Inspiration Monday: Seasons - Fall & Winter

For many people, Fall and Winter can be the hardest seasons to design and be creative in. In most parts of the world, both seasons signify dark, cold, and rainy times. They also are the busiest seasons in terms of holidays and events on your social calendar. So how do you find that spark of creativity? For me, the inspiration is in the fact that the weather has changed, the color palette is darker, and there are so many places to be.

With it being cooler outside (or rainy or snowy), I no longer feel guilty staying at home on a Saturday and designing. This time of year I like to sit at my table with a warm blanket on my lap, our dog snuggled at my feet, and a cup of hot cider or hot chocolate waiting to be sipped. Some days I will not leave the house at all and I will get so much done! 

For designing, I use the colors of the season. Fall is captured in tones of rust, olive green, mustard, and burnt umber. Winter is striking with its dark and brooding colors of grey, deep blue, and black, which can be contrasted with pure white, silver, and glistening pearl. 

As to what to create, I look outside for inspiration: a pile of dried leaves with their textures and layers, pumpkins growing in a field, a lone red flower peeking up through the earth, or even a frozen over lake (wouldn't Swarovski Crystals be gorgeous to represent glistening ice!). 

Pumpkin Fun Earrings

You can also design for the holidays coming up - make something Halloween specific, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, New Years, etc. There are a number of great charms available (nutcrackers, wreathes, pumpkins, stars, etc.) and you can make instant holiday-themed jewelry by hanging them on earring hooks or a chain. 

Lrg. Round 38mm Filigree

One of my favorite tricks for finding inspiration is to build a jewelry design around an outfit. With all the holiday parties to go to, pick out your attire early and then spend time creating original designs to match. For instance, if you have a little black dress with jet beading and a lace cut-out design along the hem, perhaps make a black velvet choker with an Ezel filigree which you bedeck with Swarovski jet black flat back rhinestones. 

If your dress is gold and black, try making some beaded beads in gold and black seed beads then pair them with Swarovski faux pearls in black.  When designing around an outfit, pull out the colors of the clothing, take into consideration the neckline and sleeve, and decide if you want to make earrings, a bracelet, and/or a necklace. 

Fall and Winter are beautiful seasons, embrace their diversity and their potential for creativity. Have fun playing with colors you might not have worked with before and show off your jewelry to friends by wearing it to holiday parties. You will find that these two seasons can be your most productive time of the year - embrace them and have a blast doing so! 

- Julie