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Gathering inspiration as a force of creation

A couple of things in my thoughts are coming together; recently I have been reading the Virgil Abloh chronicle “Make it ours” and the book Abloh-isms. In it you find reference to his 3% rule. Separately have I been working on migrating all my Instagram saved posts to Are.na. “Mooooooooodboard”, something Loïc Prigent always says in his videos (of which I have watched this recent one) and apparently is also a website of his. Also did I watch this video tour of Diplo’s Jamaican house (mansion), making me think of Major Lazer and its graphic record sleeves.

“Abloh became even more committed to his belief in a 3-persent principle – the idea that an object altered by 3 percent becomes something wholly new. […] By touting his 3-percent philosophy, Abloh spotlighted fashion’s reliance on reiterating what had come before.”

From ‘”Make it ours” – Crashing the Gates of Culture with Virgil Abloh’ by Robin Givhan

How can moodboards and the 3% rule lead to more creative creation and freedom

Combing these thoughts, I’ve had the realisation that a way to progress in my creative pursuit to create a fashion brand is to be more intuitive in the way I create. As I have been educated in my Bachelor to be able to come up with well formulated concepts, I now have the tendency to start not in the creation phase but in the explanatory phase of a creative project. I notice in myself that finding the explanation for why I’m creating (something), an idea, research reference or fully formed concept is how I want to start of my making process. The process of intuitive creation based on subconscious inspiration has been lost on my a little bit. Re-igniting that child like making and creating process is very important if I want to be able to progress in my creative pursuit as I imagine myself to be.

Moodboards Setting myself a challenge to make a weekly mood-board of inspiration, however (un)co-herent it may be. By setting aside half an hour to a full hour of free roaming on Are.na and printing out (part of) this mood-board and sticking it onto a foam board pannel.

3% rule Challenging myself to be more open to using found inspiration as a direct input for creation. Authenticity can come from how you reposition and repurpose. Freeing myself from creative limitations like this could help me progress towards a visual identity and style that over time I can make my-own.

Major Lazer Finding inspiration in different cultures can be a great resource towards making something new and inexistent. I want to relieve myself from the constraint that I’m not myself part of the cultures that inspire me, and instead use these inspirations to create things that relate and build on that which instigates my curiosities.

Major Lazer is a fictive character for an electronic dancehall project by two (white) producers. Although it raised some eye-brows in the beginning (as they themselves where not coming from a background in which the dancehall music was founded and created), they have kept going and are now widely accepted as a major group in the scene. It’s a prime example of not letting yourself be limited to only working within your own confounds (culturural upbringing/heritage). See also my own reflection cultural inspiration.

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How a NATO summit got me sucked in and thought me something

Watching the recap of the concluding second NATO day in The Hague, I couldn’t help but feel enthralled by the spectacle of it. World leaders physically coming together, all with a certain cache, making decisions which will shape the world of tomorrow on topics that are of international significance – it’s a theater show that is hard to look away from, even for someone who doesn’t regularly like to be engrossed in the news cycle at all. It’s particularly interesting to see how the former Dutch prime minister, now NATO secretary general Mark Rutte presents itself, in stark contrast to the current Dutch prime minister Dick Schoof. And then the Beast as they call him; Donald Trump, whose second term as president of the US is developing quite differently to its first it seems. Where his first term was more about being a frontier and fighting the establishment, now it seems he is developing more as a leader of his newly formed establishment – he seems more likable and universally political. But this is where I’m also confronted with the horror of the whole spectacle, as the confidence of Trump is also a sign of dictatorial quality that is developing within him and his regime.

I don’t like to get sucked into the new cycle because it’s based on entertainment en awe, more than information and education. Most things that are covered in the news don’t have direct influence on my day to day life and life decisions, and they therefor feel only distracting to that which matters most to me; my family, health and creative pursuits. When being distracted by the news, you are being entertained with thoughts of a world that is colliding and collapsing all the time; negativity is the main protagonists. Change and growth happens by being aspirational to a future that can be better and improved. For that you do need problems to solve and issues to deal with, but you mostly need a positive and change mindset, which can’t be fueled with doomsday thinking.

