Packing up is always this wild ride of memories for me. I have this knack for hiding things that I know I’ll get at later, and then over the years completely forget about them. Crossing my fingers I can get my act together this next time. I came across these photos I took while on a winter vacation to France with friends in 2009. We somehow all made it there over our extended winter break during our senior years, and it’s become this kind of extreme running joke “oh, you know, that time we went to Paris for New Years…no big deal.” Hah. We definitely scored as far as finances went, having friends living abroad and getting tickets on the cheap in advance. We saved up so we could spend a couple nights in Montmartre and enjoy as many espresso shots as our hearts desired along our walking adventures before we headed to different destinations to spend the rest of our three weeks. I went off with Megan (france-hugger) to stay with her in a little town called Fougeres. She was teaching English there, and I was able to stay in her apartment during the week and take small weekend trips with her over the visit. I’ll just let you know that this part of the country was known for its salted caramel and hard cider. I was kind of in heaven. Local cuisine is one of my favorite things to experience when I’m on any kind of trip.

These photos brought up two things that I definitely am needing to get into again. One: taking actual photos. These were all taken—not very well, as you can see—on my old holga camera. It was the kind that could flash different colored lights to set the mood. Leave it to holga to have a mood-setting camera. Two: getting my butt back abroad. I’ve been feeling it for a while, but now that it’s been almost four years since my last trip. The itch is getting a little hard to bear. While I’m certainly a fan of France, I’m thinking I need to head somewhere a little different on my next trip abroad. Sydney? Amsterdam? New Zealand? I’m sure this won’t be happening any time soon, but it is fun to dream about. Does anyone have any favorite spots I should jot on my list?

PS, can you stand my duck face and blonde hair!? I had to include that one for a giggle. This was taken on a weekend trip to Renne where Megan and I stayed with her friend Thomas. We traded making him salmon crepes and espresso for a couch to sleep on. We did have to walk through an abandoned fun-fair to get to the crepe man, but I’d say the trade was well worth it in retrospect.

It’s been the month of all months, really, and it’s mostly been about hanging in there. It’s been about tying up loose ends at school and at work, and solidifying plans for the future. Eep! I finished writing my thesis, created the visual, and I officially became an MFA! I still feel like I’m in a flurry of emotions, but I’m so proud to know that I stuck through grad school, and I couldn’t be happier about where I’m heading. This month was really just the icing on the cake. In June I get to eat the cake ;) I really love cake. Annnnd I might have had more than one pina colada in celebration of the end of this month. Just maybe.

Cheers to a whole new adventure in June. It will really be something, and I can’t wait to take you on this journey with me. xo

After taking this little break, today I finally felt the need to get back on here and share a little of what has been going on as far as the thesis went. As many of your know, blogging has been a huge influence on my creative life, and I wanted to start with this bud of inspiration and see where it would grow. After thinking through how it’s effected my life, and looking to others, and a lot of research in-between, the concept of the kuratir application was born. I created a video to show the basic premis for the application:

For the design of the application and materials, I wanted to take the Pinegate Road green and use it as the main color for this application, as the spark for this was drawn from my personal blogging. From there, I wanted to use the circle in as many ways as possible. The logo is a manipulated version of Gotham Rounded. I loved that the circles could integrate themselves into the logotype. The logo works for both male and female audiences, as well as for designers and non-designers alike.

Much of the premis of kuratir is built upon the fact that our everyday experiences are what create the inspirations and new meaning in our lives—that’s what can inspire our creative endeavors. For the logo I played around with circles, manipulating them into free-form patterns to create a natural element out of complete geometry. It shows how these daily experiences can be singular at the beginning, but grow to create new meaning and great work as you go through the process. It also shows how the process can sometimes be the work of art itself—kind of how this blog is an ever-growing and changing venue for my process, but it an entity in and of itself all at the same time. I find so much beauty in the process, and I wanted the logo to show that essence.

