I get easily obsessed with things. I go through these stages where I get obsessed with a particular thing, sometimes that thing is music and I find myself listening to the same band over and over, all of their CDs, I learn about them, I study the artwork on their covers, tour posters, their solo projects, sometimes I just listen to the same song multiple times. I also get obsessed with authors and I read all the books that someone I like has published, and sometimes I just get obsessed with ideas and it feels like my mind is trapped in a maze. Some people think I’m joking when I say that once I have a project or a new client I can’t stop thinking about it but it’s true, it stays in my head until I figure it out and it’s useful because I’m able to get inspired from unusual things, suddenly I just get a solution in my head and it evolves into a final result: a logo, a poster, a business card. I always carry a notebook with me in case I get inspired out of nowhere and need something to make a quick sketch, I’m trying to use my iPhone for that purpose now, which has become the 21st Century napkin… the best ideas are usually born on a napkin at the coffee shop.
But my biggest obsession of all is paper. I love smelling it, looking at it, feeling its texture between my fingers and I just love using it. Sometimes one obsession is like an open door to the next one and when I did some research before my letterpress class I learned about the types of paper out there for this purpose. And that path took me to Porridge Papers which is a company in Nebraska that makes handmade and plantable paper which have either a wildflower mix with a mixture of the following seeds: black-eyed susan, spurred snapdragon, shirley poppy, mexican hat, white yarrow, evening primrose, sweet, alyssum, etc (depending on availability) or a herb mix that also comes in white and ecotan and contains dill, thyme, oregano, parsley, chive, and basil seeds. Of course I went crazy when I heard about them and I asked if they could mail me some samples of their paper and I got them today.
They are so beautiful and I can’t wait to use them on my next little project and watch my ideas grow… literally.
