We have a customer who came to us with an exterior paint problem. She had her house painted last year, and earlier this spring (right after the first great weather of the year) she noticed the emergence of good-sized bubbles on the side of her house.
Naturally, it looked to her that the paint had failed. And not only that, but in less than 6 months from it's application. Imagine how frustrating that must be.
Bill, one of our senior staff paint experts went out to the jobsite with our Pratt & Lambert rep. to assess the situation. When they examined the underside of the bubble, they saw that they weren't only looking at paint, they were also looking at the PRIMER. In other words, the paint was doing its job very well and sticking like crazy, it was the primer that had released from the siding, not the paint.
This was a primer failure. To complicate matters further, the primer was a Sherwin Williams product, it did not come from our store. And worst of all - our records show that the painter purchased the paint at the end of October of last year. Meaning the paint wasn't applied until about the first week of November.
We are guessing that the primer was applied earlier in the season, absorbed some moisture before the paint film was applied - then on the first hot day of the year, the moisture steamed up and caused the bubbling to occur. Paint school 101: Water always will find it's way out.
So... is this an applicator failure or a product failure?
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
This is a shot of my friend Ron's store, Oswego Paint & Home Fashion, in Oswego, IL.
They are remodeling their shop, and as part of the redo they are using lots great colors.
I wanted to share this shot with you because it perfectly illustrates the whole concept of tinted primers.
In today's design market, deep-toned colors are in high demand. We are seeing a lot of clear Reds being specified, for example.
The red pigment is very transparent, and that usually translates to multiple coats (read:5 or more) on the wall to get full coverage. In this image, you can see the painter is actually painting "Mojo" (the clear red) over what looks like a maroon wall. It might seem a bit counter intuitive, but the maroon is actually specifically formulated for "Mojo".
Our Lead-Geeks (whom I love and are a father/son duo named Bob and Rob. Really!) analyze how light waves travel through the topcoat color, hit the primer color and bounce back up. They mathematically calculate the ideal primer color for each topcoat by looking at the light waves. There is a bright yellow in the C2 palette that had an army green primer - who knew? Yet these specially formulated primers allow the painter to almost always be able to count on only using 2 top coats - even for super clear colors like the "Mojo" pictured here.
Monday, June 04, 2007
My New Favorite Color
When I repainted my house (I finally ended up using C2's Sea Salt) - I decided to try a color for the front door that wasn't black or deep burgundy... I love the sophistication of black doors, but this house is more "cottage" than "manor" and the black would look a bit too tres elegant.
Burgundy has just been so done. Over and over. I love it, it's attractive, but I was looking for something a little different.
Ah ha. C2's Space.
In some lights it's almost a black, other lights it's deeeeeeep turquoise. You look at it and think, "Is it green, is it blue, or is it black?" Perfect! Painted it in high gloss for that yummy finish that looks like it came from an old door off a 400-yr old house in Europe.
Speaking of gloss finishes... When you are choosing a paint color, you need to factor in the sheen and the way it will reflect the light. The Space color I chose is a perfect example of how sheen can take a color that looked somewhat dull on the chip - but once mixed in a high gloss it came alive. The light reflection created a depth for the dark color. The more matte the finish, the flatter this color would appear. And while this would be great for a media room, for example, in the more matte finish - for the front door it would have looked dead.
My trick for simulating the gloss on my paint chip: I painted a small corner of the chip with clear nail polish. What a difference. So there is your helpful hint of the day, my friends. If you don't have polish handy, you can also try shiny cellophane tape to replicate the sheen (even spit works - in a pinch! But only amongst your friends, please!)
Burgundy has just been so done. Over and over. I love it, it's attractive, but I was looking for something a little different.
Ah ha. C2's Space.
In some lights it's almost a black, other lights it's deeeeeeep turquoise. You look at it and think, "Is it green, is it blue, or is it black?" Perfect! Painted it in high gloss for that yummy finish that looks like it came from an old door off a 400-yr old house in Europe.
