Color Inspiration Everywhere - My Trip to Pakistan

Some of you may know this about me. I love to travel and adventure to all kinds of places, often those offbeat and difficult to access. And although Dunitz & Company offers beautiful fair trade jewelry from Guatemala, my design choices are often inspired by things I see a million miles away from where I work. Point in case. Earlier this month I traveled to Northern Pakistan with a group of friends.  From the streets of Lahore to the apricot blossoms of Hunza Valley, I was inspired by the colors I saw everywhere.

The Wazir Khan Mosque (Lahore, Pakistan) is a 17th century mosque that was commissioned during the reign of Moghul leader, Shah Johan. Much of the building has been restored and/or still boasts preserved mosaics and frescoes. How could one NOT be inspired by these wonderful colorful stones, tiles and paint. Our clients always love blue with jade. Add vibrant gold and terracotta and, yes, I've been inspired by Shah Johan's choices!







The Badshahi Mosque (sometimes referred to as the King Mosque) is probably the most visited site in Lahore. It's absolutely magnificent.  This grand structure was commissioned by Emperor Aurangzeb in 1671 and only took a couple of years to build. We visited early on a Sunday and there were several wedding contract signings in process. For the most part the men and women were grouped separately in different rooms of the mosque. We were allowed to watch. In fact, the families flocked to me and my (Thai) friends. They wanted to have photos taken with us. And they wanted us to take photos with them for our future pleasure too.  One father insisted that his daughter lift her veil so I could snap this photo. And talk about color. Salmon. Peach. Dark Pink. Gold. Yum. Now this IS inspiration!



Trucks. I went nuts for the Pakistani trucks and buses. These guys know how to decorate a moving vehicle. My friends had so much fun teasing me.  "Truck Truck Truck!"  Every time I saw another truck I salivated over the colors and the painting. They're glorious. Here's a detail from one. These grouped colors provide endless inspiration for...well....tens and tens of bead color combinations. Thank you, Pakistan.

And the women (of all ages) seemed to have amazing color sense. These women from Hunza Valley grouped all sorts of shades and tints of green, blue, red and pink together in ways I may have never thought of before.  And each one of them looks absolutely fabulous!









We met these sisters on a trail leading through the old village of  Passu.  Their uncle was our special tour guide for Hunza. And it turns out the young woman on the right is part of the Pakistani Olympic cycling team. There's no way you'd know she was a pro on a bike from this image. What we do know is that these women possess color savvy. My gosh. Look at how they combine pumpkin orange with rose, beige, pale yellow and black. I'm completely inspired by their color combinations.





So here's the thing. You may soon purchase the perfect piece of fair trade beaded jewelry or fused glass jewelry from Dunitz & Company. You'll know your new piece was beautifully crafted in Guatemala. And now you also know the colors may have been inspired by my trip to Pakistan. -ND