I just wanted to squeeze in a quick post today to share the background to a project I’m working on.
I’ve really wanted to make some things for my granddaughters this year. However, I’ve put it off and put it off and put it off. I tell myself that I’ve been too busy, but I know inside the real reason is that I want them to really enjoy what I make. I’m sure you’ve experienced this situation that when children get to a certain age, they are little more ‘picky’ about wearing what Grandma makes (especially Grandma’s knitting) and wearing what gives them street-cred! However much a part of me wants to lecture them on the sometimes subtle difference between what they think they like and what they think will make them liked, I have to resist these maternal urges and play along.
The solution was to dig back into my days as a clothing designer (read ‘about us’ on LlamasintheRaw) and create a storyboard. A story board is essentially a picture you generate of the overall impression you want to give about something. When designing a range of clothing, we wanted a certain style set as well as colours that would blend well with each other. This required a lot of work in sketching, cutting out photographs and gathering fabric swatches and then laying them out on a large pin-board in a way that expressed the feelings behind the collection.
Fashion Conscious
Making a cowl for a granddaughter SHOULD be a little easier! It was certainly a lot more fun once I had the necessary information ie. what colours does she really like to wear? I got tips from my gorgeous granddaughter (alright, so I’m a proud Grandmother!). Autumn shades and drabs are in vogue it seems. Dull mustard yellows, shaded olive grove, red wine spilled on a brown carpet, a touch of highlighter and the ubiquitous teenage black. Terrific! I have something to work with at last and have spent a few hours hovering over the dye pot on the stove. ….and this is the result.
Storyboard for Winter Wrap
Will she like it? I don’t know, but I know now how to approach this challenge in future. I’ve even found a colour combination website to which I can direct people that allows them to create the colour swatches to assist me.
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