Speaking of gloss finishes... When you are choosing a paint color, you need to factor in the sheen and the way it will reflect the light. The Space color I chose is a perfect example of how sheen can take a color that looked somewhat dull on the chip - but once mixed in a high gloss it came alive. The light reflection created a depth for the dark color. The more matte the finish, the flatter this color would appear. And while this would be great for a media room, for example, in the more matte finish - for the front door it would have looked dead.
My trick for simulating the gloss on my paint chip: I painted a small corner of the chip with clear nail polish. What a difference. So there is your helpful hint of the day, my friends. If you don't have polish handy, you can also try shiny cellophane tape to replicate the sheen (even spit works - in a pinch! But only amongst your friends, please!)
Friday, May 18, 2007
Holding the Spec
What does "Holding the Spec" mean? To a homeowner or designer involved in a painting project, it means insuring that your painter uses the products and brands you specify, unless you've given them written consent they may make changes. When you look at the bid you get from your painter, make sure you are the one determining what paint brand he will use.
We spend a lot of time educating our customers about the different products we provide them. The designers we work with understand the different color systems and what they can expect from them. The homeowner usually just wants the color on the chip. They give it to their painter, expecting to get THAT color. But what if the painter goes down the street and substitutes the color and has it made in a different brand of paint? Is this acceptable?
Would a designer let the drapery maker substitute a different fabric for the curtains? Would the designer let the carpet store change the color or brand of carpet chosen?
Why do we let this happen, just because it's paint?
We witnessed an interesting example of this just this week. Our store designer Richard (on his day off, even!) went out to a distressed client's home because they were concerned that the newly painted walls were not looking like the colors they had worked so hard to choose.
Richard went out to the job to take a look. Guess what? NONE of the colors looked right. Each shade was totally off from the chip. As he walked through the house (because of course, this was an entire house, not just a single room), he noticed that the paint cans weren't from our store. The painter had taken the specified colors and had them matched into a different product.
The customer was not pleased.
The painter had all sorts of arguments for why he did this, and offered to repaint the house - but it would cost the homeowner extra money. So in other words, the painter admitted that the colors weren't the ones specified, but he was trying to put the financial load on the homeowner even though it wasn't remotely their fault.
Luckily, the homeowners pulled out their contract, where it was clearly written down that the painter was going to use the brand THEY had specified (C2 Paint, in case you are wondering). How does this story end? The painter is repainting the entire job in the correct paint on HIS dime, the homeowners get the colors they wanted and maybe the painter learned a lesson about follow-thru and responsibility.
As a side note: C2 colors are very difficult to match accurately using other color systems. This is because of the tint system C2 uses. No other North American brand uses the same system that C2 does - therefore the colors are difficult to replicate. C2 has some high strength pigments in addition to the regular strength pigments. Many C2 colors will look okay when matched under one light source, but totally off under other light conditions. This is most likely what happened to the homeowners that Richard was helping.
So it's easy for us to match other colors because we also have the typical pigments, but difficult for them to match ours. because they don't have the high strength ones. Either that, or the other paint store was just really bad at matching colors!!!
The lesson in all this is that it is up to you to ensure you are getting what you specified - and paid for.
We spend a lot of time educating our customers about the different products we provide them. The designers we work with understand the different color systems and what they can expect from them. The homeowner usually just wants the color on the chip. They give it to their painter, expecting to get THAT color. But what if the painter goes down the street and substitutes the color and has it made in a different brand of paint? Is this acceptable?
Would a designer let the drapery maker substitute a different fabric for the curtains? Would the designer let the carpet store change the color or brand of carpet chosen?
Why do we let this happen, just because it's paint?
We witnessed an interesting example of this just this week. Our store designer Richard (on his day off, even!) went out to a distressed client's home because they were concerned that the newly painted walls were not looking like the colors they had worked so hard to choose.
Richard went out to the job to take a look. Guess what? NONE of the colors looked right. Each shade was totally off from the chip. As he walked through the house (because of course, this was an entire house, not just a single room), he noticed that the paint cans weren't from our store. The painter had taken the specified colors and had them matched into a different product.
