roadmaps: a guide to creative pursuit.

photo credit: Chris Moncus.

A few days ago, Design for Mankind experienced quite the influx of comments in response to the lovely Marisa of Creative Thursday's Daily post [click here to read the post and corresponding commentary]. And it was on this particular day that I realized how blessed we bloggers, artists and designers are to be among such supportive company.

If you work a 'day job,' you know how hard it is to be inspired in the daily mundane. And if you are a freelancer or self-employed, you know how hard it is to be motivated by the self. Truth is, the grass is not only greener on the other side, but lush, lovely and BLOOMING.

I'm a firm believer in following your dreams (in fact, I'm doing it now), and if I can inspire just one person to pursue their goals, I'll have reached the pinnacle of my blogging career (if you can call this a career, that is!). So, with the help of Marisa and Holly from Decor8, we gals are going to do our best to aid in whatever transition you readers are needing.

Whether your wish is to ditch your 9 to 5 in pursuit of opening a local gallery, or if you're a struggling artist that longs to belong back in the corporate world, we're here to help. Dear Marisa is [as I type this!] putting together one of her famous podcasts regarding the financial responsibility of breaking free from your steady paychecks and beginning your dream business. Lovely Holly will be compiling a post dedicated to the importance of following your inner voice and trusting your instincts when it comes to finding your place in this big, busy design world. And I will be, along with the help of my favorite Daily Dears(!) giving tangible advice re: the importance of community and an established support system during this pivotal transition in your lives.

I do hope you find the three of us to be helpful in your quest for an inspiring career, and please don't hesitate to ask any of us questions along the way. I believe I speak for all of us when I say that's why we're here.

So with that said, welcome to Roadmaps: A Guide to Creative Pursuit. Stay tuned for the first installment from Design for Mankind, and be sure to bookmark Decor8 and Creative Thursday for their take on life, liberty and the pursuit of creativity!

style pick of the day: sack dress.

"it's true--- you really can wear a grocery sack and look fantastic."

$220 from From Somewhere.

product of the day: paul lamp.

"may i turn you on, paul? yes, please."

$48 from Illico Design.

print of the day: peacounting woman.

"if you can't count your blessings, try counting peas."

$18 from Karin Kramer.

the dailies: laure from apartment therapy.

Good morning, Design for Mankind--- it's daily time again! Today we've got Ms. Laure Joliet, one of the famed editors for Apartment Therapy LA and writer of At Home, At Home. I'm just so excited to share with you a truly inspirational gal, and her TRULY inspirational schedule! Thanks, dear Laure!



9:30 Wake up. Since I quit my 9-5, my schedule can change pretty radically from day to day. Today I got to sleep in. It feels wonderful. And since I moved just 2 weeks ago, my 'nightstand' still looks like this. A little helter skelter but things I love. (You must get that book, it makes me laugh outloud). I hang out in bed for a little bit waking up. This is probably my favorite indulgence. To not just have to hop out of bed and start the day..

9:45 I go downstairs, start boiling water for coffee and double check my posts for Apartment Therapy. I was a good student and wrote all of them the night before, so this morning I just have to make sure I didn't miss anything. This is when I check my email and stuff but it's very easy for me to get way too sucked into the computer so instead...



10am I'm living in a guest house and I actually have a garden (yay). I'm still figuring out what exactly to do with it and how to lay it out. It gets beautiful light. And this morning I realize that it's really warm. It's such a nice day, in fact, that I decide that I must go for a walk down to the beach. What's the use of having a flexible schedule if I don't take advantage of it?



10:30 I love Venice.



10:35 A lot.

11:00 I walk back down one of my favorite streets. I always get tons of inspiration from going for walks. It gives me distance from whatever is on my mind and somehow it seems to put things into perspective. This is the first house my dad lived in when he moved here from France. I was 7 and I remember that there were ducks living in the backyard.



11:15 I get home and guess who wants some fresh tap water? I've trained her not to jump up on the kitchen counter, so she is allowed in the bathroom sink for a drink. Don't mind the mess in the background, I'll get to it soon.

Now it's time to work. I am dabbling in interior design: I'm working on designing a neutral living room for a mom. This is the carpet I have to 'work with'. The rusty red is also a color she loves, so I'm collecting my samples. I realize I have a limited supply and should go to the fabric store to stock my arsenal.

12:30 I spend about 20 minutes cutting swatches at F&S Fabrics on Pico. I love this store and I love cutting swatches. I get so many ideas just walking the aisles. I have to make myself focus. When I'm satisfied, I decide to run over to the West Elm in Santa Monica since I know they're using that specific color of red in a lot of products right now. I'm all about blues and greens, so I need a little bit of help envisioning how that red can work in a non-80's interior.

1:15 The building next to West Elm has this amazing original architectural detail. It makes me swoon. I'm glad they've kept it around. (it's worth noting that at this point I have not eaten lunch and have been eating the cadbury mini eggs that I got sent home with the day before when all of us Apartment Therapy Editors met up for brunch).



2:00 I make it home and spread my samples out. I consider beginning to work when I decide it is dumb to not eat anything besides chocolate and that I must eat lunch now.

2:20 I sit down in the doorway and eat the salmon I just made. I am excited that I made a point of putting on a skirt today instead of the same jeans I try not to wear everyday. The salmon is good, it quells the chocolate. It also feels so good to spend all this time outside. Normally I spend much more time during the day on the computer.

4pm I am at a creative impass and cannot figure out how to make this living room work. I decide to scrub the stove while boiling water. This does the trick and I suddenly have inspiration for a direction. I mock up the idea on the floor with my samples, a print out of the furniture and rugs I was thinking and document it to send over to the client. Phew. It had started to weigh on me. And now I feel good about it. Which means I move on to the next task:

4:45 I work on a couple of posts for Apartment Therapy for the following day and for my own blog At Home At Home. I normally get inspiration during the day that I either remember or write down in a little notebook. When all else fails, to the internet I go, and something will resonate. While I am working on blogging this afternoon, I am simultaneously indulging in 2 guilty pleasures at once: Perez Hilton and an Ashlee Simpson song that he posted that I cannot get enough of. Please do not hate me. I really am not 'that girl' and actually have 'good taste' in music, but I love the really bad stuff too. I have been cursed with this my whole life. The first concert I ever attended was Paula Abdul with Color Me Badd opening.



5:30 I hop in the car because I need to head out to one of the Interior Design classes I'm taking at UCLA. It's a post-bac certificate program that I'm dipping my toe into to see if it's what I want to do. I had been working as a Visual Effects producer for the last 5 years sort of by accident, so last year's appendicitis made me stop and re-assess what the heck I was doing. I'm only 28, but then, in moments, I AM 28. I think you know what I mean.



9:47 PM I am returning from my class. We had a great speaker and reviewed some of the earliest interior designers. I am at once abuzz with inspiration and totally exhausted.

10:12 To wind down I spend time with the internet while on the phone with my boyfriend. I find that one of my photos has been posted on another blog. I still blush to myself when this happens as I find it enormously flattering. I love belonging to such an interesting group of people. I finish leaving comments on my posts for the day and head off to take a bath and get my jammies on.



11:08 This is when I am grateful that I made the bed this morning. I climb upstairs (the bed is in a loft) and climb into bed. Both of my kitties follow me up. I read Amy Sedaris until I cannot keep my eyes open any longer.