I love to write about where my inspiration comes from because it's so exciting and endless...You just have to know where to look...

Creatively, I'm inspired by anything vintage and pre-loved. Searching for one of kind vintage treasures is one of my favorite things to do and a beloved pastime. Scouring estate sales and garage sales is one way to find fabric, trims, old flowers, needlepoints, mis-matched earrings and virtually anything that catches my eye. I LOVE a good find...and I feel lucky to be the one to find it. It's such a nostalgic feeling when I come across a beautiful hand-made item, like beautiful embroidery, or a hand knit baby sweater...wondering where it came from and who made it.

I take a moment to appreciate that someone made those items with love and care. They were artists in their own way, and maybe didn't have their own business or place to sell them; they just did it as a hobby or pastime. To me, they are "finds" to be treasured. They were talented women who were taught how to do handwork by their mothers and aunts and grandmothers...It's a lost art and we have to capture it so it's not forgotten.

I love to think of new ways to use these special items...Can I turn a tattered table cloth into a pillow with a new silk ruffle? Can I use faded lace on a denim jacket...This is where the designer in me comes through... it's being able to intertwine my vision and style with these "finds" to create something new and beautiful mixed with that vintage treasure from the past.

You never know where organic inspiration will stem from; sometimes it's a vintage Chanel Hat in an old movie with a fantastic embellishment on the side, or Audrey Hepburn's cool style in Two for the Road. When you are inspired, that's the time to keep your sketch diary handy and draw a quick mock up with some notes. The key is to remember to actually go back and review your inspiration journal so during the times when you are not so inspired you have a secret weapon to refer to get your juices flowing again...

I'm also inspired spiritually and emotionally by other things like keeping my office and design studio organized and filled with things I love. Organization is a whole other story and one that I blog about...but it is an element in allowing inspiration to flow...it's hard to feel creative when you can't find things, or feel burdened when you walk into your space to create. I also like to keep a binder and some inspiring books around. I think it's important to read things that inspire you often, whatever they may be...

The women that inspire me are Louise Hay, Cheryl Richardson, Audrey Hepburn, Coco Chanel, Kirsten Scott Thomas, my Mother, my Grandmothers and Aunt, and all the women I never met who embraced the art of creative handwork and sewing.

I'm also inspired by Nature, fall leaves, the beach, the ocean, and living on an old farm. I have an attachment to the past, to the way things were, to imagining what they must have been like.

I am inspired by inspiration...when it happens, when you aren't expecting it, when you dream of fitting two elements together perfectly, or one simple thing that inspires a whole new collection. Feeling inspired is like drinking a beautiful glass of wine, or watching your child laugh. It's the precious moments when I feel closest to the me I really am.