The customer was not pleased.
The painter had all sorts of arguments for why he did this, and offered to repaint the house - but it would cost the homeowner extra money. So in other words, the painter admitted that the colors weren't the ones specified, but he was trying to put the financial load on the homeowner even though it wasn't remotely their fault.
Luckily, the homeowners pulled out their contract, where it was clearly written down that the painter was going to use the brand THEY had specified (C2 Paint, in case you are wondering). How does this story end? The painter is repainting the entire job in the correct paint on HIS dime, the homeowners get the colors they wanted and maybe the painter learned a lesson about follow-thru and responsibility.
As a side note: C2 colors are very difficult to match accurately using other color systems. This is because of the tint system C2 uses. No other North American brand uses the same system that C2 does - therefore the colors are difficult to replicate. C2 has some high strength pigments in addition to the regular strength pigments. Many C2 colors will look okay when matched under one light source, but totally off under other light conditions. This is most likely what happened to the homeowners that Richard was helping.
So it's easy for us to match other colors because we also have the typical pigments, but difficult for them to match ours. because they don't have the high strength ones. Either that, or the other paint store was just really bad at matching colors!!!
The lesson in all this is that it is up to you to ensure you are getting what you specified - and paid for.
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
AACK!!! Did I say...
... that I am looking at using "Element" for my house??? I meant "Enoki" ... big difference in color! Boy, what a shock that would be, eh?
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
How to Choose an Exterior Paint Color
As I was driving to work this morning, I couldn't help but notice a trail of white paint drizzled on the road, the trail was at least 6 blocks long. Apparently some poor soul's paint can wasn't sealed properly, and it was slowly pouring out of the vehicle unbeknown to the driver. My burning question... Why white paint?
Luckily, the trail was not leading from our parking lot!
If you are planning on repainting the exterior this year, you are probably interested in finding the perfect color scheme for your house. Like a good haircut making you feel like a million bucks, the right exterior colors can make all the difference in how you feel about your house.
When you are looking a colors for the outside, remember they will look vastly different than when standing at the paint rack. If you drive by Daly's during the nicer months, you will always see us hauling people outside to look at color schemes. This is because color looses a lot of it's intensity outside versus inside and we want to see how the color reads in a more accurate manner.
A good rule of thumb is to push yourself a bit and find a color that is deeper/darker on the chip than you want it to look on the house. Since the color is reflecting off into the sky (as opposed to bouncing off a wall for interior colors, thereby increasing the way the color reads) the color looses a lot of definition.
Also, don't forget the roof!
Have you ever driven around different neighborhoods looking at house colors and realized that in many instances, the roof is sticking out like a sore thumb? It's probably because they forgot to take the roof colors into consideration when creating their color scheme. You don't have to make this same mistake.
If your house is surrounded by vast lawns or dense thickets of trees, then you will be getting a lot of reflected green light thrown onto your house, and this will affect how your colors will read. If you don't like the green effect, choose colors with a warm, reddish/orangy cast. Red and green are opposite each other on the color wheel, and will tend to cancel each other out. This doesn't mean you need to paint everything barn red, but just make the "flavor" of the color warm.
In some instances, you may even need to consider the colors schemes of your neighbors homes. If your houses are close together, they may be reflecting upon you. For instance, can you imagine two sage-green houses next to each other, especially if the greens weren't compatible with each other? It might make you feel more sick than serene.
Colors are all about relationships. If you are looking for a body color and two trim colors, remember that the trim colors will influence how sell the body color will read.
Here's a good example of what I mean: My cute neighbors who live across the street choose a body color they thought was a soft sage green. In reality, they realized it was seriously minty when the paint went up. Ack! The beigy trim color they had planned to use with the soft green was going to make the green look sickly (and who wants to spend all this money paying someone to paint the house and then feel heartsick over the colors?). So we rescued the minty green by adding crisp white trim with rich navy accents. The deep navy make the mint green look less intense, and the crisp white gave the whole look a clean cottage feel. Whew. Crisis averted.
