Name: El Kemming
Job title: Marketing Assistant Deco CE
Location: Sassenheim
Country: The Netherlands
Who is El Kemming?
I joined Sikkens b.v. in November 1979. I have worked in various departments over the years but mostly within marketing. I now support the marketing team of Decorative Paints Continental Europe, which mostly involves administrative tasks and projects.
Together with my partner Kees, I live in Noordwijk, a seaside resort on the North sea coast. For forty years I was an avid horse rider, but gave it up when I turned 50 and started to explore other hobbies. Kees and I love cycling and walking for instance – especially in Austria and Ireland, but also in our own country. I also like reading detective stories and novels. A few of my all-time favorites are ‘The Country Girls’ by Edna O’Brien (1960) and ‘Chéri’ by Colette (1912).
What does color mean to you at work?
Even though I don’t literally work with color, I am the person that answers customers’ queries on color on the Sikkens web site. I ensure that I find out all they need to know and/or I bring them into contact with the relevant parties at AkzoNobel. I was once contacted by a Dutch architect working for the Van Gogh Museum for advice about a color palette. He had been approached by the Neue Galerie in New York to give them color advice. I like the fact that we were able to help him help a gallery in New York as this demonstrates how I can help ‘add color to people’s lives’ and make people more aware of our range of products.
…and outside of work?
My home is pretty modern; all the walls and ceilings are white, with grey or black accessories and furniture. I like the industrial character of glass, steel and aluminum. Once in place, there is no need to change these materials, you can combine them with almost anything. I have very colorful curtains (a mixture of red, black, grey, yellow and bright blue). But there came a day when I was fed up with them so I went to the upholsterer to buy white curtains. I knew exactly what I wanted: white curtains. A week later the upholsterer came by with my new curtains. So imagine my surprise when I looked at them outside in the sunlight and saw they were pink! It goes to show how subtle color can be. The fabric really looked white in the shop... A week later I decided to replace them with my old, colorful curtains again. I just don’t like pink. And my old curtains are a perfect match for my bright blue sofa.
What is your all-time favorite color and why?
My favorite color is white. It is nice and bright and you can combine it with anything. It gives a room a spacious feel and it looks pure. I have liked this color since I got my first home. White was up-and-coming then; and all my furniture was white; the chairs, the sofa, the cupboards. It’s very nice, but don’t look at how the color changes over the years and it really shows the dirt. Kees’ favorite color is red. Because it’s my hair color, he says.
If you could choose one color that most closely matches your personality, what would it be and why?
Red. It’s the color of my hair. When I was young I didn’t like being the only redhead around. But my mother used to console me by saying: “When you turn 16 you can dye your hair.” So the moment I turned 16 I went to the hairdresser, and since it was the time of punk rock, I dyed my hair blue. Well, it turned out to be red and blue. My parents were not amused. And it took months before it grew out!
I have also been to the ‘Red Head Day’, an annual Dutch summer festival for people with naturally red hair. But it also focuses on the color red in art. There were 8,000 people there. I didn’t know there were so many different types of redheads!