The NATO top was an amalgamation of these thoughts coming together for me; the scale of the theater was so huge that by being entertained I could see more clearly the thoughts I have had lingering in my mind for a while.

I’m interested in developing a brand that can talk about world issues in an inspiring and positive way. Today has brought me this HMW (How Might We) question; How might we use tactics of political leaders and news cycles to take part in – and form a conversation about – restorative change and inspirational development around the world?

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Hobbies for life?

As a home-owner, there is always another thing to improve or fix. The next project I always looming. YouTube is full with videos to teach me yet another new skill. And although most of the things I learn will stay with me for the rest of my life anyway, woodworking in particular feels like something a little more special – like a new hobby.

Japanese hand plane and it’s first proper shavings

On the one hand have I gotten quite interested and invested into Japanese woodworking tools and learning to use them. On the other hand do I question my investment in this new hobby, particularly when it comes to the Japanese hand plane that I bought.

Setting up the hand plane was a laborious task – which in all fairness I had been warned for – that has thought me a useful new skills (sharpening) but has also cost me quite a bit of time; time spend preparing a tool to perform a certain task in our endeavour to own and improve our home (and not even that, as it’s the outdoor furniture that I’m currently making, which we will take with us anyway).

At what point changes time spend on these new personal endeavours from being inspirational and energising, to laborious and draining? I’m not sure. But these thoughts have been rummaging in my mind and are perhaps a sign of that turning point being nearly met in this instance.

New beginnings

This blog is about beginning; starting, mobilising thoughts and preparing to take off in their direction. But going through this process of learning how to set up a Japanese plane, which definitely wasn’t easy, has thought me a valuable lesson. Not every begin is equal for me, or rather, there is an appropriate time for everything and perhaps now is not the right time exactly for this new hobby to fully form.

I have a dream – to start a fashion business – which is more important to me than becoming a fully-fledged woodworker, right now at least. There are many skills to learn still in designing and making clothing, that I would much rather try and focus on right now. That is not to say that I AM going to make the outdoor furniture, AND gates, and what-not else. But I don’t also have to at the same time learn how to create micron thin shavings with a tool used by highly skilled craftsmen – that can be done later in live when the time is right and focus can be concentrated towards it.

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Cold & grey

Browsing through the bookstore looking at cookbooks, books on fashion, photography, art, architecture, gardening, I feel excited and inspired. Walking to a restaurant where I sit down to have a Neapolitan style pizza, I feel energised. Coming to a French brasserie-bar, I feel sophisticated. A single night out in the city is a much needed luxury these days.

As we are busy being parents, partners, family, friends, professionals and do-it-(y)ourselfers it’s sometimes easy to feel not only a little drained but also uninspired and thinly spread. I listened to this podcast earlier this week as I cycled to work (which in- and of-itself uplifted my moods a little) in which the speaker talks about how dopamine addiction is also an escapism of having to profile ourselves all the time.

“Modern life requires us to just constantly think about ourselves and be on display. And the use of these ways to take us out of ourselves is increasing because we’re constantly narcissistically thinking about ourselves.”

From the NYT Interview: Digital Drugs Have Us Hooked. Dr. Anna Lembke Sees a Way Out.

So that’s why we love to scroll Instagram and just be mindlessly looking at other people profiling themselves. I could get into that theory. But trying to stop this habit (as I am) brings the challenge with it that it becomes harder to relax the mind for a minute… interesting, that’s an observation to be let simmering.

I was also watching this video by Van Neistat on Easy flow vs. Hard flow state in which he talks about procrastination being a form of “western” and efficient relaxation. Another interesting thought to let linger.

I was feeling a little flat and down the past two weeks (ever since Blue Monday to be honest). Slowly I have become more aware of it and trying to understand why I feel this way. Is it a mild depression because of the cold, wet, grey weather? Is it because of the hard work on the garden that’s making me tired? Is it all the things going on in the family?

