Random Thoughts for the End of the Summer

Alright. So, I might have a problem.  Lets see I've been blogging for about 4 months and this is officially my fourth blog header design.

 

It looks like I'm averaging about one per month, although I definitely did not plan it that way.  Apparently I like to play around with graphic design.  I see these headers as a pretty good representation of myself and my design style.  Ever changing, constantly evolving and (hopefully) improving day by day.

I can honestly say that at this point, I have a much greater appreciation of different design styles than I did while I was in school.  When I was in school, I didn't have much time to go out and explore all that is available in the design world for inspiration.  I had to rely on what I knew and liked at the time, and then all my time was spent working on my projects with my limited school resources of outdated design magazines and discontinued fabrics.

After graduating, I've been exposed to many more design styles, other than my own, through blogs, the internet, and design magazines now that I actually have time to read and pay attention to these things.  So, although this summer has been slow as far as work goes, it's also been a great learning experience for me to explore design and figure out more about my aesthetic, how I want to design, and how I want to work and run my business.  So although my husband jokes that I must stay at home all day and eat bon bons, I assure you that I do not.  :)  I've been researching, cataloging ideas, working on DIY projects, learning to sew, designing, writing on this blog and reading about things that I hope will be of use to me in the future as I start my own design business.

Now, to say that all this researching isn't fun, would be a lie.  How lucky am I to be in a industry where your required reading is design magazines, and blogs?  How cool is it to be able to research new product lines that add function and style to a space?  How amazing is it to go to furniture and fabric showrooms and be surrounded by gorgeous things?  I think it's pretty great and sometimes I need to remind myself  of that when things are slow and not much money is coming in, because I know that someday this economy will get better and someday I'll have clients coming out of my ears!  And then, hopefully I'll look back on this time and think, wow, I was really lucky to have that time to learn more about myself and the interior design industry so that I can do this business the right way, the first time!

p.s. Feel free to let me know your thoughts on my headers!  Which one is your favorite?