How I Find Inspiration Outside of the Internet
I've been talking about working on new designs for wedding suites for... months now? Too long. I probably picked the worst time since we're deep into wedding season, but hey, there's never a perfect time for anything right? Well, I've been working on the easy part, gathering inspiration. So I'm happy to say that at least we have a general direction of where I am going with that.
Earlier this week I shared a peek at what inspires me, outside of the internet, over on instagram. I wanted to continue the convo here since I felt like inspiration is one of the most common questions I get from people. With so many different aspects to my businesses, I think people are just curious in general in how I find it and organize it for different projects. While I have many different ways of organizing it for projects large and small (and am working on showing you a peek into that!), we'll stick to my sources for this post.
We all have our go-to Pinterest and Instagram. It's on our phones, our computers and our iPads... where we are 90% of the time! But I have found so much inspiration outside of that and feel like that is what has allowed me to develop a style of my own, and hopefully one that doesn't feel redundant in a saturated industry.
Magazines. I love having something in my hands and in front of my eyeballs. So being able to tear pages, make notes and tuck things away for when I need them is endlessly inspiring. I like to look at home/interior, fashion and local/travel magazines. Usually I'm not looking for images that are exactly what I am working on (for example, if i'm looking for inspiration for invitations, I am 100% never looking for invitations in a wedding mag). Instead, I gather color inspiration, texture, patterns and even the vibe I want the design to make someone feel... or a dream setting that it could be shot in.
Raw materials. Is it strange that I could spend hours in a hardware store? From wood grain to tile patterns to metal finishes on hardware, it's a bizarre, but useful library for me. And let's not even get into the garden department. But pulling the same elements as I mentioned above is a great way to get inspired for new projects.
Single-word notes. Sometimes it is helpful to write down single words when working on a new project and connect the dots later. Usually a general mood or theme will present itself and will define your works direction.
Painting + sketching. I've been making more of an effort to paint or draw just for fun. Even if you have a project in mind, it's good to get all of your ideas on paper. Good ones, bad ones, all of them. Just starting will get your creativity flowing. I know how hard it can be to sit down with one project in mind and a blank slate. So make without intention of actually using it, you never know what you'll come up with without those restrictions in mind.
And lastly, GET OUT. Like, get out of your house, your office, your city, the country (haha, just kidding, unless you can). Travel, go to a new restaurant, take a hike, drive down the coast... I love taking pictures of things along the way, finding design inspiration on a menu or packaging, or picking up an accessory that can inspire a new color palette. A lot of the times all you need is some time to clear your mind for inspiration to hit.
So there's that... and the good old internet is always there as your backup.