From the Ground Up - Design-a-Door

Have you seen Debbie Travis' new design competition on Fine Living? I really do love Debbie. I've been following her from the time when she was doing fantastic designer paint treatments on walls. She's come a long way since that time. Her company is designing new homes and needs to hire a lead designer. This show reminds me a lot of Hell's Kitchen. A big difference being that Debbie doesn't swear as much - but she's still just as direct as Chef Ramsey.

The first episode is recapped here. I thought it would be fun to follow along and ask you all what you would do with the challenges she presents...

If you missed it, last night she gave everyone a basic door and told them to design it in a way that will express who they are. Some doors turned out to be very predictable and disappointing, others were more creative.

As the challenge wore on, the ultimate challenge winner, Lisa, actually gave up on her original idea and started carving the wood somewhat out of frustration and fear. Her door was more unusual than the rest and she won the competition and the right to choose another designer for possible elimination.

Currently my personal favorite right now is the graphic designer who created a black door with, you guessed it, a graphic design. I appreciated the unique shape of his design and his non-dramatic execution. (I know it's reality tv, but can we get rid of the diva mentality?)
Anyway, I'll be watching him closely to see what he comes up with.

If given the challenge, I would have taken the door, covered it with a rather fluid hand-embossed metal and then painted and distressed it to make it appear ancient. What would that have said about me? Creative, malleable, open to change, loves vintage goods, loves to paint and greatly appreciates art, artisans and architecture.

So what would you design your door to look like, and what would the door say about you?

Experimenting with new a new logo design...

Wanna win something?

I'm posting a few photos from our trip to CHA to work with the Canvas Corp team. That's Deanna on the left, and me on the right. I was doing a few demos for the Homespacing product line. The design team created some beautiful boards and we heard lots of ooooing and aaahhhing.

If you're interested in trying a Roomspacing kit, leave a comment below. We will be doing a drawing at the end of the month from those that leave a comment and an email link below - and we will send one along to the winner!

Good luck!!!

Lise

UPDATE: Congratulations! The winners have been chosen! I'll be notifying the winners and sending out their prizes next week.

New Goodies @ Artistic Lifestyling

Hi everyone,

I have been so busy with being creative on the business side I've neglected my blogging. The team at Artistic Lifestyling has been busy revamping the entire website to include a more diverse perspective on creative living.

We now have several categories called:

• Align


• Grow


• Create


• Style


• Mingle


• Feast


• Design &


• Shop

Since we wanted to have a site you couldn't find anywhere else, and amazing products to boot - we wanted to hand-draw all the icons. We were all set to expand on the house theme that appears on the top of this blog - and then we started to name the categories. At that point the houses didn't make much sense anymore. So - I started some new drawings. (I've added a few of the new icons that made it onto the site on this post.)

So while we're still under construction please take a look around the new site and let me know what you think. Just be careful because all the railings are not in place yet, and a few doorknobs aren't installed - but we're getting there.

Cheers & Happy Valentines Day!!

Lise

Lise's Design Musings

Expect and demand more from interior design. You've definitely heard of some design terms already - floating floors, COM, faux finishes, commercial grade, earth-friendly & green products, low VOCs, reuse, redesign, refurbish, sub-contractors, home staging, organization - oh how the design field has evolved.

One simplistic way of looking at what goes into an interior design plan is maybe that we spend lots of time matching fabric patterns to your carpet. But the really good designers have gotta know way more stuff about way more stuff.I love design books, and I laughed out loud when I read a quote from Candice Olsen's book (I think it was from Candice Olson on Design) about how most people approach her and tell her how glamorous they think being a designer is. It's actually the same thing people told me about modeling - I'd think "What is so glamorous about lots of hot lights, heavy makeup, long hours, disappointments, and people constantly telling you what to do??"

Fact is, I think I spend most most of my time sourcing products, learning more about their particular properties and how it will affect the client, the budget, the home, the installation, and the environment - That is not glamorous per se, but rather fun if design is your passion. There are SO many choices that it really does pay to have someone narrow them down for you and help decide on a good look that works within your budget. Anyone can design a room. Anyone can pick up wallpaper samples from a local store to redo a bathroom. And there are many materials available for your basement floor project. Pay a designer to advise you about the important but often-overlooked details.

