Monday, July 6, 2009

Designer Inspiration - Ranjini Malhotra

Monday's are now Designer Inspiration. We want to share a little of what inspires us as designers. Today's thoughts are from Ranjini . . .
I have been a collector of objects for as long as I can remember. It started early, with Charlie's Angels and Star Wars trading cards and Cracker Jack prizes. By the time I was an adult, I had graduated to objects with a bit more grown up taste, but just as fun. Some of my current obsessions are vintage trophy cups and old photos. The photos I buy usually speak to me in some way or another. I bought this one long before I had my first child, while I grappled with infertility. It comforted me to see the love between the young mother in this photo and her sweet baby, and gave me something to wish for and hope for during my struggle.
The trophy cups are something I collect purely because I love their faded appearance, the tarnished silver and their elegant shapes. I also have been picking up flower frogs which are great for display. I try to group items in a similar color palette within a collection together. I have a bookshelf that is filled with objects in tones of tarnished silver, ivory, cream, sepia and espresso.
I often look to my collections for color inspiration and the palette inspires me in my work, such as in this palette card that was inspired by the neutral tones of collections on my bookshelf. I simply traced a paint palette from my collection of tools onto chipboard, cut it out and covered it in JBS papers and added one of Jenni's crepe trims around the edge, along with some silver trim and a rubon. It doesn't matter what you collect, as long as it is something that holds meaning or beauty for you personally. I'd love to hear what you collect, and how you use your collections to inspire you.
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1 comment:

  1. i adore that color palette, too! And those trophy cups are amazing - i love pieces that have a "history" :)

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