As I mentioned in my last post, the first exercise we were given at Eamoda to define our style as designers was to explore sources of inspiration and present them in a way which represents that style. We were encouraged to consider all of our senses and more: music, art, architecture, icons, food, landscape, memory, film.
The cover of my Libro de Autor (inspiration journal)
You may know that I have a degree in English Literature. Words are an important source of inspiration and pleasure to me, so I chose to present my project in a second-hand book. I found the perfect book in a shop on Avenida Corrientes: Las Tremendas Decisiones (tremendous decisions), by Enrique Oded Sverdlik. I liked the cover and title for my journal, so filled the book with text, drawings and images. Sorry Enrique!
Title page, photo by Isabel
I used found images, quotes, and borrowed some photos from my talented siblings, Tom and Issy. It’s been so long since I’ve drawn anything other than design sketches, it was a real pleasure to have an excuse to doodle on these pages.
Molly Whuppie, illustrated by Errol Le Cain
Pinterest was a great help to me when choosing images to use, but there is no reason why inspirational images have to stay online. For me, deciding what to print and how the images fit together gave my choices a gravity that led to more careful consideration of what I find inspirational and why.
The Isis, Oxford (photos by me and Tom)
I really recommend taking the time to print or draw an inspiration journal. It is a pleasurable process, and I found the result surprising in some ways. My book has a nostalgic, slightly sinister feeling throughout, which I didn’t realise was so important to my design aesthetic. I still love Pinterest, but I can now see it as a jumping-off point for looking more deeply into where my inspiration comes from.
René Gruau illustrations
Repairs to my sewing machine have been delayed – for the time being I’ve been doing some sashiko embroidery, which should be finished soon! Also my parents are arriving for a visit tomorrow, so I doubt I’ll get much sewing done over the next couple of weeks. There’s some space to fill in my wardrobe after a successful chuck-out at the weekend!
* If you’re interested in looking at some more inspiration journals, I first saw an old book used as a journal on Esther from the sticks. I recommend you look at her blog anyway, because she makes some incredible clothes.
** I didn’t like to include all of the pages of my journal here because I can’t credit all of the images and I’m unsure about the copyright implications of sharing collages online.