Exactly a year ago we were loving life in sunny Australia. Off course the fact that we were on holiday made for a relaxing start to the year. But the climate, temperature, sun and environment definitely were as important in making the otherwise most difficult months of the year in terms of mood more manageable. Upon return it was a bit of a deception to life our normal live again within our usual surrounds. People told us “you missed nothing, it was only rain throughout the time you were away.”

It’s mid February and I have felt what those people did last year – a mild mid-winter depression. After returning from New York at the start of this year, I was feeling very uplifted and excited, energised! How could I create moments in my daily life that create this same feeling for me with minimal and ready-at-hand means? That’s an observation to think about in the next few weeks. Ta-ta

New York trip Dec. 2024

Itinerary for reference (2024)

AMS 09:15 11 Dec (Wed) Amsterdam, Schiphol Intl.
EWR 10:40 11 Dec (Wed) New York, Newark
UA71 Boeing 777-200 – Flying time: 8hrs 25mins

EWR 18:05 27 Dec (Fri) New York, Newark.
AMS 07:15 28 Dec (Sat) Amsterdam, Schiphol Intl.
UA70 Boeing 777-200 – Flying time: 7hrs 10mins

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Assessing cultural inspiration

Unpacking the brand positioning of being diversely culturally inspired and taking locality as inspiration a little further;

What does it mean to use these sources of inspiration as a starting point for clothing/brand design.

Using something as inspiration, does not mean the outcome will be a literal translation of that which has been the starting point (inspiration). It rather means that a source (of inspiration) has become seminal in the thoughts process, helping in forming a certain cohesion in thought, concept and creation. Although the final outcome does not necessarily need to have any resemblance or visual/physical queue to what has been used as a source of inspiration, the mention of the inspiration also can’t be frivolous. When the source of inspiration is an important factor to the design or positioning and is communicated as such, the synergy between inspiration and final product has to be relevant to some degree for it to be convincing.

Then, the question is; does the brand positioning need to be linked to the sources of inspiration? Or rather; is that which is described as the source of inspiration actually what is the starting point of the clothing designs, or is it a bogus attempt to be more culturally relevant? Here it becomes important to remind yourself that “using something as inspiration, does not mean the outcome will be a literal translation of that which has been the starting point (inspiration)”. And if [BRAND NAME]’s HOW (being diversely culturally inspired) and WHY (challenging the globalised (homogenised) world/industry) are genuine, there needs to be no fear as such.

Is it cultural appropriation to use these sources of inspiration?

Although genuine, are these diverse cultural inspirations and the use thereof for brand positioning (outside of those cultural environments) appropriate? Or is it a sort of cultural appropriation and therefor inappropriate? It depends on how literal the translation is between source of inspiration and creative output. It also depends on the way it’s translated into something new. When inspiration is used properly to create something entirely new, it would be appropriate as what is being made doesn’t pertain to be of that which is used as inspiration. However, if what is being made is leaning more to a copy, it wouldn’t be as appropriate. This is about (cultural) ownership and representation.

“Creativity is the focused combination of unlikely things. Your mind locks onto a certain element and then searches widely for something unexpected that fits with it. What can scuba diving teach you about agriculture? What can trees teach you about public speaking? There is always some connective tissue between disciplines. If you wish to be more creative, look for the connections between two previously unconnected things.”

by James Clear, as found in his 3-2-1 newsletter

True creativity comes from being inspired, which means you make connections between unlikely things and use that as the starting point for the creation of new things. Therefor, cultural inspiration is fine and appropriate, as long as it leads to something genuinely new and is done so with respect to it’s source.

