Part of my living in the state of “whatnowness?” is getting back into the world and moving through it at a slower pace. These days I will often have my phone or camera in hand taking photos of what inspires me or moves me in some way. When I look through Instagram now it feels like something is missing. There is no slowness to be found. There are only questions raised. When there is an inspiration, a creative brief or mood board what is the “what now?” that follows and comes before the final realization that appears on your feed? This is the question that has always engaged me the most and why I think I actually started this blog. What happens between a designer’s inspiration and the final garment that walks down the runway?  It is in that in-between space that there lies the potential for transparency and change. When we are moving too fast we are missing those opportunities that come from being immersed in the process of you or something you create “becoming”.

I was recently invited to do a photo walk and talk at an Apple store. The goal was in fact for me to make explicit the in-between of how one of my photos came to be, the space between inspiration and Instagram post. I must admit I really loved doing this and in some ways, it felt like I was back in front of the class again, Keynote slides and all. It was raining but that did not stop people from coming and then going out to take photos and learn some inside dish on the iPhone camera from the Apple creative team. When we returned there was a mini-lesson in editing and a slide show of everyone’s photos. What happened to me in thinking about and making explicit the process behind my photos was a re-engagement with the pleasure of the work. The pleasure was and is in the process. It is in the experience of going into the rain with engaged and creative people (many who were also in their “whatnowness”) and “being with”. At some point, no one cared that it was raining. And that is when you begin to move from “what now” and get lost in the “something”.

What’s your “something” these days?