ANNE ROSELT
Bringing joy through colour

Anne Roselt, Colour Manager of Plascon, part of the Barlow's Group, is a woman who has created her own position at the largest paint company in South Africa, following her love of colour and its potential to bring joy and healing to people's lives.

"I believe in the powers of healing with colour,"says Anne, as she relaxes in her office the very picture of health herself in a deep purple sweater, set against an office in three shades of blue.

"Here at Plascon, I work closely with architects and they are now beginning to see the effect of colour on the environment, and letting people take ownership of it."

Anne, who has always loved art was pushed towards academics following school, finally majoring in economics and marketing at Pietermaritzburg University. Her first job at Reckett and Coleman entailed marketing Haze air freshener, another of the senses which Anne feels is used for mood enhancing.

It was when Anne joined Plascon's marketing department however her love of painting came into being."I became very interested in their bi-annual paint techniques courses and was soon totally hooked. I decided that more needed to be done with these workshops and became involved with Magaret Wasserfall at Garden and Home in 1992."

Leaving Plascon to have her second child, Anne enjoyed two years of putting her artistic skills into play with international painting contracts through Angel Interiors of London that took her to paint technique jobs in King Hussein's Palace, in Jordan, Nova Scotia, to Bahrain to paint the Emir's palace, Kensington Palace Gardens, and South Africa's own Blue Mountain Lodge."I love painting, it is how I learnt about colour and this was where I became passionate about colour. One can transform a room; it can make you feel differently."

On her return to South Africa, Anne rejoined Plascon."I created my own job here,"laughs Anne."Colour has so much meaning so this is the perfect job for me. I am now exploring the healing qualities of colour and am very involved in Colour Therapy. At present I have a diploma in Colour Therapeutics, and did a further diploma course in Colour Counselling and healing. This field fascinates me and I plan to invest more of my time in one to one person research."Healing with the senses, is the medicine of the future, be it colour, sound therapy, smell, touch as in massage and even taste…our bodies senses are really a gateway for healing."

As Colour Manager of Plascon, part of Anne's job entails international travel to conferences by trend gurus where she gathers valuable information. Anne is also a member of the International Colour Marketing Group, an elite group of people who annually forecast which colour to market that year as a collective"There is no point in us saying that pink is the new in-colour when all the fashion houses are promoting orange - this would confuse people. Colour needs to work together across all the industries, be it décor, fashion, or appliances."

Anne is also instrumental in producing Plascon Colour, an annual publication to the industry as well as a monthly internal newsletter to teach people about the full spectrum of colour. She is involved in magazine articles and supplements which educate audiences on colour and works on Plascon's Colour cards, fan decks and architects kits.

Every year, Anne launches Plascon's Colour Palette. Plascon Colour Palette 2005 guides one to the indulging, nurturing, illuminating, invigorating nature of colour."This fashionable colour range is based on international colour trend forecasts and tailored by our colour specialists to suit the South African environment."

Anne's advice to people is to not be afraid to experiment with colour,"Paint one room and experience it and then see for yourselves the effect of the colour on you", says Anne. "All it takes is practise. Colour is a very personal experience, learnt from years of association to it, by working with it, one becomes aware of how important it is in your life."