INDIGO BLUES

Indigo dye is the secret behind the gorgeous blues of Adire fabrics and the classic blue of Denim jeans. Ranging from Navy blues to intense cobalts, which are often tweaked to yield lighter shades, this dye has made many of our most beloved fabrics possible.

The blues of indigo dye are now such a part of our lives and cultures that its hard to believe there was a time when it was considered difficult to work with or indeed that there was a time when blue dyes were rare.

TANZANITE BLUES

Tanzanite is a very special gemstone. For starters, this blue beauty can only be found in Tanzania. It also has some serious colour superpowers. Tanzanite can have as many as 3 levels of colour. This means that a piece of Tanzanite can appear to be 3 different colours when turned to 3 different sides. Amazing!

It can appear blue, violet or reddish when viewed from different sides or under different lighting.

The lump of Tanzanite you see here has an alluring velvety colour. Its blue clearly has strong hints of violet. It’s not an illusion or photomanipulation. That’s just how Tanzanite does blue (sometimes anyway).

LAGOON BLUES

These blues were sampled from the piece of Turquoise you see here. Known famously as ‘Big Blue’, it is a great example of Turquoise that’s Lagoon blue in colour.

Turquoise is a semi-precious gemstone that’s adored by many. Treasured by ancient civilizations, it boasts a rich history, featuring in the jewellery and cultures of ancient Egypt, Persia, Turkey and the American Indians. It also occurs in a variety of blues and blue-greens.

Lagoon blue is quite popular with jewellery and textile designers. It makes for great jewellery (thanks to Turquoise) as well as stunning fabrics.

TURQUOISE

Now, these are the blues commonly associated the gemstone Turquoise. They are all lovely shades of blue-green sampled from the piece of Bisbee Turquoise you see here.

This shade of blue is quite unique because unlike most blues, it has warmth and it exudes liveliness. It instantly reminds us of the beach, sunshine and frothy waves. It’s a very cheerful colour. These are the qualities that have made it a popular colour for beach wear and accessories. It also has timeless appeal in the world jewellery design.

SKY BLUES

It’s easy to think you know all there is to know about sky blues. I’ve taken some license here to make you think again. At midday or mid-afternoon, the sky is a predictable shade of blues. However, something amazing happens at Sunrise and Sunset.

Painters have a way of capturing the nuances of colour interplay beautifully. I have sampled my sky blues from Akseli Kallela’s ‘Kilimanjaro at Sunset’ ( or ‘Kilimanjaro au coucher du soliel’ as it is titled in French).

Just as Claude Monet’s ‘Grainstacks in the Sunlight’ showed us Rose Quartz and Serenity, this painting by Kallela shows us the mixed blues of the sky at sunset. With hints of pale pink and violet, they are very pretty blues indeed.