orla kiely

If you've visited this blog or my website anytime lately you know of my love for prints, patterns, and color. Funnily enough, however, my wardrobe is almost void of all three of those things at the moment. I used to dress in bright colors, layering all sorts of crazy patterns; but I've found that my style has gotten significantly more simple over the last few years (ie: boring). That's why I love these Orla Kiely pieces. There is just enough color with a balance of neutrals and some fun patterns over simple silhouettes. Just what I need to spice up my otherwise ho-hum attire. And how great do those Fall pieces above transition into the Spring/Summer looks below? 

forward in 2014

Just like everyone else this week, I have spent some time reflecting on the year past and thinking about the one ahead. I liked the idea I've seen around the web of choosing one word to focus on this year instead of creating a list of lofty goals or resolutions. One word feels more attainable as well as more intentional, that word should be something that sort of encompasses all of your goals and hopes for the year. So after tossing around a few different words for my 2014, I have chosen FORWARD.

There are a lot of reasons why I think the word forward is appropriate for me for the upcoming year but most importantly it is because it is the direction I want to constantly be moving. If 2013 was for big changes, embracing opportunities and for learning to be quiet still while letting the Universe sort of speak to me, than 2014 is for grabbing my future with two anxious hands and running full speed ahead. Forward means I have no time to dwell in the past, to let anxiety or fear over-take me, because I am moving far too quickly for that. Forward means I am packing light and moving on. Clutter and non-essentials will not fit in my carry-on so they're just going to have to be left behind. Forward means my husband and I will be making big plans and taking on some big new adventures. Forward means motion in the physical sense to, creating more momentum and activity in my day-to-day routine to help keep me healthy and balanced while keeping up with this pace. Forward means instead of getting bogged down in the day-to-day details of life and letting them fill my time, I will devote more time to focus on what I want my future to look, feel, and sound like. I will take intentional steps to work towards that future. Two-thousand fourteen will be a good year, a year in motion.

I feel like I've taken a big step towards this goal already with the launch of my new site and am ready to take a few more steps forward into this big, brand-new year.

*I found great inspiration for choosing my 2014 word and for this post from here, here, and here.

photo from our trip this summer to the NC Outer Banks and design by me.

forming thoughts and making work

I've been doing a lot of reading lately about the process of design, not actually designing, but just the way we go about thinking, drafting, planning, and creating in the design world. Way too often I get wrapped up in having so much to accomplish, so many projects to finish that I don't really allow myself the time to just think about the design. My mind goes on autopilot, pulling inspiration from god knows where, and I end up churning out a design I am only halfway pleased with. The articles and posts I've been reading lately have inspired and challenged me to go about this whole process differently. To put the time into letting inspiration grow organically so your results don't feel like a hodge-podge of ideas you've seen somewhere before; and to just think about the early steps of design as being just as important as that moment when you sit down at the computer to execute an idea. I feel like this way of processing information and inspiration will also lend itself to a little more balance between life and work. I have a hard time processing inspiration I encounter on a day to day basis because I'm so rushed to instead be working, but now I plan on giving a little more breathing room to the simple acts of idea creation, sketching, and reflection.

Here are the readings that I am referring to, see if you can find the quote that I did the design below from.

AIGA: Beyond Craft & Tools

Inspiration vs. Imitation

The Fresh Exchange

Also a great video interview with Paula Scher.

What are your thoughts on finding inspiration, waiting for ideas to strike, and getting to work on any of your creative endeavors?

raw color

I'm back to my preferred palette of soft neutrals and pastels.  I would love to play hide and seek in this curtain of fabric scraps by Raw Color.

inspired: for the walls

Lovely wall hangings by Justine Ashbee.

thiebaud: land and figure

So inspired by the color schemes in these Wayne Thiebaud paintings.  I love the way the figures almost completely match the landscapes even though they were painted decade apart.  And those girls just look so damn cool, don't they?

1/Girl in White Boots, 1966
2/San Francisco West Side Ridge, 2002
3/River Cloud, 2002
4/Girl in Blue Shoes, 1968

palettes and projects

I am working on an exciting (and still secret) new venture with my sister and a good friend and I am finding loads of inspirations from these lovely color palettes.I can't wait to share more about this little project.

All amazing images from Color Collective.