Beauty As A Necessity

With so much pain, brokenness, ugliness in the world, attention to beauty, joy, & wonder is absolutely necessary!

Beauty may not solve problems itself... A stunning photograph will not end famine or war. Banksy's graffiti art does not solve Middle eastern contested-land conflicts.

But, the restoration, hope, and inspiration that come from creativity and beauty are like gas in the tank — fuel for the drivers & changers of the world.

dignify sells unique, artful kantha blankets. The beauty is in the products themselves, which provide so much inspiration just by their existence.

But, as a marketer — a conduit to get the colorful blankets from Bangladeshi workshops to your homes — I need to produce beauty as well. Words, images, communication that creatively expresses the best of what kantha offers.

As a creator, I need beauty & creativity to make beauty & creativity. I've been trying to intentionally make time and space to seek out and receive those things. Here are a few sources of creative inspiration for me lately:

Heather Day,  Seven Thirty-Two, 2017

• Although I am not into fashion — or, I don't really "get it" — reading Fashion Climbing by Bill Cunningham (posthumously published) has been really eye-opening & fun. He had a raw love of creativity & beauty. I've been so inspired by his crazy stories of living in NYC in the '50s-'60s as a young man bursting with creative energy, using his money for art installations and flower arrangements instead of food or a proper bed. 
• The French Dispatch — No particular allegiance to Wes Anderson films, but I thought this was his best. Loved the aesthetic, the story-telling, the interesting visual choices. It's a sort of spoof/homage to The New Yorker, which I also enjoy, so that's probably another reason I enjoyed it.
• I have some home update/fix/reno projects coming up, so of course all the decision-making and images of beautiful home projects could produce inspiration... or defeatism. I'm trying to appreciate art and design elements for their beauty & artfulness, and not just to feel envious or overwhelmed. Emily Henderson home posts & projects are a fave of mine.
• Lighting stores, furniture stores, even if they are beyond my price range or personal style (the classist vibe, where store staff would be rude or dismissive to a visitor like me, seems to have changed a lot in the last 10-20 years)
• Reading lit pieces simply to appreciate the artfulness of the writing:  The New Yorker, McSweeney's
• Sunrises
• Design books about color palettes, like this one
• Doing tactile things — crafting, repairing, playing music, cooking

What inspires you? What do you find beautiful? What spurs your creativity, or gives you gas in the tank to move forward? I would love to hear. Share below or by emailing contact@dignify.ca