They may have avoided some panicky feelings if they had tested their colors out first. I like our new 16 oz samplers, this is enough paint to test the color out on ALL sides of the house. Or I encourage people to use C2's Ultimate Paint Chips. These couldn't be any easier, they are poster-sized chips of real paint. No muss, no fuss. If you are like me, and tend to make colors 25% darker than the chip, or 50% lighter - the Sampler Pots (those 16 oz paint pots) are the next best thing to Fran's Gray Sea Salt Caramels. Any color I want, even custom colors, in a sample pot.
I have had all sorts of chips hanging off the side of my house all winter long, and I think I FINALLY have decided my new color! And it's not one I was even considering before: C2 Paint's "Element" - but at least 25% darker - of course!
Luckily, the trail was not leading from our parking lot!
If you are planning on repainting the exterior this year, you are probably interested in finding the perfect color scheme for your house. Like a good haircut making you feel like a million bucks, the right exterior colors can make all the difference in how you feel about your house.
When you are looking a colors for the outside, remember they will look vastly different than when standing at the paint rack. If you drive by Daly's during the nicer months, you will always see us hauling people outside to look at color schemes. This is because color looses a lot of it's intensity outside versus inside and we want to see how the color reads in a more accurate manner.
A good rule of thumb is to push yourself a bit and find a color that is deeper/darker on the chip than you want it to look on the house. Since the color is reflecting off into the sky (as opposed to bouncing off a wall for interior colors, thereby increasing the way the color reads) the color looses a lot of definition.
Also, don't forget the roof!
Have you ever driven around different neighborhoods looking at house colors and realized that in many instances, the roof is sticking out like a sore thumb? It's probably because they forgot to take the roof colors into consideration when creating their color scheme. You don't have to make this same mistake.
If your house is surrounded by vast lawns or dense thickets of trees, then you will be getting a lot of reflected green light thrown onto your house, and this will affect how your colors will read. If you don't like the green effect, choose colors with a warm, reddish/orangy cast. Red and green are opposite each other on the color wheel, and will tend to cancel each other out. This doesn't mean you need to paint everything barn red, but just make the "flavor" of the color warm.
In some instances, you may even need to consider the colors schemes of your neighbors homes. If your houses are close together, they may be reflecting upon you. For instance, can you imagine two sage-green houses next to each other, especially if the greens weren't compatible with each other? It might make you feel more sick than serene.
Colors are all about relationships. If you are looking for a body color and two trim colors, remember that the trim colors will influence how sell the body color will read.
Here's a good example of what I mean: My cute neighbors who live across the street choose a body color they thought was a soft sage green. In reality, they realized it was seriously minty when the paint went up. Ack! The beigy trim color they had planned to use with the soft green was going to make the green look sickly (and who wants to spend all this money paying someone to paint the house and then feel heartsick over the colors?). So we rescued the minty green by adding crisp white trim with rich navy accents. The deep navy make the mint green look less intense, and the crisp white gave the whole look a clean cottage feel. Whew. Crisis averted.
They may have avoided some panicky feelings if they had tested their colors out first. I like our new 16 oz samplers, this is enough paint to test the color out on ALL sides of the house. Or I encourage people to use C2's Ultimate Paint Chips. These couldn't be any easier, they are poster-sized chips of real paint. No muss, no fuss. If you are like me, and tend to make colors 25% darker than the chip, or 50% lighter - the Sampler Pots (those 16 oz paint pots) are the next best thing to Fran's Gray Sea Salt Caramels. Any color I want, even custom colors, in a sample pot.
I have had all sorts of chips hanging off the side of my house all winter long, and I think I FINALLY have decided my new color! And it's not one I was even considering before: C2 Paint's "Element" - but at least 25% darker - of course!
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
This Has Taken Me ALL Day to Figure Out!!