Depend on your designer for specific information, and to help with making selections and installations. Use them to save time and advise you on your overall design budget. Use them to find those flooring options that are made from a renewable source and have that funky geometric design you were thinking of.

Your designer should be advising you on both the stylish and the realistic information about what it will take to achieve your dream room.

And I only touched on the commercially available products. Truth is, I really love it when you ask me to find something unique. Then I can tell you the story about these beautiful and affordable hand-made fabrics from Morocco, the found object/hand-painted grandfather clocks made by an artist in Vermont, and the furniture made in the mountains of North Carolina - and how to use them in your home. So - expect and demand more from good design.

And, enjoy your Sunday!

Lise

Go Play!

Never doubt that you already have everything you need to achieve all of your creative goals. You've had those skills for some time now. In fact, by the age of 10 you already possessed everything you needed for great success.

Remember how you loved art class and creative writing? You were a dreamer. You mastered multiplication, you learned to sew, and ride a bike. Maybe you were the neighborhood tether ball champion by age 8. In a typical play day, jumping ropes, watching out for others, and tie-dying some fabulous t-shirt were all part of your accomplishments.

You have already contributed to the goodness of the world and laid out all of the skills you'd need to tap into later. But as we get older, and are taught to be serious, we tend to forget the important stuff. So may this serve as a quick reminder to; Go Play.

As the world shifts, and things change so rapidly, many companies are actively looking for people with your skill set. They need your ability to think creatively and act boldly. The same way you did back when you were 7. Even the government has a department focused on creativity. Go figure.

So if you want your creativity to sustain and support you - even part time - it is imperative for you to re-imagine. Re-imagine yourself as a bright, gifted, playful, and imaginative child. You were you know - and still are. And all of those qualities and the products you create are in great demand throughout the world.

Creative people and the companies they run are in the lead; we are nimble and able to out-think, out-play, and in the long run, out-last.

Go play!

blogging comments...

I don't know about other bloggers, but I love to read comments. Not spammed comments, but comments from real people, like you, who stop in to read what I have to say. Maybe you're here because of some Google search, or maybe because you're an avid reader. But however you have arrived, if you take time to leave a comment, I read them, and I am grateful. I even say THANK YOU, even though you may not hear me :-)

Still I don't always know what the proper etiquette is for saying thanks about leaving comments. Like do I immediately log in and type my own thank you comment on my own blog? Or do I visit your blog or website and see what things we have in common and then leave my thank you/comment on your blog? I have tried both. But I'm not sure which works best.

SOOOOO.... I decided that just in case, I will say thank you now, for all the past comments, and thank you for all the future comments you may decide to leave...

:-)

Lise

Moleskine for More Creative Business Planning

I had some uninterrupted free time today. That is a luxury that doesn't happen often enough for me. After a leisurely lunch I began to sketch some leaves and trees. My doodling morphed into some random business ideas, and I quickly realized that there was not enough room on the tiny scraps of paper I had with me to contain all of the ideas.

Then I recalled the collection of virgin Moleskine journals at the campus bookstore across the hall from where I was having lunch; and I rushed over to buy a yummy new journal. YUM-OH. Fresh clean pages. What do you do with all that potential? Well since my thoughts were about my business I quickly decided to journal my business plans instead of doing them the way I have done them in the past. Creative company - creative business plans. Really, this journal is the space I plan to use to fashion some order out of creative chaos. Fun.

You should know that typically, I resist tradition where I can. I was used to writing down my thoughts randomly, only to lose them and rediscover them later. Finding them again was like serendipity - or my way of figuring out if the idea still worked for me. Not very efficient. I don't suggest that unless you want to waste time.

So for weeks these particular thoughts have not left me alone. So buying this journal and committing to putting the thoughts here, in just one place, and working through them is BIG for me. This is the Big dream journal - I expect amazing results.

