About Me

A Short Introduction:

April 6, 2023

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Today marks five years exactly since I finished my training in Canada with Christine Scaman. There’s a certificate of completion with the date inscribed hanging on the studio wall which reminds me just how long this colorful journey of discovery has been underway. I celebrated yesterday with a video call to Christine after having enjoyed a periodic written correspondence in these intervening years. It felt a little like that moment in the movie “Julie and Julia” when Julia meets her pen-pal of years, Avis DeVoto- the happy moment of friends connecting when distance keeps you apart.  We had a lovely conversation, catching up on news of our lives and then delving into ideas and experiences in our business of color analysis and  confirming our mutual view of the importance of helping the people we are in contact with. The goal is not only finding a missing piece of the puzzle for our clients, but also seeing that piece adopted, placed so that it becomes useful to them in their pursuits. Creating the whole picture.

When the thought came to me to search the

internet for information about color analysis,

I had no idea if it was an idea whose time had

passed. As a seventeen year old, a group of

girlfriends, including my sister, had had a color

expert come visit our group to look at each of

us and tell us which of the four seasons we

belonged to. Because of my fair complexion,

blue eyes and darker hair, the determination

was made that I fit into the Winter group.

My sister, who tans more easily and leaned more

blonde, was a Summer. It really wasn’t anything

more than a fun activity to me with a piece of

useful information-black is a good color for me. 

That is, until it really didn’t feel so good after all.

Some years after that early analysis, I had been

married with a young family of my own. All too

quickly our lives changed as I found myself,

unimaginably, shopping at the mall for some-

thing black to wear for my husband’s funeral a few

days later. I had also recently discovered that I was gluten intolerant and my formerly bloated belly had healed. That, coupled with the stress and worry of his battle with cancer had left me many sizes smaller. Needing clothes that fit, I thought black would be appropriate, and so purchased many pieces, all revolving around that dark color. Though happiness* did return, the clothes lingered. After all, they were still in good shape and they were the right color. But they weren’t, and somehow I knew it and was searching for an escape from the expert’s opinion, maybe some new knowledge?

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*(I remarried not long thereafter, it’s quite literally the stuff of a Hallmark movie, but a story for another day)

Perhaps you have found yourself in a similar position, with a story unique to yourself, of course. The idea comes to you to explore, you find a bit of information and for a while, follow every lead you can find. My journey included attempts at self-identification and online analysis, both of color and of style. I took that information and began shopping ebay and thrift stores just to experiment with the results and assess how I felt in them. I was looking to feel like myself, but finding a stranger instead. I’d let this aspect of my life become low priority to other demands and had forgotten how to be comfortable and confident in the person I presented to the world. 

Knowing I needed more guidance, I kept up the search and learned of 12 Seasons and Sci/Art. The idea of more variation among the Seasons made sense to me. Then I saw advertised, an analyst was coming to a town only three hours away. Excitedly, I booked and met her a few months later. It was such a clarifying, eye-opening experience, seeing the dramatic difference the various colors had interacting with my skin. I couldn’t believe it. How could I look so tired or oddly colored in some drapes, and then see myself looking fresh and healthy and even attractive- the best version of me- in others? I wasn’t a Winter at all, rather one of the neutral Seasons, a Light Summer. It was all so exhilarating, and immediately that day, as my husband drove back to our home, I thought, “I wish everyone could have the same experience!”

It still took some time before I plunged into training, there was so much other life I was living:

My new husband

Six amazing children and two more step-children with my marriage- living in Australia, and so…

Travel to Australia

Homeschooling and mentoring

Children studying in Europe, and so…

Travel to see them

Sailing

Piano and piano teaching

A move and House Building…

Through it all, the thought never escaped me

about how impactful knowing my correct colors is

and the desire to help others find theirs was strong.

(And, I thought that unlike a good number of piano

students, people would come for color because they

wanted to, not because their parents made them!) 

My ambition when I trained five years ago was to

gradually build up a business. Several years of Covid

in-between certainly did slow the process. Even so,

I’ve seen so many people by now, of all different ages

and stages in life, and can say that the process works

and is impactful. (Remember my “Summer” sister? She turns out to be a gorgeous Dark Winter woman) I’ll tell you more in coming blog posts-there’s always more to a story, and there are stories and learning from the people I’ve met along the way. I really could only imagine this possibility five years ago (based on my own experience) and go forward trusting the process. 

Time working with people has made this truth stunningly obvious: When a person wears the right colors for him/herself, there is magic- where the whole really is greater than the sum of the parts. If you would like to find that for yourself, please reach out, I’d be glad to meet you and go through the process of discovery together.

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~Heidi