While this is creates a nice foundation to grow upon—oh pun!—I would love to hear your thoughts. I have yet to delve into the user experience side of things too much, so your thoughts and opinions will really be what pushes this forward. Does this seem like something you would like to use as a creative? Is there something missing that you think you’d need? I’d love to hear it all! I’m hoping to work on this over the next year and hopefully have something to send off to kickstarter to make this really come to life. Helping people find their optimal creative potential is something I feel really strongly about, and while there are some strides made here, it’s really up to you to let me know where you think this needs to head.

If it weren’t for you and this space you’ve helped support, this really wouldn’t have been possible. Thanks again to all those who participated in the survey a couple months ago, and to those who have been giving feedback along the way. It’s amazing to see how this all has grown and changed along the way.

xo

Color studies were kind of made for moments like this. Perfect for a time when you need a little creative exploration, but quick enough to not get in the way of what you really need to focus on.

Heading off to set up my thesis visual in a couple hours!

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This. Saturday. The thesis show is coming up so soon, I can hardly believe it. I’m deep into the creation of my visual, and having such a fun time making my first little video. I have the vocals and music mixed, and the past few days I’ve spent designing and filming. I thought I’d share a couple of stills from the video that I’m making.

This process was a total “do the best with what you have” kind of scenario. I love my camera and the quality of photos that I can get with it, but it doesn’t have a video setting. Big problem when you’re trying to make a video, huh? Along with the help of a remote control, and some super quick toe tapping, I’ve been able to create a stop-motion video that has the quirk and quality of imagery that I was hoping for. If I had the video setting, I probably wouldn’t have made this into a stop-motion video, and after having about 75% complete, I can say that that’s what completely makes this come to life. I love me some happy accidents!

Look for a post next week with the video and a run-down of the entire visual. I’m pretty excited to share this with you all, as blogging was a HUGE inspiration when it came to my thesis. You are all some special people, so thank you for joining me on this journey.

xo

This post is a long-time coming, but I didn’t want to jinx anything by writing about this before it was officially official. These past couple months I have been on a whirl-wind of a job search, which has been full of opportunity, but full of complete highs and lows at the same time. Mixing that with finishing up school, computers dying, and tying up lose ends with my job in Savannah before I graduate, I’ve been more of a mess than I’d like to admit. As of today I signed my paperwork, and also put a hold on a new apartment in…Cleveland! I’ll be heading back to my roots on Lake Erie, but starting a whole new adventure at American Greetings as a designer on their stationery team. I couldn’t be more thrilled to have this opportunity to do something I truly love day-in and day-out. It’s a true blessing.

I can’t wait to start on my new adventure, and I’m so thankful to all of those that have supported me along this journey. It sure has been full of jumps and bumps,  but there are so many of you—family, friends, boyfriend, professors, readers, and many more—that are getting huge cyber hugs from me right now. I’m a huge fan of positivity and you have all been there cheering me along this whole time, and giving me that much needed constructive feedback when necessary. Thank you.

Along with this new venture in my life, things are definitely going to start changing around here. Starting off, I’m letting myself off the hook with blogging until that thesis is personally handed in to the graduate studies department and I get those signatures from my committee. This just needs to be lower on my priority list for right now. As it’s intention, this space is all about my journey as a creative, so it’s bound to grow and get pruned here and there. I don’t know where things will be going, but I can feel that change is in the air.

Savannah darling, you will be missed.

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It’s back! The second installment of Iterative Inspiration: a collaboration between myself and Rashi of Bucket of Squash. This week we chose this photo of a deconstructed salad to inspire our outcome, found via Oh Joy!, in this issue of Sweet Paul.

What struck me first about this photo was both the transparency of the items in the photo as well as the spectacular light. I knew that I wanted to experiment with these two aspects for this project. Instead of working through with a mind map this time around, I did the first thing that came to my mind. I grabbed all the transparent items I could find around my apartment, held them up to a lit window and started snapping away in hopes of something striking. Annnnd, that totally happened.

