Sunday, January 30, 2011

Creative Inspiration: Mood Boards

Well kids, I know it appears that we've been slacking a bit over here at Smart. Sustainable. Style.  But really, we've just been knee-deep in pretty goodness over at our other blog, Bubby and Bean: Living Creatively.  Just like here, we talk about fashion (with a focus on eco-friendly, handmade, and independent designers).  But we take things a step further over there, and also discuss our favorite vintage findings, art and design, travel, and creative inspiration, and we post something new every single day. Oh, and we also offer up some pretty fabulous giveaways.  If you're a Smart. Sustainable. Style. follower, we hope that you'll become a follower/subscriber of Bubby and Bean too, and help us spread the word. For now, here's a little taste (below) of what we have to offer over at BandB.
xoxo,
The Ladies of Mountains of the Moon/Smart. Sustainable. Style.

P.S.  You can follow Bubby and Bean directly through the blog, in your favorite reader, or through BlogLovin'.


Welcome to the second post in Bubby and Bean's Creative Kickstart series!  If you haven't yet, be sure to check out last week's post, 5 Ways to Overcome Creativity Block. One of my favorite ways to boost my creativity is by making an inspiration board/mood board.  If you're not familiar with inspiration boards, they are collages or compositions that help you cultivate and evolve your concepts for design projects.  Inspiration boards can be used for just about anything: a wedding, a new fashion design or collection, a house or room makeover, an art project, etc.  They can be digital or in the form of a cork board display, poster, or even a beautiful piece of art that can be framed or displayed when finished. 

Last weekend my fiance and I brainstormed ideas for our upcoming wedding.  I bought a big cork board and some pretty tacks, and devoted one section to items to help me with choosing colors.  By putting together  images that appealed to me from magazines (along with swatches, ribbons, and other random findings), I was able to create a visual display of a variety of color schemes, and in the process make a decision.  (Pssst...  From the three color schemes above, we decided on yellows and grays!).


I also create digital mood boards every season for my sustainable fashion label.  This one (above) is from my Spring/Summer '09 collection. 

Style Inspiration Board on Polyvore by Yamine
Even the process of collecting items to use for a mood board can help give you a creative kickstart. Start gathering items that catch your eye and keep them in a drawer or folder, or save links of your favorite online images in a file called "Inspiration Board" on your computer. Even if you're not ready to put them together into a board, the act of saving images or trinkets that visually appeal to you will provide you with a boost of creative inspiration.
German-themed inspiration board on Polyvore by curatingcuteness
For examples of some amazing digital inspiration boards, browse Polyvore.  There's also a Flickr group with photographs of all different kinds of boards, from intricate mood boards to random bits and pieces tacked to studio walls. If you make inspiration boards, I'd love to see photos or hear how you create yours! 

xo, 
melissa 


2 comments:

Shabby said...

So excited I found your blog through IFB today! I love that you've started a sustainable label, that's my aim some day too!

And moodboards - I love them! I need to do them more often actually and once I have a proper studio space, surround myself with inspiration!

Melissa at bubbyandbean.com said...

Thank you! Yep, we actually started Mountains of the Moon over 10 years ago! Hopefully one day all fashion will be sustainable... That's the goal!

If you like moodboards and creative inspiration in general, be sure to check out our daily blog, Bubby and Bean

xo,
melissa