I’m just coming out of a creative period. I work in seasons. There is a time to dream things up. A time to make them. A time to learn from what I’ve made. Then the whole thing starts over.

I think this period was especially productive because I had a lot of pent up energy leading up to it. I normally take a little time in the beginning of the year to look back at what happened the previous year and plan what I want to do next year.

Didn’t happen this year. A bunch of bag orders had me working away through that period. So when it came time to stretch my creative legs I had a lot of not-yet-fleshed-out ideas floating around. One of the best tricks I’ve picked up in the past few years is creating a good system for recording those half formed ideas. I have lots of scribbled notes spread over a bunch of notebooks to go over.

One of the first things I wanted to take on was a review of the forms I use. Wallet shapes are constrained by the shape of the credit cards you will put in them. When I was just starting out I was focused primarily on function. Over the years as I’ve developed my creative chops I’ve started feeling those constraints more.

For example my style involves showing off what you can do with hand dyeing. The exteriors of my work are always made to contrast or accent the interiors which, unfortunately, you can’t see because they are on the inside of the wallet.

I’m addressing this by changing the form of the design. If the side of the rectangle gets nudged in a little creating a gentle curve then this lets you see just a little bit of the inside when the wallet is closed.

I love the way the stitching looks as it travels along the curve. I was even more surprised by how much I like how it feels in your hand. I’m imagining the curve making a great thing to run your fingers across while you’re waiting at the cash register wallet in hand.

I tested all of this on iterations of the Ensign wallet. I’m now working on adding that nudge to all the shapes I use. It takes a little bit of thought. It has to be scaled up correctly or it looks heavy handed.

Along with that I’m taking a second look at some of my other designs. I’m thinking about redesigning the Hillard in an even slimmer version. Also the Card Sleeve hasn’t been touched since day one. While I value not messing with things for the sake of messing with them, I also think it’s important to experiment with old ideas. It doesn’t hurt to draw things out. Worse case I renew my faith in the existing design.

Oh, and I am finally putting some of my own art up on the walls. The pandemic slowing things down gave me time to start exploring a career I gave more than a decade ago. I feel like I’ve come full circle on that. From giving art up because I wanted to pursue something more practical to finding ways to make practical things more beautiful.

State of the Studio