This is Richard, one of our Seattle store designers. He's been kind enough to let me experiment with him on exploring how to make videos.
It has been less than intuitive, to say the least, but I couldn't have done it without a GREAT tutorial by Freevlog. Check it out!
I have sooooooo much to learn...
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
Philip's New Website is LIVE!!!
Check out my friend's new website, Philip's Perfect Colors. Now, it's not often that you will meet someone who can lay claim to creating perfect colors, but Philip has really done a bang-up job creating a palette that truly works!
One of my favorite features to Philip's site are his personalized stories on how each color was created. It really gives you a sense of Philip's thoroughness, and you can see how much thought goes into crafting a color.
He employs the full-spectrum philosophy when creating his colors. This means that the full range of color pigments are used in making every single paint formulation, giving the colors a rich depth and range. You may remember a post from some months back where I was talking about the "faux-spectrum" color I used on my walls at home... I simply withheld using any black colorant in my formulation. Looks great, by the way!
Black colorant has a new super-villain name: The Dechromatizer (means, kills color)
A true full-spectrum paint color never employs black to tone down colors. Instead complimentary colors are used. A complimentary color is one that is found on the opposite side of the color wheel. 
Orange is opposite blue, for example. If you mix orange and blue, you get a nice black that actually has a liveliness to it.
Orange is opposite blue, for example. If you mix orange and blue, you get a nice black that actually has a liveliness to it.I am currently taking an oil painting class (never took it during college...), and I don't even have a tube of black in my paintbox.
I will say, however, that I do LOVE a nice black trim on an exterior when used correctly. To me, when you combine black trim with a putty-green body color you have the makings of a perfect (sorry Philip!) Seattle exterior color combination!
Monday, April 30, 2007
Check Out This Blog
I don't know how I stumble upon things sometimes, but I found this blog, filled with lots of videos and articles - http://www.askthedecorator.com/
I'm not sure how she's funding the expenses of this venture, but she has a fun hook: explore interior design in all 50 states. A designer road trip. How cool is that?
I wonder how long it will be before she's scooped up by a media-type and turned into a TV show personality...
I'm not sure how she's funding the expenses of this venture, but she has a fun hook: explore interior design in all 50 states. A designer road trip. How cool is that?
I wonder how long it will be before she's scooped up by a media-type and turned into a TV show personality...
Monday, April 23, 2007
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
I just Googled C2...
Help! Two questions on primers and C2 Paints, in particular. - Paint Forum - GardenWeb
The above link is to a discussion about C2 paint and primers. There is some GREAT information from a C2 paint salesperson (addict?) in Fargo, ND... Interesting feedback from users on their experience with C2. GREAT application suggestions, too!
Did you even know you could get C2 in Fargo???
The above link is to a discussion about C2 paint and primers. There is some GREAT information from a C2 paint salesperson (addict?) in Fargo, ND... Interesting feedback from users on their experience with C2. GREAT application suggestions, too!
Did you even know you could get C2 in Fargo???
Waaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!
I just wrote paragraphs - PARAGRAPHS! - waxing rhapsodic about how my life is so great 'cause I am involved in my 3rd generation family biz, helping to develop C2 Paint on a national scale and best of all, my great family life. Then, boom. I accidentally navigated away from this page without saving anything.
Gone. All gone. Sniff-sniff.
Rats. So earlier, in the posting that I mistakenly evaporated, I was chatting about this new seaside community I visited this weekend called Seabrook. They are literally developing a town along my favorite stretch of Washington beach... it's a "green" community, they even use the trees they harvest off the land and convert them into building materials for the new homes. Hmmmm...... I wonder if they need some fabulous Daly's Wood Finishing Products for their siding? We make a GREAT exterior stain.
