From the Studio Series: Where do we begin?

As an entrepreneur and designer, I love reading the posts from fellow business owners: what inspires them, their process of creation, their challenges and victories. I am humbled by their stories, and grateful to be able to learn from their experiences. 

By the same token, I'm excited to launch our "From the Studio" series. Over the course of the series, we'll be sharing how we create MAIKA products: from inspiration to finished product.

Inspiration
I often get asked the question: how does the design process start? Where do you find inspiration? Truth be told, I don't have a "process" in place where I start. Often the approach is organic, and meandering.

Instead I carry a sketchbook and my trusty phone wherever I go. I record details that catch my eye, words I hear as I go about my way, food I taste... etc. You get the idea. For the most part, my sketches are hasty and gestural. I'm capturing ideas, and feelings, not editing at this point. As cliché as this sounds, inspiration is really everywhere. 

Sometimes, I snap a quick photo just to remind myself of an idea floating around in my head. At this point, it's so primitive I have no inkling if the thought will germinate into anything.

And voila! a year older... we launched our Maze collection. Although Maze wasn't directly based on the photo above, it did serve as a starting point.

Over the years, I've found the best way to get inspired is by playing! I drew these silly little faces while goofing around with my daughter a long time ago. As we were dotting their cheeks with our markers, I suddenly saw the beginnings of a collection with these simple circular shapes. Quickly, I sketched out what those shapes could look like as a series of canvas goods (left spread above).

Thus our Luna collection was born.

I hope you enjoyed this sneak peek into our working studio. Till the next post...