  Getting into that creative mess that is the design flow on a recent design week away. Flow State Designing a new collection can be a double edged sword....you've researched for days, read, watched documentaries and movies and now you're amped to start putting the words into forms. Then that very blank, very white paper stares back at you longingly.... I have learnt over the years that this will pass and I just have to start mark making. So my go to is the human form - I start drawing feet, ears, curvaceous forms and in doing so distract my mind from the task in hand and trick it into the simple practice of drawing. Quite quickly forms start appearing on the page that bring together my research and the design brief in hand and BOOM, hello flow state. The next few days fly by, long hours and at times my hand cannot move as fast as my mind. Before you know it, there's the start of a pretty fantastic, solid collection forming. Listening to music can even be a distraction as the concentration is real. I think we sometimes have this romantic idea of creatives peacefully listening to music and dabbing away with their brush in perfect harmony. It is however, like writing a novel or biking down a steep technical descent where the deepest level of concentration is needed and you don't want any distraction to break that flow.  Creating beautiful jewellery is essentially problem solving: It has to be aesthetically pleasing and sing from all angles as well as function practically for a lifetime of love and wear. One has to accommodate the other so hello self critiquing and refinement to achieve the ultimate. My drive to create each jewel to be uniquely beautiful is at the forefront of my brief, so once a form is drawn, I push, pull, flip and rotate to ensure the end result is just so. I break my design time with beach walks or runs and a surf or two. I find the coast the most regenerative place to be. It has both a calming affect as well as energising the soul.  Self tattoo-ing is a thing - trying out a new pinky. Whilst I'm soon to release a stunning new collection this Winter, I am recently back from designing the following Couture Collection which we will start to move into 3D form. I start sourcing the delicious gemstones for the pieces too. Stay tuned as I drop some more imagery of these delights. In the meantime, love the unique, the good things in life take time. Alice x |