What is really cool, besides the nature of the town, is there is renewal occurring all along the coastline. It's like this area is waking up and being rediscovered. Properties are priced at a premium in Seabrook (starter cottages - 770 sq.ft. - goes for $400k!! And NO beach view.), and there is already $pillover in other towns. Ultimately, I think this is a good thing, because Gray's Harbor County is a rather depressed area of the state (read: spotted owl/logging saga), so an influx of $$$ hopefully will help the economy there. And luckily for those of us who aren't in the $400k range for a vacation home, there are other properties available at more "affordable" rates. Of course, these other properties don't have the charm of a New England seaside town, but one gets over it!
I love the beach. While we were there, it was stormy, overcast, sunny, rainy and just all-around great. We had hot chocolate with marshmallows. Drank lots of wine. What more can you ask?
Gone. All gone. Sniff-sniff.
Rats. So earlier, in the posting that I mistakenly evaporated, I was chatting about this new seaside community I visited this weekend called Seabrook. They are literally developing a town along my favorite stretch of Washington beach... it's a "green" community, they even use the trees they harvest off the land and convert them into building materials for the new homes. Hmmmm...... I wonder if they need some fabulous Daly's Wood Finishing Products for their siding? We make a GREAT exterior stain.
What is really cool, besides the nature of the town, is there is renewal occurring all along the coastline. It's like this area is waking up and being rediscovered. Properties are priced at a premium in Seabrook (starter cottages - 770 sq.ft. - goes for $400k!! And NO beach view.), and there is already $pillover in other towns. Ultimately, I think this is a good thing, because Gray's Harbor County is a rather depressed area of the state (read: spotted owl/logging saga), so an influx of $$$ hopefully will help the economy there. And luckily for those of us who aren't in the $400k range for a vacation home, there are other properties available at more "affordable" rates. Of course, these other properties don't have the charm of a New England seaside town, but one gets over it!
I love the beach. While we were there, it was stormy, overcast, sunny, rainy and just all-around great. We had hot chocolate with marshmallows. Drank lots of wine. What more can you ask?
Monday, April 02, 2007
Bellevue Relocation
I just heard that a property we had our eyes on, then found out we were too late, might be back in play... It's in the ideal location, it's more square feet than we want, so therefore it's too much, and I think it would be great.
I don't want to get too excited, but I'm happy I followed through on it a month ago, when it was looking bleak.
... more later, I hope!
I don't want to get too excited, but I'm happy I followed through on it a month ago, when it was looking bleak.
... more later, I hope!
Friday, March 30, 2007
What a Trip!
I just got back from C2's Annual General Meeting in Tucson, AZ - imagine 6 whole days devoted to my favorite work activity - Paint Princess Heaven.
However, there were a few dark clouds marring the perfect princess experience... lost luggage. And all things being what they are, of course, it wasn't a simple case of the airlines messing up - Oh No, it was much worse.
I left for Tucson early Saturday morning, parked the car at an off-site lot, and grabbed a shuttle in to the airport. Feeling lucky because I was able to upgrade to first class - I sashayed through the special first class security line (who knew! that's almost worth the full price fare right there!) and on to the plane.
Made it to Tucson and down to baggage claim. No bag. What? It was a direct flight!
Off to the resort, where I was SUPPOSED to wear a cute outfit for the evenings cocktail party. A call to the airlines indicated that the bag wouldn't arrive until the next morning. Rats.
Checked my messages later in the evening, guess what, they had my bag! Yay!
Not so yay. They delivered the wrong bag, unless of course I happened to pack a bunch of middle-aged men's clothes...
Spent over an HOUR on hold trying to talk to a live person - a freakin' hour! I had to plug my cell phone in to the outlet (inconveniently placed near the floor), because my battery was quickly draining. While hunched on the floor, I has the opportunity to catch up on the latest antics of The Girls Next Door. Whoopee.
Guess what else? It turns out it wasn't the airlines that had messed up - they had already spoken to the middle-aged guy and figured out what had happened - HE had my bag. Not only that, but he realized he had my bag BEFORE he left Seattle to head down to Monterrey, CA.
Apparently, our bags were practically identical, and we each took the wrong bag off the shuttle, when we were coming in to the airport at the crack of dawn.