At first I thought I was going to grab sections from the different colored transparent areas and make some kind of abstract collage. As I got to my sixth or so item, something pretty neat happened. In the hand-soap bottle I was photographing, suddenly there was the view from my window, abstracted and colorful and turned upside down. I know we’ve all done this with our spoons, but it was really neat to see this new view from my apartment window.

I started to look at what else I could photograph through this soap bottle. After a few rounds,  nothing seemed to match the quality of the photograph from out of my window. I realized that having the light from the window was necessary to get that crisp and beautiful upside-down reflection. So I went to the different doors and windows in my apartment and started to capture those different views. I ended up with three photographs that I thought captured the bright and beautiful essence of that first shot.

A couple of months ago I won this giveaway on Design Improvised, and I still had a couple frames left over that I was waiting to fill. This project was the perfect chance for me to use the frames—and if I got bored of them, I could simply change out the photos with new ones easily due to the awesome design of these frames. I’m pretty obsessed with how I’ve been able to use these all over my apartment and not have that fear that I’m permanently committing to something I might not like on my walls in a couple weeks. So, I went ahead and cropped the photos to a composition I was happy with, printed them, cut them out, and filled the frames. Easy peasy.

With crazy high ceilings here, I’ve been so weird with how to decorate. Now that I’m graduating in less than a month it’s a little too late to really figure out what to do about this, but it hasn’t stopped me from hanging art and trying to make it as cozy as possible for the rest of my time here. These photos made the perfect addition to the space above my desk. Best of all, wherever I’m off to next, I’ll be able to take little pieces of my experience here with me. I’m not the most sentimental person, but when I do take the time to make note of particular experiences, I’m always glad I did. I love that these bring in some bright color to my space, and will remind me to keep thinking and experimenting in different ways to keep those creative juices flowing.

Head on over to Bucket of Squash to see how Rashi was inspired and to see her project.

So I’m a little obsessed with this feature today—Pinegate Road has it’s first fashion designer feature! I’d like to welcome Liz Riden, fashion designer, blogger, and fellow Savannian. Liz and I first became acquainted when we were working for ban.do as a couple of their brand ambassadors this past fall. While we have yet to catch up in real life—weird—I love following her via instagram to take peeks into her fashion lifestyle and day-to-day inspirations. I feel like fashion is one of those things I like to dabble in, but Liz lives and breathes this stuff. It’s pretty inspiring! I hope you enjoy taking a look behind the scenes of fashion designer Liz Riden.

LIZ: I’m currently a junior fashion design major at SCAD, and working on developing my first full collection. I’m keeping myself busy with my job at the school’s art museum, planning my wedding, and illustrating on the side! I blog about fashion and art on The Modern Mademoiselle, and work as a Fashion Associate for Re: Magazine.

What gets you jazzed?

I really thrive when I’m around other creative people! There is something so inspiring and refreshing about being able to have a dialogue about art and design, and then infusing that into my own work.

Where do you go to find inspiration, and what are you inspired by?

When I’m truly stuck and can’t seem to get inspired, the first thing I do is turn off my computer and get out and do something. I find myself getting stuck in the rut of only getting inspiration online, and that isn’t always good. I love vintage hunting to look at design details and textiles, a good iced Americano, and digging through art and photography books.

When it comes to fashion, I’m always inspired by the 1950’s and very feminine styles. Right now, I can’t get enough of florals, both in my apartment and in prints.

Tell me a little about this project and how it was inspired:

I’m currently working on two different projects (three if you count planning a wedding…which I certainly do!). The first project is my new illustration Instagram, liz draws. My fiancé was the creative mastermind behind this idea, encouraging me to do sketches on my ipad that I could quickly share. As I’ve been sketching on my ipad, I’ve really been inspired by Irving Penn’s flower still life photography, and hope to develop my sketches into prints and notecards soon!

