how products happen: head to object

Erica, I am ripping you off. Totally.

I don't have an art director- I don't have a boss. I sometimes get a thumbs up or thumbs down from Matt, but usually I get "it's interesting". Hm. Ambivalence.

I never think in a straight line, and I rarely do all my thinking at once. Usually I don't even realize I've been thinking about something, but clearly I have been, because suddenly a solution comes to mind based on what I have been problem-solving without really problem-solving. Does that make sense?

I realized it was happening today- I caught myself in process. Whew!

I was wanting a coaster other than the kleenex on my desk. I thought a lot about the old flour sack towel. I did some work for the tax man. I liked round. I thought about the coffee table we might someday have (I hate coffee tables, but I want one, or something loosely based on a coffee table to go in front of the couch), if I ever find something I like, and how I probably will want to protect the surface from scratches (unless it turns out to be something like this, which I really want for in front of the wood stove). So soft is it. And machine washable- heck yes, thumbs up! Which reminded me that I need to do a machine-washing test on something for these recycled materials for a dog bed that I've been thinking about. And you know, we don't really have super-sweaty glasses here because it is typically bone dry, so I don't really need anything that will act as an impenetrable barrier (Matt suggested I pop in a layer of Gore-Tex- better than "interesting"). More attractive and lasting than the kleenex, but not marble with cork backing (yarf).

Back to the old towel, back to my exposed seams, thinking about the drips becoming the design, and then I kind of laughed thinking how I'm a total drip for thinking about a mini-quilt to catch my coffee drips. And the word drip stuck. Real drips with the word drip hand embriodered. Buh-bye, excel spreadsheets, huhllo embroidery hoop, coffee colored thread and the once-again rescued flour sack towel.

And here we are- I have 2 of these little puppies. Obviously I didn't take the time to switch out the foot on my Necchi, so these are rough, and they haven't been washed yet to fray the edges, but hot diggity it was a fun 45 minutes! And the photographing was fun, too. And Miss Lovely slept through it all! Hooray! I'm looking forward to making more... AFTER I get those stupid spreadsheets done, I swear.

I highly doubt that I am alone in this kind of wandering, start/stop then go for it thinking. And usually these ideas take a while to stew- this was just a lucky nooner of an idea.

Also exciting? I got my paper napkins up on my site. Fingers crossed, please please please God I won't find them at Target or Pottery Barn (worse yet, Kohl's or Walmart) for Back To School next year. I have been afraid to put them out there for years....

Speaking of, I really need to get a move-on with that stinking site. Vision has been so hazy and photography is such a killer for me... I don't naturally think in 2d.

And go check out the darling shoes Matt gave Miss Lovely for Valentine's Day- you will die!

-Annie