After ripping open the plastic covering and tossing it away, I used my black Micron pen to write my full name inside the cover along with my address. I'll illustrate the first page later.

I don't feel like scanning my pages this evening; and even if I did they're likely to make sense only to me. So instead I'll describe how I'm journaling my business plans. This process is working for me because I think in pictures; and when I speak and write, I literally see the words dancing in my head. Words I can pluck out of the ether and jot on the page. And currently, woven between the words are doodles of circles, trees, hills, a paisley, arrows, flowers, dragon tails and snouts, and a random line or two. Journaldoodling. - this is the reason I'll never invest in a palm gadget to jot down my notes. I prefer pen and ink, and smooth new paper. I write in the margins. I like to create things that are out of the ordinary.

Anyway, I decided pretty easily on the format. The first page of the journal sets the intention - or what the journal is for. On the second page I listed all the ideas in my head, in short, one-to-five word phrases. On each of the next pages, I took one of the ideas from the second page and expanded on the topic.

When I've finished with my mind mapping exercise, I'll go back and see which ideas jump off the page. I'll star, highlight, or color around the biggest ideas. I won't cross out the ideas that don't agree with me, I'll just take additional notes on those ideas about why they don't work at the moment. (They might work later)

Then I'll make some plans, and a few task lists, and move forward. So maybe all creative business owners should have a journal for their life's work. It's so much more interesting this way than the typical business plan. Plus, I'd love to see some of Oprah's doodles and personal notes :-)

Be well,

Lise

Studio Design - Do you Have Room for Creativity??

Creative play spaces aren't just for kids. Everyone should have a space where they can be wildly creative. A dedicated space that inspires you. Not your kitchen table -but a room or a studio where you don't have to clean up at the end of the day.

If you are toying with the idea of creating your own personal space for art or hobbies or if you have already created such a space - please send me your photos and ideas. I would love to share it with everyone. Here are some of my tips for creating home studios:

- First make it functional, and then make it fun! Plan your workspace to include appropriate storage for the types of projects you work on. My studio has flat file drawers for large papers, along with a walk in closet to store paint and mosaic tiles. Will you need drawer space, cabinets, cubbies, or closet space? Be creative. Storage doesn't have to be expensive. Save baby food jars or old muffin tins to store smaller items and re-purpose old furniture into unique and useful storage pieces.




- Include a large work surface to spread out - two if possible. Creative people are often found working on multiple projects. Will your studio support more than one endeavor?

- Don't strain your eyes! How many times did your parent's tell you not to read in the dark? Unless you work with photography make sure you have a room filled with light. Windows are ideal, however solar tubes and fluorescent lighting designed to mimic natural daylight are good alternatives if you're without windows or if you prefer to work at night.

- Are you sufficiently wired? With all of the great information on the Internet about almost any hobby, it would be wise to include some form of Internet connectivity in your studio plans. If you have an older home and don't have an Internet outlet, buy a router and go wireless. Printers and digital cameras are near the top of my list for essential studio equipment.

- Keep it comfortable. Imagine those late nights when you are completely engrossed with your work. Now imagine that you're leaving the studio at 2 a.m. after standing or sitting on a hard surface! If your space allows, choose a chair you can lounge in while you cruise the Internet for hobby ideas. If you stand up for long periods of time, include a cushioned pad for the floor. (Cashiers use these at some stores - take a look). However you work, make sure you’re comfortable and that you consider ergonomics as you work.

- Furnish your space with things you love. For your first studio project, look for an old desk or bookshelf and paint it the color you love. Here in your work space, it doesn't matter if it's fuchsia with white polka dots. Nothing in your studio has to match the rest of your house!

- Hang, post, & display things to arouse your creativity. If you can find your muse in old buttons, bright ribbon, museum postcards, beautiful seashells, or a gorgeous tassel - then by all means, include it in your new studio. Hang your treasures on a bulletin board so you can see them. Use chalkboard or magnetic paint directly on the wall to create mores space for inspired words and materials.

Creatively yours,

Lise
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