Last fall I stared at the carpet while on a treadmill.  I was gathering ideas for a new design collection.  The ugly brown carpeting inspired me.

I came up with rough sketches and submitted them to my talented team of artists. They improved upon my idea and a new alphabet collection was born!

 

While in the early stages of the design process, I gathered feedback. The response was 50/50.  I returned to the gym that night a bit disappointed. I thought I liked the collection. But now I wasn’t sure. I might be a hack. But my coworker, Sam, kept me on track. He liked the collection.  He felt I should continue.  So I did.

I embraced the collection.  I imagined this was what it felt like to be an artist or designer – some people like the work, others don’t get it.  But that’s true of anything.  Tastes vary.

My team and I tested the designs, produced color charts, photography and finally… packaging for a finished product.

Each member of the team is remarkable for their attention to detail and their desire to do their best. Not a mediocre job. Not average. Their best. And for that they have my respect.

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Regarding the design elements:

The lines in the letters remind me of a sofa.  Somewhere along the way in internet land, I discovered the name Chesterfield refers to a sofa.  I shared my thought process with Sam and the product was named.

Depending on the thread colors selected, the circles look like olives…perhaps for a cocktail enjoyed on a chesterfield sofa.  Or maybe the circles are inspired by lava lamps.  Then again, I did mention the inspiration came while staring at ugly brown carpet at a gym. 😊

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The day the packaging arrived, I celebrated the finished product with a victory run on my treadmill.  (I had to lower the speed – it’s hard to take a steady photo while running!)

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This collection is 1 of 4 new collections that will be surprise gifts in goody bags at Inspirations events.  (A different collection at each event).