Sunday, October 30, 2016

do-it-yourself-light decoration



In my previous post I told you a little about the designing process behind my products. A rather strict path: it all starts with a moodboard. Well, apparently there are no golden rules for designing, because for this product - Twig leaves - I broke with that tradition for the first time!

Twig was on my work table before I knew it. I had the idea, a few minutes later I was cutting small black leaves in different shapes, stringing them on black wire and there it was! It only needed some days of finetuning (slim leaves? heart shaped leaves? thickness of the wire?). And of course it needed the rest of the production-circus before it could end up - printed, pre-cut and packed - in the shops. 

If a design pops up like that, without any real effort, I know it must strike a chord at my customers. And it did, it's sold in many places throughout Europe and beyond and of course in my own webshop!

TWIG LEAVES
Twig is a graphic interior decoration. In just a few minutes you turn your Twig set into a stylish wreath and a long garland. Every black paper leaf is pre-punched and has slits to thread the black aluminium wire through.
Once threaded, go wild with the possibilities! Bend the wire into a circle and create a wreath, thread a long garland and hang it from the top of your highest cupboard.
Very stylish: a Twig garland as centre-piece of your festive dining table. And should you have some wire and leaves left over: turn a present into a gift nobody will want to open, it looks so good…

Twig, 3 cards with 57 pre-punched leaves and 4 metres of wire in total. Dimensions of the leaves: between 2 and 3 cm. Price € 9.50
 


Monday, October 17, 2016

NEW: fridur mini angels - behind the scenes

mood board fridur angels, paper angels, design process fridur angels, christmas angels, paper angels, nordic, pattern design, pop out angelspattern design fridur angels, paper angels, design processchristmas, paper angel, fridur angel, table cards, paper design
pattern design fridur angels, paper angels, design process fridur angels, christmas angels, paper angels, nordic, pattern design, pop out angels

pattern design fridur angels, paper angels, design process

 fridur angels, paper angels, nordic, pattern design, pop out angels fridur angels, paper angels, nordic, pattern design, pop out angels, cake topper christmaspattern design fridur angels, paper angels, design process

My new Fridur mini angels were not designed and produced in a heart beat. Don't know if it's interesting for anyone, but I just thought it's fun to share the usually hidden designing process behind this product.

1. From a vague ‘something in the air’ feeling I start creating a visual world with a coherent style... in short: a mood board (see first image above). This mood board is my source and help during the design process. When the product is ready it should fit perfectly in the world I created in the mood collage.

For Fridur I chose for: cosy, stylish, crafty, warm, hip, winter, graphic, sweet and natural. My major tool for making mood boards is Pinterest.

2. Then I google for catchy and matching product names, mostly in Northern European languages. I found Fridur in Icelandic and it means Peace!

3. When my mood board is ready, I look at the dominant colors and make a color scheme with it.

4. I start designing lots and lots of prints in Illustrator, I select the ones I like best and look for the best pattern combinations. See above.

5. Then I start combining the prints into my product. I print, cut, and fold - I make about 50 angels or more - and at the end I decide which ones are going to make it to the printer. 

6. What happens next is not as interesting, but still necessary (and very time consuming!): I need to design a package, I finalize the technical print files, I design the cutting files, I guide the printing process, order corn bags, make packing instructions for the packaging company, calculate a prize, put everything in the JM administration and see to it that the angels end up in my warehouse.

7. And then of course we need photos of the new product. First I make a photography storyboard, a list of scenes I need/want to shoot. And then I go shopping for the right props with my moodboard in my hand. At home I go online shopping for clothes for my model.

8. On the photoshoot day I mostly shoot 3 products at once. The shoot with my model takes about 4 to 5 hours and the rest of the day I spend taking pack shots and close-ups.

9.After selecting and editing the photo's and uploading them to my catalog and my website I can finally say: hurray, my product is ready!

Photo-credits mood board:

Saturday, October 8, 2016

if you ever go to Lefkada island...5 secret tips


Agios Nikitas - Lefkas
left: the beach at agios nikitas
Lefkada town, Lefkas, Greece, corrugated metal, paint
paint paradise: lefkada town
Lefkada town, Lefkas, Greece, corrugated metal, paint
lefkada town: corrugated walls and 2 nice greek former sailors
Lefkada town, Lefkas, Greece, corrugated metal, paint
my friend taking pics in lefkada town
right: sunset at milos beach! the mini dots you see in the sand are people...
Agios Nikitas - Lefkas
streets in agios nikitas
Lefkada town - colours - Lefkas Greece
color paradise: lefkada town

Hard to believe that I was here only 2 weeks ago, in Lefkas/Lefkada together with a friend. And due to the great Greek laid back energy I was able to completely reset and recharge in only 7 days!

MY PERSONAL TIPS FOR YOU

1. go there in June or September, during high season it must be crowded on the island. Risk a few rain showers (the island is green!), there will always be days with lots of sunshine!

2. try to get an apartment in the tiny village of Agios Nikitas. It is cute and super relaxed, feels authentic although it's completely based on tourism... There's no traffic, the main mini pedestrian road ends up in a small sandy beach. 

3. eat zucchini-balls aka courgette balls (kolokithia keftedes) at Lefteris taverna in Agios Nikitas.

4. do some work out (up and down the hill for 25 minutes) and spend the day at the absolute best natural beach of the island: Milos beach (no beach bars, no beds, hurray!)

5. don't let the ugly 'exterior' (harbour) of Lefkada Town scare you off: take any small street towards the center... it is a paradise for colour lovers! Small streets, corrugated metal houses, colours and cats. See photo's above.