Worried that my stuff would get lost at the airport, he decided to take my bag with him, to keep an eye on it. Not only that, but he wasn't willing to bring it to the San Francisco airport, where the airline would be happy to forward my bag for no charge. He was in Monterrey, and hour away.
FU*K!!!!!
He wasn't coming back to town until the day before I was due home to Seattle. Imagine, 6 days in the same bloody outfit. I had a great dress I was determined to wear, so I had to think of something quick.
Here's what I learned: FedEx has a great SameDay service they offer. Yes it comes at a premium... but desperate measures for desperate travelers. By about 11pm, I had it arranged that FedEx would pick-up my wayward bags early on Sunday, and have it to my room by Monday morning. Only $350 (I think. Haven't recieved the final bill yet.)
A quick visit to the overpriced gift shop for a cleavage revealing swimsuit and an overpriced top to replace my now sad-looking white t-shirt, and I was set until my bags arrived. Did you know the gift shop charges $10 for disposable razors, the kind that rip your skin to shreds? Sheer robbery.
Lucky girl that I am, my bag arrived early - I got the call at 12:05am Monday morning that my luggage had arrived!!!
I can't tell you how great it is to have your own stuff. Really and truly. Also, after paying so much money, I admit I didn't feel too bad that the gentleman who was "looking out" for my stuff had to go shopping himself.
However, there were a few dark clouds marring the perfect princess experience... lost luggage. And all things being what they are, of course, it wasn't a simple case of the airlines messing up - Oh No, it was much worse.
I left for Tucson early Saturday morning, parked the car at an off-site lot, and grabbed a shuttle in to the airport. Feeling lucky because I was able to upgrade to first class - I sashayed through the special first class security line (who knew! that's almost worth the full price fare right there!) and on to the plane.
Made it to Tucson and down to baggage claim. No bag. What? It was a direct flight!
Off to the resort, where I was SUPPOSED to wear a cute outfit for the evenings cocktail party. A call to the airlines indicated that the bag wouldn't arrive until the next morning. Rats.
Checked my messages later in the evening, guess what, they had my bag! Yay!
Not so yay. They delivered the wrong bag, unless of course I happened to pack a bunch of middle-aged men's clothes...
Spent over an HOUR on hold trying to talk to a live person - a freakin' hour! I had to plug my cell phone in to the outlet (inconveniently placed near the floor), because my battery was quickly draining. While hunched on the floor, I has the opportunity to catch up on the latest antics of The Girls Next Door. Whoopee.
Guess what else? It turns out it wasn't the airlines that had messed up - they had already spoken to the middle-aged guy and figured out what had happened - HE had my bag. Not only that, but he realized he had my bag BEFORE he left Seattle to head down to Monterrey, CA.
Apparently, our bags were practically identical, and we each took the wrong bag off the shuttle, when we were coming in to the airport at the crack of dawn.
Worried that my stuff would get lost at the airport, he decided to take my bag with him, to keep an eye on it. Not only that, but he wasn't willing to bring it to the San Francisco airport, where the airline would be happy to forward my bag for no charge. He was in Monterrey, and hour away.
FU*K!!!!!
He wasn't coming back to town until the day before I was due home to Seattle. Imagine, 6 days in the same bloody outfit. I had a great dress I was determined to wear, so I had to think of something quick.
Here's what I learned: FedEx has a great SameDay service they offer. Yes it comes at a premium... but desperate measures for desperate travelers. By about 11pm, I had it arranged that FedEx would pick-up my wayward bags early on Sunday, and have it to my room by Monday morning. Only $350 (I think. Haven't recieved the final bill yet.)
A quick visit to the overpriced gift shop for a cleavage revealing swimsuit and an overpriced top to replace my now sad-looking white t-shirt, and I was set until my bags arrived. Did you know the gift shop charges $10 for disposable razors, the kind that rip your skin to shreds? Sheer robbery.
Lucky girl that I am, my bag arrived early - I got the call at 12:05am Monday morning that my luggage had arrived!!!
