For a long time now I have wanted a place to pin things which, for want of a better expression, inspired my creativity.
Lots of crafters have them. There is even a Flickr group and blog devoted to them.
And they come in all shapes – from simple wires or tapes with pegs to hold the inspirational piece in place, to actual quilt rails, whole walls, back down to basic cork boards with pins.
The reason why I’ve never had one is really because I never had the space. But it became apparent that I would soon really be needing one on a practical level, and voila! a space magically appears before me – necessity being the mother of invention, and all that. The back of a cupbaord door right next to where I work *slaps forehead* why oh why have I never seen it before?!
Right now my board comprises of fabric swatches and sketches (which I am not showing you :P); hardly inspirational, but totally totally revolutionary in terms of how this has improved my work.
There will probably be times when I will feel the need to pin up pictures and shapes and leaves and articles and other things which grip my imagination and make the craft mojo flow etc., but right now this is how I’m working, and it is really such a simple yet SUCH an effective tool. The space to mark out ideas and block work – at a glance my concentration is galvanised as I see just how I want my work to be. Simple, yes. But totally amazing in results.
Inspiration boards. I recommend them to you!