Online Inspiration

The world is becoming more and more "virtual" every day. It's not the Tron program or the Enterprise's halodeck yet but we spend SO much time online. We work, we learn, we play, and we "meet" people in a digital environment all day long. It stands to reason that we would find inspiration and creativity online as well. The best part of seeking inspiration online is that it's a deep, deep pool to explore - an entire globe's worth of creativity as a matter of fact.

Today, Cassandra and I are going to share a handful of Web-discovered inspirations. For me, it's usually people that I connect with who are doing amazing work - especially if it's something I'm not particularly good at. They make me want to be a better, more creative person. For Cassandra, it's all about "gorgeous things, darling." She gets her creative boost from beautifully handmade items. Both of us are consistently overwhelmed by the sheer volume of talent in the world.

Consider this blog entry our "follow Friday" (Twitter users know what I'm talkin' about.) We invite you to check these out and see if they inspire you! We'd also love it if you turn us on to something that you've found inspirational. Just leave us a post or send an email. We're always looking for new ways to spark that fire.

Cassandra's Inspiration Today:

I am always looking for gorgeous buttons for my knitted items and here are two I just might have to order very soon from Etsy. This craftsmanship inspires me to take even the smallest detail on one of my crafted items and make it special:

"Bubble Buttons" in Peacock Blue by chARityelise

"Birds of a Feather" Buttons by SandhraLee

I adore the fabric designs of Heather Ross. Her designs are so, so clever. She inspires me to think about possibly heading over to Spoonflower and designing my own yardage one of these days. These newspaper boats are outstanding, I just might have to order a few yards:

"Newspaper Boats" in Aqua by Heather Ross

Wes Anderson’s movies are very inspirational for me. Every aspect of his projects are thought out with such care and detail. The set designs, the stories, the pace, and most of all, the characters… it all blows my mind. Apparently, I’m not the only one. The artwork at Spoke Editions is all inspired by characters from Wes Anderson’s films. I’ve been drooling over this Margot Tenenbaum print for a while now:

"Margot Tenenbaum" by Ana Bagayan

Lastly, I’d like to talk about a podcast that just screams quality. Cast-On by Brenda Dayne is a show about knitting, sort of. Brenda (who has a smooth, easy-to-listen-to voice that makes you feel like she’s talking directly to you over a cup of tea) discusses her life as an ex-pat living in Wales, cooking, her family, her knitting, and the various other projects she sees fit to tackle. It’s well done mostly because it is so thoughtful, organized, and produced well. Try it sometime.

Alex's Inspiration Today:

As I mentioned earlier, a lot of my inspiration lately has been coming from super-talented people that I've met (or that I follow) online. Here are just a few of many:

One of Sam's book cover designs

Sam Potts - Sam is a NYC-based graphic designer. I don't remember how I started following him on Twitter (@sampotts) but I did and I'm a better person for it. Beyond being a really talented designer, Sam is driven to create interesting, unusual, and thoughtful art. He won my heart with a project called Twitter On Paper, wherein anyone could go to the website and either randomly generate or reference a particular tweet. Sam would then take the tweet of your choice and transpose it, by hand, onto paper and mail it to you. There was something so subtle and elegant in the art of taking a digital phenomenon and making it physical that I became completely enamored. His current project is The Infinite Jest Diagram. You have to see it to believe it.

Flower Cthulu

John Kovalic - To say that John is a cartoonist is to disregard the myriad talents of the man. The creator of Dork Tower and Dr Blink: Superhero Shrink, John's made a niche for himself on the page. But he's also a game developer (Apples to Apples), beer connoisseur, toy developer (Mythos Buddies & My Little Cthulu) and amazingly generous human being. I started following him on twitter (@muskrat_john) and, by the grace of the Norns (and through a mutual friend), met him at a Neil Gaiman event. I like to fancy myself his friend now. He inspires me to be a great writer and to think big.

Laurie - A sophisticated writer - in blog and 140 character form - @your_overcoat is poignant without trying to be. There's always something a little bittersweet in her lovely, concise writing. And, by the same token, she can geek out on something as simple as a set of flannel sheets or her new ukulele. She is the reason I first tried Adagio Tea and the reason I spent $80 today at Amazon.com. I love her style and her brain and, since we live in the same city and have mutual friends, I assume we'll meet someday. In the meantime, I strive to be as cool as she is.

The Brothers Winn of What You Ought To Know - Think of their videos as "The More You Know" PSAs with a HUGE dose of sarcasm. Their "about us" section on the site succinctly says, "Just two brothers making a podcast. We both research and write the show." I can't even find out what their first names are... Anyway, they're really smart. And funny. And appealing. And they inspire me by the simplicity of what they do and the passion they put into it. Basically, they do good research and then rant about it on camera. I fell in love when they did the rant on grammar and the English language and have stayed for rants on everything from politics to entertainment. They inspire me to want to be REALLY smart.

There are a whole lot of other online things that inspire me - videos, people, great site design, awesome content - but this post is getting too long as it is. Maybe we'll do another one so I can introduce to you some of my other favorite people - foodie librarians, beer makers, mommy-bloggers, tweeps and friends alike.

- Alex and Cassandra