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Idea nuggets

  • Offering a guaranteed take-back option, no matter the condition
    Used clothing can have a certain charm that is unparalleled to new sometimes. Receiving used products could provide with an amazing treasure-trove of “vintage” items of the collection which then can resold. Even if items need repairs, this shouldn’t be a problem as that can bring additional charm to a piece of clothing. When the returned items are not salvageable, they can potentially still be used for off-cuts. It might be necessary to offer in return a monetary reward or discount of some sort to make it mutually beneficial. Potentially adding a grading scale could work for items that are immediately re-sellable.
  • Offering a repairs service
    As not everyone is capable of repairing their own clothing, it might make it hard for some people to keep wearing their clothing for long extensions of time. Offering this service helps them with that effort and hopefully keeps them happier longer with the clothing they bought. It also establishes a stronger more personal connection between owner and brand.
  • Offering repair kits
    Sometimes repairing clothing items is hard because the fabric make-up of the item is very specific. This can create problems for people that don’t want their mending and repairs to be visible. Offering fabric swatches that are made from the same cloth as the collection, as well as offering them a nice and nifty sewing case/set with it can make that people can keep wearing their clothing for longer and stimulate their creativity.

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Lessons from our holiday

Our trip to Australia via Singapore has been incredible relaxing and we made so many beautiful memories as a family. During the past six weeks we have not had to worry about many things other then when we would go for a swim, where we would go to explore and what we would eat. It has been amazing to spend so much time together with the three of us and to spend so much time with Mathilde together. She has grown so much during this trip and has had so many experiences, it’s amazing to have been able to enable her in that way through this trip. And as husband and wife/father and mother, we have been able to focus on the things that are most important to us as a family; each other.

Now being back home after arriving early in a dreary and wet country, coming from sunnier and warmer parts of the world, it’s hard to stay positive and keep that warm and happy feeling we have had all throughout our holiday. After having had a good nights sleep and being together in our own quite and peaceful home again, and by talking about our feelings and experiences of the holiday and return home we start to feel a little better again. We won’t be able to have the sunshine all year round, or the warmt either, while we live in NL. But we will be able to have other things that are unique and special to our life here.

This trip has thought us some important lessons as well about where we want to go in life as a family and what we can do to get there. About how we can make our time in NL be great and what we want to prepare for for life in AUS. Before our trip we were getting bogged down by all the improvements we could and maybe would make to our current house. We treated this house as if it’s would maybe be our forever home, and were thinking of many ways to spend lots of money towards that. However, that was not our intention with buying this house or even by moving to NL. This holiday has been a reality check in that regard and we are happy about that.

There are a few things that we do want to do now we are back, and they are mostly all based on these lessons we learned from our trip. They are roughly the following things listed:

  • Make our house and its rooms more gezellig:
    • Printing photos of our trip will keep our memories alive and will give a warmer feeling to the house. Other artworks or objects can also help towards this.
    • Soft furnishings will help to warm up the house and make it feel more cozy. Think about curtains, rugs, lamps, furnishings like a chest in the bedroom or a bookshelf in Mathilde’s room.
    • Plants will also help with this. Our time in Singapore has been very inspiring in this regard (for interior and exterior planting). Tropical plants that can do well in our climate and evergreen plants in particular are good to look into. But also orchids are something I want to get for our house.
    • Spend money on things that will last us, and be critical on the money spend on the house itself:
      • Don’t try to redo everything in this house. Work with what you got and improve where possible/necessary in a way that is economical and practical.
      • Focus on the living areas and make those work, don’t focus too much on the areas of use (garage, cellar).
      • Improve on the garden but don’t do an overhaul.
      • Don’t start with redoing work that has been done already. Even if your not 100% happy with the result, first focus on areas that haven’t been touched or finalised yet.
      • Discuss more often the state of our finances and our wishes in saving and spending for the future. Where do we want to go and how will we get there financially.

