i've been observing my creative patterns this week. i don't know if it's the energy coming from relief of resolution regarding my job or if i'm just getting more in tune, but increasingly, i notice fully-formed pictures of things i'd like to make appearing in my head. i rush to scribble them down in a notebook that i've devoted to just that. and then, strangely enough, i actually go ahead and make them. very interesting how that works. it actually seems like the more i make, the more ideas i have to make more things. why didn't someone tell me this sooner? (we'll leave aside that my computer time has been limited by troubles with our antique (2004) router this week.)
and in my eternal quest for inspiration, i stumbled across an interesting list on a south african website by trend forecaster li edelkoort. i learned about it on the wonderful beatnik bazaar blog, which i've been stalking because i think that thaya has created a shop that has a lot of the elements (antiques, works by local artists, handmade things) i'd like in my eventual little gård butik.
some of the trends which li edelkoort picks (she's of course, talking summer, as we enter the darkest part of winter, which in and of itself is refreshing) are interesting and from what i see around the blogosphere, spot-on. and of course, it has me pondering where trends come from. is there simply something in the air? do we pick up on it and find ourselves drawn to museums (like my weekly wednesdays at the henie onstad art center) because there's something painterly in the air? or watching miami ink because scribbles abound? and why am i suddenly mad for embroidery? and obsessed with topographies? (i have had a thing about maps for awhile - as the blog campers who have seen the ceiling in my hallway can attest - and that's been covered in maps for 8 years, so it's not exactly new.) and doesn't it seem like collage is everywhere? in ads, in magazines, in museums.
here are my favorites of li edelkoort's trends...all collages from the link above.
embroidery
collage
handcrafted
paintings
maps
scribblings
another trend that i didn't see there, but which i've noticed of late is that of high end designers in low-end stores. the recent rush on jimmy choo's at H&M is a case in point. also a case in point that the H&M in oslo was full of them last week, no lines, no wristbands, no appointed shopping times. so apparently there is a difference in cultural response to these things. is it just financial crisis driving cheaper versions of designer brands into the hands of the masses? where do trends come from? and who is driving them?
what trends have you seen of late?
10 comments:
Hej Julie,
Li isn't born in South Africa. She is a Dutch woman and one of the chiefs of the industrial design/art school in my hometown.
Li is a trendforecaster already for many years. She is known althrough the world because she knows to hit the button.
Yes, the 'silence' of the beach and the sounds of music what more can a girl wish for. LOL.
Look forward of seeing the products of your creative endeavour.
Have a great weekend.
xox E.
thanks elizabeth--i've corrected li's nationality. :-) so many dutch names in SA, i just took her to be South African. :-)
i've been wondering about this for a long time. i think we take in many impressions subconciously that kind of build up over time and turn into full-blown trends. like winds on a meterological map. but whether they are actually created by media coverage and/or designers or exist as singular beasts that are just being picked up on by trend-setters earlier than most?
i'm sure there's more to it than fashion though - after all, certain things, like handcrafting, convey ideas and stand for things we're yearing for in a given context. stand for 'home', for individuality, for making over buying.
Very interesting, almost escapist and futuristic in some way. And very emotional. It is funny how pictures and art can speak more than thousand words.
I have always wondered what it is that sets a trend. Perhaps it is just that someone presents something at the right time, instinctively knowing what the public longs for.
Have a great Friday,
xo
Zuzana
There are definitely trends in the blogs, only I would call it communication between likeminded people rather than trends.
Trends are a matter of choice though, I think we chose which ideas we want to develop in our own ways. Like blogging, which is definitely an attention worthy trend.
I'm really glad your work issues have been sorted.
I was in downtown Toronto last Saturday--which coincidentally was the first day of Jimmy Choo's invasion of H&M. I have NEVER SEEN SO MUCH MAYHEM. It was almost disgusting, actually. You couldn't even move in the store. It's normally my favorite store, but the fact that I couldn't move and I wasn't aware of this invasion really turned me off of the whole store.
i really love the first picture .. it is beautiful
Hi! no comment today - nothing that will sound intelligent. So as not to sound like an ass I will just say HI!
I've been reading a book about the Mitford sisters, and it mentions that Unity (who became famous for her friendship with Hitler) absolutely LOVED making collages.
I wonder how many (or few) people are actually responsible for setting off trends. I remember reading, once, about the process of deciding which colors will be dominant each year.
Some absolutely fascinating stuff, there!
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