Dear Inquisitive Stranger,

Would you rather live in a world without:

a) music?

b) colour?

Well, it is not supposed to be easy to answer.

I deliberate over this question, inspired by the saturation of colour in which I am immersed. Today, I am writing this letter in a world where colour reigns and carries the observer to other realms.

This is a huge slice of wedding cake at the Beverly Hills Hotel.

A manicure in the bubblegum world of 1950s Americana.

It’s a Pink Ladies gossip before a drive-in movie date with the T-Birds in the car park of the Grand Budapest Hotel.

I have fallen into the Californian sunshine of a David Hockney painting, splashing down into his ‘Bigger Splash’.  

I’ve gone big on the metaphors.

It is 9pm at the Pink Pool Cafe and, like the acrylic layers of stillness rollered onto Hockney’s pop art canvas, the atmosphere is tranquil. Abruptly, like the momentary splash of the painting’s unseen diver, serenity is punctured by the gurgle and whistle of steam from the coffee machine.

 

Colour, the great story teller, makes a robust appearance here. The dreamy colour palette of cobalt blue, ultramarine and powdery pink create a fantasy of sun and leisure. I am sat under a poolside umbrella imagining a glittering pool to escape the midday heat. Except there is no heat. This is Seoul in November so wrap frosty fingers around burdock tea and warm my insides with this pink den of youthful optimism. I discern there really is a great deal of pink at the Pink Pool Cafe. Who saw that one coming?

Colour is light and light is invigorating, so too is my tea which energises my chilled body, however lacks any real taste bud pizzazz. The rainbow neon lighting packs a greater sensory punch. With it’s early 90s vibe, this would be a great venue for a ‘Saved By the Bell’ reunion. The pink theme would certainly appeal to Slator who wasn’t afraid to go metro with this shade.

From the colour carousel, pink is picked for the team to calm emotional energy. So good at relieving negative feelings, it is painted on some prison walls to calm violent behaviour. I wonder if cells painted a shade of ‘Flamingo in Ballet Slippers’ have a more profound effect on hostile inmates than ‘Pig Blowing Bubblegum’? Yet, wardens be warned: research shows overexposure to this hue can bring about an adverse reaction. As an individual who finds some shades of pink tyrannically sickly, I can empathise with any person held in a blushing room. Yet many would disagree, happy to bask in the glory of it’s flushing glow. So why is pink, that controversial colour, capable of sparking colourful debate at any colourless dinner party? Simply put, colour has a cognitive influence on action and reasoning, yet no shade evokes the same response from everyone.

So let’s break this pigment down. Although not a pink connoisseur, I wonder what is pink, but a naughty reminder of seduction behind the bike shed? Virtuous White tickled taffy with a lustful kiss from Bit-Of-Crumpet Red. Perhaps I should be embracing this romantic Romeo with tender tendencies, after all, a bit of seduction can put anyone in the pink. Whether this colour renders you physically weak, as studies have proved, or makes you hallucinate pink elephants, maybe we should be taking our cues from this amorous shade.

So, Stranger dearest, I suggest we get out there in the pink. Slip into something salmon, be cheeky in cherry, look pleased-as-punch in peach, be a rascal in raspberry ripple, go courting in coral, be magnetic in magenta. Gran certainly believed in the magic of fuchsia lips to get the boys’ double glances. I certainly trust the advice of a person whose dance card was always filled.

Meanwhile, I shall work on my pink antipathy and cease trying to antagonise pink purists. I am off to a good start as the colour scheme at the Pink Pool Cafe has not been too aggressively nauseating to put me off my tea. The cotton candy ice cream slush on the menu however, might make things less rosy so I’m off to the back of the bike shed before overexposure renders me too weak for kissing.

Peace, love and cha cha cha.

Don’t behave!

Samantha

Pink Pool Cafe at Stylenanda Pink Hotel – Coffee morning for pink unicorns 

Chungmuro 2-ga, 66-2 Jung-gu, Seoul

Myeongdong station, line 4, exit 6

Monday to Sunday 11:00 – 23:00

 

Hey there colour fan! This letter was hidden in ‘Pink Pool Cafe’ for a stranger to find in the hope it will add a little colour to their day.

If you are a finder of the letter or this blog, it would be spiffy to hear from you. Please share your colour stories and discoveries. Perhaps you are the lucky person who gets to name paint or nail varnish colour. My eyes have turned a jealous shade of Chartreuse Olive.

Get in touch!

With a tint of impishness and gloss of fun,

Samantha