30th July ’17: Best gift, worst gift

Happy Sunday, colour-lovers.

Do you have a ‘most disappointing childhood gift’ experience? It’s ok – we’re all friends here, we won’t judge you. In the 70s, I was thrilled to unwrap an of-the-moment Shaker Maker toy, only to realise as my brother opened a Sindy doll that the gift tags must have been wrongly attached (I then petitioned hard to persuade him that he really DID need a doll to go with his Action Man but to no avail). Then there was the ‘best gift’ – a tin of 30 colouring pencils that turned into paints when you added water. I particularly loved the flesh-coloured one which meant I was finally able to draw the Queen wearing the St Edward’s Coronation Crown (my favourite pastime) looking like herself rather than her bleached, paper-coloured namesake, Elizabeth I. I still feel there’s nothing like a new set of colouring pencils for opening your world up to new creative possibilities (recent research reveals that almost one-third of U.K adults owns a colouring book so we’re all at it). Or to simply put them in a pot (like these @fabercastellglobal ones) and admire their colours that way. By the way, did you know that ‘pencil’ comes from the Latin ‘penis’ (meaning ‘small tail’)? That’s something to think about next time you’re trying to keep inside the lines. Have a tip-top day.
Martha, The Colour File x

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