My second project is the beginning stages of developing my own apparel line! For my first collection, I really want to focus on color and texture and make each piece a statement of it’s own. For this, I drew a heavy amount of inspiration from Frida Kahlo and her work, especially focusing on bold color and floral details.

How has blogging effected your creative life, and vice versa?

I have found that it’s such a great outlet for me to share inspiration, thoughts on fashion/design, and have a voice. The best thing about blogging is that it’s like a creative journal for me to go back and see what I did, what inspired me, or how much I have grown since then. It also has been so essential and beneficial for networking within the fashion industry.

If you could give one tip to the rest of us, what would that be?

As a kid, my parents always told me “don’t be afraid of being awesome”, and that is something that has always stuck with me. No matter what field of study or career, it is so easy to get discouraged by what people may think, or what people are already successfully doing before you. This simple reminder has kept me motivated to make my own mark in the fashion industry, and keep striving to be my personal best.

Big thanks to Liz Riden for sharing a look into her creative life today! Check out more on Liz at The Modern Mademoiselle.

Happy Monday everyone. 

With Mother’s Day less than two weeks away, I thought it would be a nice little treat to share a part of what I’m sending along to my mom this Mother’s day. Her favorite colors are pink and green, so as an ode to her, I lettered and created this Mother’s Day printable card and envelope template for all to enjoy. The card ends up a cute little 3″ x 3″ piece that you can use to send some love. Best of all, both the card and envelope print on one 8.5″ x 11″ piece of paper, so all you have to do is print, fold, tape up, and send! Simple? Simple.

DOWNLOAD THE TEMPLATE HERE

I picked up this scoring board a couple months ago, and it has seriously been a life-saver for all kinds of crafts lately. It just takes everything you fold, and gives it that professional touch. I suggest you get one for your design arsenal—this is the one I use. Scoring is seriously addicting, hah.

Next, fold up the envelope and tape it up. You could also use a sticker, or any kind of glue on the inside. I just have a washi tape fetish, so, you know. Also—the template that you print is not distressed like this. For some reason the paper I used for this was not a great match for my printer/ink, and as I handled the card and envelope, it started to wear off and give it this distressed look. I kind of liked it, so I just went with it. Just a note that yours might not have that same quality.

Et voila! Use your prettiest handwriting to write the address, slap on a cute stamp, and you’re ready to send!

Happy early mother’s day to all you wonderful ladies — you too mom, duh! Love you :)

I hope you all have a lovely weekend and get to enjoy something that this month of May deserves. A Barbeque perhaps? I’ve been experimenting with oven-made ribs lately. I’m such a wuss when it comes to grills, hah.

I didn’t even take nine whole pictures this April—how’s that for busy? Hah. This month has been a little insane, although with all the crazy definitely comes some fun. I managed to unlock my bike from the stairs in the courtyard and went for a ride around Tybee this past weekend. I accidentally threw out the keys to the lock almost a year ago, and kept putting off fixing that issue. It was perfect weather, and a little escape like that was definitely needed, so I’m glad I honkered down and did that. Honkered is a word, right? Ok.

Most of all, I’m still trucking through with thesis and deciding on my future plans. Forget all that mush about things riding steady from last month—the volume has definitely turned up. These next couple weeks I’ll be in crazy working mode, and that means…power tools! Hoping I can hang in there and make it through in one piece—and with a masters degree in tow ;) That still seems weird to think about, honestly. When I check back in again in June, this will all be over. Terrifying and so exciting all at the same time.

I hope you’re all having a wonderful start to your spring. My allergies are finally gone—whoot! Midwest snow havers, I’m so sorry that mother nature has been turning on you. Hang in there friends. I’m sending vibes that sandals and maxi dresses are on their way. Does anyone have any big plans for the rest of this spring, or something you’re looking forward to for this summer? I feel like we can all at least start to see some of those things peeking their head around the corner. I’m excited to sit by a pool and read and galavant to farmer’s markets. That’s what summers are made of in my mind.