Merry mistakes

For the last few weeks I have been working on a college design project to create a light - right from the very start I had a strong vision of using yarn in the project and what the final product would look like....but through the process of making the light, I uncovered several design issues that I just could not resolve. I didn't want to just give-up on this idea because I would somehow feel like I had failed, but I just could not see my way out. Chatting to my tutor, I realised that it's actually okay to come-up with ideas that don't work, but not to be knocked back by them and to keep going. "Creativity requires activity" (The Artists Way, Julia Cameron)...and sooner or later I will come-up with something that's pretty special. It's all part of the design process and being a designer.

So with this in mind, I'm going back to the drawing board to consider other ideas....this time with using paper as my main material. My tutor had suggested I take a look at the work of Lu Shengzhong, and boy am I glad she did....what a visual treat!

What I love most about his art, is that craft sits at the very core of it. From the ancient craft of paper-cutting - a small, delicate paper cut is transformed into incredibly elaborate and stunning sculptures and scenes. I think he's fast becoming a favourite of mine...

Another fabulous artist whose work I admire is Heath Nash, a South African whose innovative use of paper and other recycled products is truly inspirational. I love how he started exploring his creativity with just the most basic of materials: paper, glue, tape and staples, and was then able apply what he learnt through this process onto other materials. My favourite of all his work is his flower ball light.

The wire structure and every flower (all 240!) is entirely handcrafted...now that's what I call a labour of love! The results are simply stunning and I want one!

Reading his website, I was very encouraged by what he wrote: "Every ‘mistake’ I have made in the past was not a mistake at all, but rather a way to understand the making of things better. Through this understanding of creativity, I acknowledge the importance of my work-process as being almost more important than the end product itself in many ways". With this knowledge I'm more that happy to keep making mistakes if it means that I can use what I've learned to become a better designer one day!

Inspirational women

When Kate Winslet won her Best Actress Emmy Award, the person she thanked most effusively was her mum...hearing her acceptance speech got me thinking about my own position...and in fact how lucky I am to be blessed with not one but two wonderful mums in my life (my own mum and my mother-in-law)!

Mum's dedication to looking after her family and always putting the needs of others before her is nothing short of amazing. Mum's there for me no matter what.

Whilst, my mother-in-law is different in many ways, she is such an inspiration to me...whatever life throws at her, she carries on with positivity, humility and grace. She's always so supportive of me and also makes tremendous soups!

I hope that I can absorb all the remarkable influences that these two amazing women bring to my life and be a great mum to my boys.

Love you mums!

ps. I'll save inspirational men in my life for another day!

Lovely balls of happiness

These days I feel like I'm never out of John Lewis' haberdashery department either buying craft supplies or drooling over getting inspiration from the gorgeous array of yarns for sale. Anyway, last Monday was no exception...we finished-up early at college so it was a perfect opportunity for me to pop in to JL's to get some ideas for my college design project. I had made-up my mind on using yarn to create a light shade...but the decision was what yarn to go for? After scanning the shelves for ideas I clapped eyes on THE most exquisite ball of yarn that I'd ever seen by a company called Noro. I know I fall in love easily with colourful pretty things, but this was definitely love at first sight! Just by looking at this yarn, I could see that a lot of love and care had gone into it's making. Every strand of this vibrant, beautiful yarn has a satisfyingly un-uniform, knobbly handmade quality.

Captivated, I wanted to find out more about the company and did a search on google as soon as I got home. The Japanese company was founded by Eisako Noro over 30 years ago. A man inspired by the world of nature, with a passion for colour and a dedication to creating yarns by hand as much as possible...this really was something rare and special in this high-tech, machine-manufactured age. On top of that, the company has a distinctly green approach to manufacturing...what more can I say? Mr. Noro you're a LEGEND!

Needless to say, my mind was made-up there and then, I just had to use this yarn for my project...I just hope I do it justice!

The new look blog is here!

YAY YAY YAY!!!! The blog redesign is finally complete (for now)...can you tell I'm happy? Apart from a few wee technical glitches, everything seems to be running a-ok and I'm so so pleased with how it looks, even if I say so myself! As a blog novice, I'm aware that there's still so much I need to learn and work on to get it looking TOTALLY perfect for my liking...and given that I'm a change-freak, I'm sure this blog will probably go through several design incarnations in its lifetime :)

Aside from the blog design, I have been busy getting into my furniture craft college work. Our first design assignment is on creating a light....

Can you see a bit of a theme here?...yes, I love origami paper, lanterns, colour, patterns and yarn...

I'm so inspired by these colourful Chinese lanterns...wouldn't you just love to have them all hanging in your garden or home?

I also came across The most gorgeous light designed and made by the uber cool dutch company Tas-Ka They are so so talented, my only wishes are 1) that one day when I grow-up I can be as talented as them 2) I'd thought of it myself!

I look forward to unveiling my creation soon...

Paper love

There's been so much going on this week, I've barely paused to take a breath! Although I've been desperate to get started on doing-up some of my furniture with my luscious new stock of Annie Sloan Paints, I've had to put that on hold for now as I've been busy re-designing the look of my new blog and web shop (soon to be unveiled!!). It's taken me an age to finally work out the "look" that I'm going for, and as I'm no tech whizz, I've employed the help of the lovely girls from Life Made Lovely to help me with the process. I've always had a love for Oriental print and I just had to find a way to incorporate it into the design, so imagine my delight when I came across a forgotten stash of origami paper I had tucked away in my craft draw...bingo!

I find myself just a little bit obsessed with this stuff and I couldn't help but home in on the origami section of the Artstore when I was recently in there picking-up a sketch pad for college (...oh yeah, did I mention I also started a course on furniture craft this week?!!)

It's funny how a 4 inch square of paper can bring me so much joy...