Elegant Halloween Has Arrived — And Kiki Colors Went Black

Kiki Hamann
2 days ago
2 min read

Something rather unexpected happened in the studio.

Kiki Colors went black.

If you have followed my work for a long time, you know how unusual those words are. My world has traditionally been filled with soft pinks, florals, creams, watercolor washes and all the little romantic details I have loved for years.

And then Halloween arrived.

Not the bright orange, novelty kind of Halloween. I kept imagining something older. A little Victorian. A little theatrical. Romantic and beautiful, but with moonlight instead of sunshine.

And slowly, Elegant Halloween by Kiki Colors came to life.

There are enormous witch hats trimmed in antique lace and dusty roses. Ravens sit beside glowing lanterns. Old castles disappear into the night. Pumpkins glow beneath full moons. There are books, potions, candlelight and tiny characters who seem to have stories of their own.

And there is black.

Lots of it.

Black velvet. Black lace. Black ceramic. Deep midnight backgrounds that make the antique gold, dusty rose, ivory and candlelight glow.

It may be the darkest collection I have ever created — and somehow it still feels completely like me.

Perhaps because underneath all that darkness is the same thing that has always mattered in my artwork:

Details are love.

The collection begins with a small group of illustrated worlds and characters.

There is Spellwork 101, where three very serious little witches appear to be studying considerably more interesting subjects than we ever did in school.

The Three Little Witches have taken over their beautifully cluttered Victorian world of books, brooms and moonlit magic.

The Apothecary is filled with mysterious bottles, old books and the sort of brewing I suspect should not be attempted without supervision.

There is The Little Warlock, wonderfully overdressed for whatever trouble he is planning, and The Little Gentleman, our impeccably mannered little vampire.

And then came the witches with names.

Cordelia, the Yorkie Witch.

Adelaide, the Maltese Witch.

And glowing orange Ophelia, the Pomeranian Witch, who looks as though autumn itself decided to become a dog.

The main pieces are our wonderfully soft 50 × 60 Sherpa blankets, designed almost like large pieces of illustrated art for the home. I also created just a few coordinating 16-inch pillows, because sometimes a room needs a little bit of the story without needing the entire story.

And finally, something I particularly love: our first large 15 oz black mugs.

Cordelia and Adelaide do not simply repeat around them. Their illustrations turn into panoramic scenes, with the character on one side and the moonlit landscape continuing around the mug. Even my signature is tucked quietly into the darkness in gray for the collectors who know to look for it.

I deliberately kept this collection small.

Halloween has a wonderfully short season, and I wanted Elegant Halloween to feel curated rather than endless — a little cabinet of curiosities rather than an aisle of seasonal merchandise.

So if you have known Kiki Colors for years and arrive at the shop wondering what on earth happened to all the light…

Don’t worry.

I’m still here.

I simply turned off a few lamps and lit the candles instead.

Welcome to Elegant Halloween by Kiki Colors.

Details are love.

[Shop Elegant Halloween]

Hugs,

Kiki