i have grown into colour

after publishing my last post when i looked at my blog i had a revelation about myself . i have grown to like colour!
OK let me start from the beginning.
i grew up associating whites/ecru/beiges/taupes/greys with affluence and elegance. the slightly better off amongst my extended family were more often than not seen carrying this neutral colour palette with elan. that's probably how i became so stubborn about my choice of colours.
over the years i heard my girl friends asking me to experiment with colour but i never gave in. i stuck to whites and greys..i knew i could never go wrong with them. maybe that is another reason why i stuck to those colours. with limited means i could not afford to go wrong with colourful buys. these were the safe colours! when i joined design school i heard the word BAUHAUS for the very first time. there was no choice, i was surrounded by iconic imagery of "Form Follows Function" even though i was introduced to Memphis in the same classes. i took up textile design in my graduation. i trained my eye to look at white on white details, Kora silks and natural fibers..colour for me was unknown territory. at this time i was secretly jealous of this popular batch mate of mine who lived/ate/slept/wore/talked colour.
then i joined my first job.
it is here that i gradually started working with colour but i was still scared and very unsure every time i opened the thread shade card. i was working in close quarters with a french designer here. he is a sweetheart and i learn a lot from him including so much about using different colours together. my first job for me was like post graduate school. i was still learning new skills.
in my second job, i am a designer.
i can now work with colour effectively (i'm still scared but shh its a secret). whats more..i can finally talk colour. i now look for colour when ever i am travelling/shopping. i still haven't let go of the neutral palette that i grew up with, but what has emerged is a happy balance of the two. i love the whites but now i throw in dashes of colour to "perk it up", "make it fun", "lets make it young and happy"..aah the language of colour!