Creativity can be found in all of us, we just express it in different ways. Hopefully through my design explorations, you can be inspired to find your own means and get going! You know the saying “beauty is in the eye of the beholder?” Well, it’s true. And it’s time for you to find beauty in the things you create too. Have confidence! Let yourself be inspired because you WILL inspire others, you just have believe in yourself and get going!

Here’s a tip that I’ve learned over the years that has helped me find my own creative passions and confidence. It was through discovering my own passions that I learned more about why and how I love to design. The things that make us uniquely us, our experiences and personality traits and likes/dislikes, really help define our means and methods of design expression. And that’s good! Who wants to live in a world that has only one design taste. It may look pretty but it’s boring. Variety is really what makes the world beautiful and what makes design fun! The world deserves to see your creative side! And so do you.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

When I decided to embrace the things that make me uniquely me, I learned so much more about why, how and what I love to design. And I also started to get better at it. For instance, I have always loved working with my hands. Technology has just not ever been my thing (so fingers crossed with this blog). We kind of live in a world where technology is booming, so I fought that struggle for a long time, thinking I needed to get with the flow and learn how to make designs with the computer. I learned early on that my favorite way to love people is by hand making them things. It’s been my MO for gift giving since I was little and it’s my love language. (My “how”) When I was in architecture school in college, I had a professor who understood my love for hand making things. He had me make my entire studio project by hand (models, plans, sections, diagrams, the works), while all the other students were using crazy complicated software and pumping things out way faster than I was.

It turned out to be my favorite project that I ever made in school because I had fun doing work in a way I was hardwired to enjoy and was also more talented at doing so. I learned so much more about my own process and passion for design this way. (My “how”) And it was all because I had a professor who encouraged me to embrace what I was passionate about (and pretty good at), instead of trying to fit into what was normal and popular. You can do this too! It just takes some time to think about what makes you tick, and also have the courage to move forward with what brings you the most joy.

In addition to working with my hands, I am really passionate about recycling/upcycling. I enjoy the challenge of creating something by reimagining something else.  It brings me a lot more joy than designing from a clean slate. This is partly because I enjoy the challenge, but another part is because of what I learned from spending two summers in Guatemala on mission trips. I have seen first hand where waste goes and it breaks my heart to impulsively buy more and forget how blessed I am to have the choices I do now to design with waste in mind. (My “why”)

When I look at spaces, I try to reimagine what it can look like with items I already have. Change my perspective. Because maybe what I need is just to change the way I look at something. I don’t think that the solution to falling in love with your space is to completely overhaul it. You can find joy again just by changing some things up! One reason I believe this is because people make memories with their spaces and items. While an overhauled room may look beautiful, it may not feel like home if there is nothing familiar in the space. If you can reimagine some items (furniture, decor, etc), you can clean up and design a space while keeping the memories/connection to the space. I have learned this because I attach a lot of memories to things, but I also want to be mindful about the quantity of things I have. Some of our past choices are artful reminders of who we are, where we were and where we are going. So instead of shoving those memories in a box in the closet, and spending money on more “things,”  I challenge myself to reimagine what I already have in creative ways! (My “why”) So while there are many awesome ways to design, I learned that it’s way more fun to embrace and explore what gets me excited!

Hopefully these pages will spark your own creativity! Listen to your how, be motivated by your why, and get going!