    Itinerary for reference (2024)

    AMS 10:25 21 Jan (Sun) Amsterdam, Schiphol Intl.
    SIN 05:55 22 Jan (Mon) Singapore, Changi
    SQ 323 Airbus A350-900 – Flying time: 12hrs 30mins

    SIN 21:35 24 Jan (Wed) Singapore, Changi , Terminal 3
    BNE 07:15 25 Jan (Thu) Brisbane, Brisbane Intl , Terminal Intl
    SQ 235 Airbus A350-900 – Flying time: 7hrs 40mins

    BNE 14:45 25 Feb (Sun) Brisbane, Brisbane Intl , Terminal Intl.
    SIN 20:35 25 Feb (Sun) Singapore, Changi
    SQ 236 Airbus A350-900 – Flying time: 7hrs 50mins

    SIN 23:55 28 Feb (Wed) Singapore, Changi , Terminal 3
    AMS 06:45 29 Feb (Thu) Amsterdam, Schiphol Intl
    SQ 324 Airbus A350-900 – Flying time: 13hrs 50mins

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    Loose threads | Threaded stories

    A brand name idea that had strung a cord with me… further thoughts that came with it were the following:

    My brand story is not about China in and of itself. It’s about multiculturalism and anti-globalisation and about making/the maker. That’s the root source of my inspiration and motivation.
    –
    A perspective on culture and how you see and perceive the world around you.

    Brainwaves from 2023

    Remember
    You don’t necessarily have to be able to explain yourself (brand), but it might benefit you if you can when you are asked too.

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    Unconscious ideation

    In the background I’m slowly working, building on this concept of a clothing brand (and sometimes an online gallery/store). Fleeting thoughts get stored away into a section where they brew until they have formed into a more substantial idea. Soon, I will have to capture some of them, for I can’t risk loosing them. But I have also realised that for me to actually progress towards these concepts of entrepreneurial endeavours, I have to mostly create and action things. It is important to get my thinking straight (and formalised into writing), but it shouldn’t stop me from progressing with intuition. The next steps are therefor not in order, but give a general overview of things to finalise and start semi-simultaneously;

    • Write down core business manifesto/principles
    ‏‏‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ • Ideas for business operations (how things are sold)
    ‏‏‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ • Ideas for brand identity

    • Start designing (print-out inspiration, create mood-board and draw designs)

    • Make outstanding pieces
    ‏‏‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ • Paris sweater
    ‏‏‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ • Mathilde’s pants/overshirt
    ‏‏‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ • London handkerchief
    ‏‏‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ • Shorts (Chinese handloom fabric)

    • Educate myself on clothing making
    ‏‏‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ • Pattern drafting course

    One big change has been that my almost decade long ‘obsession’ and main focus on China as an inspiration and reference point, has made way for other wider arrays of interests and inspirations. This, to be honest, has been a big step in the right direction for my ideas of starting up the clothing brand that I keep envisioning. To be able to have a broader range of inspirations to work from, gives me a wider scope and that is something I needed right now. It is motivating and I’m looking forward to see what I’ll be looking at for inspiration and will come up with in my designs.

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    DSM

    One of my favourite places in London is Dover Street Market (probably my No.1 favourite place to be honest). I have been going there for many years to soak up the vibe and gain immense inspiration from the store design/layout, clothing designs on display, people that go and work there and Rose bakery. The complete package makes it’s worth visiting with frequency because there is always something new to discover or gain creatively.

    The DSM logo has come to represent this experience and memory I have of this place. When I look at their logo, I feel connected to my inspired self. Analysing the logo further;

    • The shape is a sort of primal drawing shape, representing a house. This simplicity creates a sort of open platform for the diverse selection of brands and styles within the store.
    • A home which represents the family, which is very suited to their store concept; a group of brands together under one roof, some united by brand origin (Comme des Garçons) some related to it and yet others invited in as new friends.
    • “Dover Street Market” as a form of an adres places it in a space and time, a location*. Variations of the logo add the city name underneath “Market” (NEW YORK, LONDON, GINZA).
    • “Market” signifies a collection of sellers/retailers and a certain temporality to what’s on offer. It also brings up an image of a lively and communal atmosphere.

    *Dover Street Market London, which was the first location of all DSM locations, was located originally on Dover Street in Mayfair, London. This is where its name originates from. Although the London store has since moved to Haymarket, its name is still linked to the first store location, rooting it in a place and linking it to a certain time.