It’s not January anymore, and this is not my mood board this time and very worth sharing.
I received a couple of days ago the sweetest email from Silkie who run Rosehip Paper in London. She has received my newsletter that same day and said she was really enjoying the content being ” inspiring & motivating- thank you so much for sharing your knowledge. I’ve been working on mood boards on my blog a little bit – a great creative practise and a fantastic way to consolidate ideas (I’m an illustrator) so it’s always fantastic to hear your insights about how mood boards can be put into practise – I do trade shows so I’m thinking that I’ll have one up at my next show :)”.
The newsletter (with exclusive content for subscribers only this time, this is why the story is not on the blog) was about a fabric company that had set up the most amazing moodboard at their stand at the IMM Interior Design Show in Cologne I attended in January and I was sharing all images I took and analyzing why in my opinion it was a brilliant concept.
I was so happy, I had to see her site and to my delight, she has a column with the same title I do and was featuring a fantastic mood board. Since I had not found the time to continue with my series in January (will be back in February though), and her board and site deserves a little shout, I thought it would be nice to publish it here.
Curious about how she works with moodboards, I have asked Silkie a few extra questions.
1// Can you briefly explain what Rosehip Paper Goods is all about?
Rosehip paper is a boutique stationery company specializing in contemporary illustrated paper goods. Rosehip was founded 10 years ago as a kitchen table business whilst I had young children and has grown into a thriving company selling worldwide to lot’s of independent gift shops and department stores as well as directly from our website.
2// How do you use your mood boards in your work as an Illustrator?
Whenever I am starting to think about creating a new rosehip collection I always begin with a mood board to help me pull all my ideas together – I find it super useful to really pin down the story I am wanting to tell and to refine details like colour mark making, style and mood before I actually start the illustrations. Often I have such a lot of different ideas floating around I find it a great way to help me focus down and commit to the design process. There’s so much amazing imagery out there these days that creative thinking can easily get muddied by all the noise. Mood boards help me to have clarity and organize my creative process. I also use them in the same way when I am thinking about styling & photographing my products.I use mood boards throughout the whole process from initial ideas to creating a final product and then finding creative ways to “tell its story”. I also use mood boarding on my blog as a way to share feelings or design inspiration I find – I suppose I use them as a kind of sketch book, a way to capture ideas and fleeting thoughts!
3// What advice could you give other creatives when it comes to moodboarding?
I’m always on the lookout for ephemera that might at some point become part of a mood board – magazines are great but so are vintage papers, books, printed matter, old wallpapers, fabrics etc. Rootling about thrift shops is a great place to find the good stuff! When I’m making a mood board I always think about colour first, and try to limit my palette so that the “mood” is pulled together – paint colour swatches from hardware shops are good for this. Next I think about finding textures and marks that will help my story along –sometimes I’ll create marks or textures myself if I can’t find anything suitable or I’ll look for fabric or paper that has an interesting surface
I try to think about the whole space that I’m working on and I spend a lots of time moving pieces around until I’ve found the perfect composition – I am always thinking about how one thing sits next to another within the mood board space – I think carefully about placing contrasting elements-shapes, texture & imagery next to each other to create rhythm and interest – and I like to layer different materials too – again with the intention of creating contrast.
And once I think I have “got it” I go back and see what I can take out, whilst still holding onto the essence of the story – less is always more!
Thank you so much Silkie, that has been really interesting, I couldn’t agree more and hope to see much more of your work coming up! G, x
12 Responses
Nice January Moodboard
Yes, Silkie did a fab job here! Impeccable.
Beautiful and inspiring!
That’s your color scheme too, isn’t it, Deb? xx
Your january moodbaord is lovely, wonderful picture, creative design!
Thank you, Silkie is working with really lovely material here. No wonder being such a talented illustrator!
Fabulous Silkie-she’s lovely and talented! Gudy-can’t believe I wasn’t signed up to your fabulous newsletter-all sorted now though!! Have a wonderful weekend! xx
Yes, she is, that was such a happy discovery this week!
Happy weekend to you too lovely, and thank you so much for signing up, glad to have you on board!! Hope to see you this year, Caroline, I’ll be quite a bit in London! xx
Oooh, I love this moodboard! The tones are divine. Thanks for sharing Rosehip Paper Goods – I’ll check it out!
I love this story and I just met Silke on IG funny enough, she’s lovely! Mel x
It’s a small little world. We have become a small amazing community, don’t we? xx
Oh I missed this one! So pretty! Thanks for introducing Silke to us Gudy :)