussian Blue. Hallway in Cerullian Blue styled by Oka While blue is said to be the world’s most popular colour it is fair to say that many people also find it cold when used for decorating rooms. We asked the ‘Colour man’ himself, Edward Bulmer, to explain the difference with his range of blues and how to use them. “Our perception of colours is often a strong determinant in our liking, or disliking, of them. These perceptions are sometimes ‘received’ rather than evidenced, but most of us are susceptible to a ‘cold’ blue or a ‘warm’ blue. Using earth pigment alongside mineral blues helps to warm them up as well as reducing their cost, particularly in the days when lapis lazuli was the most reliable blue pigment available. The C18th discovery of Prussian Blue gave us, not only a more cost effective blue, but also a pigment with a warmer tonality. Once mixed with yellow ochre or raw umber it will give beautiful deep aqua shades like our Sea Green or Aquatic, but cooled off with white and black you get Cerullian or Navy Blue. Colours based on this pigment respond particularly well to natural wood floors and oak furniture.” Pigment makes up a maximum of 8% of a well formulated paint and as natural paint makers we are alone in only using natural earth and mineral pigments to create our tonally consistent colour range. At Edward Bulmer Natural Paint, we believe you can see the difference in colours made this way. When you use powdered pigment the light is reflected in many directions; giving you a much more subtle effect than the reflection from single wavelength dyes used in synthetic paints. True to your blues? As well as Sea Green and Aquatic, as you would expect you will find Prussian Blue in many of our other blues; Aerial Tint, Ethereal Blue (above left), Cerullian Blue (top image), French Blue (above right), Navy Blue, new Indigo and Welmish Blue (pictured below). Sea Green Order a Sample 100 60 40 20 Aquatic Order a Sample Ethereal Blue Order a Sample 100 60 40 20 Indigo Order a Sample Welmish Blew Order a Sample Sitting room in Welmish Blew at Brunswick House Can you guess which other colours this beautiful blue pigment is used in? You may be surprised to learn that you will find it in Lavender (below left), Inferior Grey (below right), Laylock and even Brunswick Green Deep. Lavender Order a Sample Inferior Grey Order a Sample Laylock Order a Sample 100 60 40 20 Brunswick Green Deep Order a Sample Don’t miss the March ‘Pigment of the month’ with more colour stories. Why compromise? Painting the future with plastic free paint #nonasties #lovepaint#therevivalofnaturalcolour #paintsmadefromplants Follow us on instagram @eb_naturalpaint and @edward_bulmer
Discover the new ‘Forever Favourites Collection’ Create a scheme from one room to your whole house with soft colours that work together effortlessly ensuring tonal flow and harmony. Our 12 best loved shades together in one pack. Discover the power of natural paint today.
Nature and storytelling: A pop up with Forivor A pop up championing the whimsical and wonderful. Forivor believe that we need as many creative minds as possible to solve the many problems facing the future of our planet. We chat with Alice and Rebecca on their collections and their belief that children who develop a love for nature and expand their creative minds when they are young will be best placed to be part of a responsible generation, who prioritise the protection and regeneration of our planet.
B Corp Month – We ask fellow founders about their journey, from first steps to the future March is the month dedicated to B CORP and this year the #thiswayforward. A focus on continuance and hard work after gaining your B Corp status. We have chatted 3 fellow brands striving to be better, whilst putting people and planet before profit. Celebrating what it means to be part of the community over the next month we will be sharing what it means to us, the highs, the lows and how it feels to be alongside other brands who are also taking the step to be better.
Using soft greens in a dual aspect room Pomona is a fantastic colour if you want to use it where you have dual aspect rooms of East and South light and that’s because it carries a little bit of yellow and a little bit of blue and can balance the light as it transitions from the morning through to the midday. Find out more in this series..
Why the design world needs to cut its carbon footprint The industrial revolution, or what you might call ‘the dawn of commercial design’ relied on the use of a new energy source – fossil fuels. From coal, to coal tar, to crude oil, to natural gas, their use began to alter the dynamic and the planet increasingly had to store the resultant carbon emissions in the atmosphere rather than in its vegetation, soils and oceans.