I can't tell you how great it is to have your own stuff. Really and truly. Also, after paying so much money, I admit I didn't feel too bad that the gentleman who was "looking out" for my stuff had to go shopping himself.
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
First Day of Spring
I saw the sign today... the one that indicates Spring is here:
On my way into work this morning, I drove past a guy doing some exterior painting.
On my way into work this morning, I drove past a guy doing some exterior painting.
Thursday, March 08, 2007
Funny Phone Call
Okay, so it takes someone in the color world to think this is funny - but - we received a phone call earlier this week from a customer who wanted to speak to Donald Kaufman. At our store. Like he was a Daly's employee.
Get it? THE Donald Kaufman??
Alright, if you are looking at this entry, saying to yourself "Huh? WHO is she talking about, and why is that so funny???", let me explain.
Donald Kaufman has made a name for himself as being a color GOD. He deals in full-spectrum colors and he sells his special formulations for a premium price. He's good at keeping them exclusive, too. Plus he's published some very tasty books on full-spectrum colors.
So, the staff got a kick when the call came in. How flattering to think he might be one of us!
Here's the real Donald: http://www.donaldkaufmancolor.com
Get it? THE Donald Kaufman??
Alright, if you are looking at this entry, saying to yourself "Huh? WHO is she talking about, and why is that so funny???", let me explain.
Donald Kaufman has made a name for himself as being a color GOD. He deals in full-spectrum colors and he sells his special formulations for a premium price. He's good at keeping them exclusive, too. Plus he's published some very tasty books on full-spectrum colors.
So, the staff got a kick when the call came in. How flattering to think he might be one of us!
Here's the real Donald: http://www.donaldkaufmancolor.com
Friday, March 02, 2007
Color for Spring
Who needs to be so serious about color all the time? Look how fun punchy color can be!
Purple: C2's "Get Back Jack"
Pink: C2's "Venus Envy"
Yellow: C2's "Plantain"
Va-va-voom!
Monday, February 19, 2007
Horrified
Was watching HGTV (I thought I never watch those kind of shows, but apparently I do - once in a while!) yesterday while putting away groceries.
Here's what I saw - a room makeover for a young girl. She hated her country-style bookcase, she's a more modern young thing.
So the decorator paints out the bookcase, so far so good, right? WRONG! The decorator didn't even scuff sand the old finish, much less prime out the piece, before applying hip red paint. Guess what? That trendy red is going to look tacky in no time. The poor kid can end up scratching the paint simply by dragging a book across the surface. What happens if she accidentally bangs into the corner of it? She may even be able to PEEL off the paint in large strips if she sees a tempting corner just waiting for her bored little fingers to give a tug.
It will take SOOOOOOO much more work to strip the entire piece, prime it, then repaint it. I lay money that it would never happen, instead it will just sit there looking crappy until it gets junked.
Why put so much work into transforming a space but take stupid shortcuts?
Maybe "horrified" is too strong a word, but I felt bad about the stupidness of it all. And the fact that people will see this episode and think they can do it that way, too.
Here's what I saw - a room makeover for a young girl. She hated her country-style bookcase, she's a more modern young thing.
So the decorator paints out the bookcase, so far so good, right? WRONG! The decorator didn't even scuff sand the old finish, much less prime out the piece, before applying hip red paint. Guess what? That trendy red is going to look tacky in no time. The poor kid can end up scratching the paint simply by dragging a book across the surface. What happens if she accidentally bangs into the corner of it? She may even be able to PEEL off the paint in large strips if she sees a tempting corner just waiting for her bored little fingers to give a tug.
It will take SOOOOOOO much more work to strip the entire piece, prime it, then repaint it. I lay money that it would never happen, instead it will just sit there looking crappy until it gets junked.
Why put so much work into transforming a space but take stupid shortcuts?
Maybe "horrified" is too strong a word, but I felt bad about the stupidness of it all. And the fact that people will see this episode and think they can do it that way, too.
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