“I think the most valuable thing I learned from this course was to know and trust my personal style. Before this class, I took my style for granted – I knew I had one, but I couldn’t define it, even to myself, so I couldn’t use it to guide my creative decisions. Now that I have a better idea of who I am as a designer and who I am designing for, it helps me move forward when I get stuck and am not sure what to do next – I find that if I just sit down and start working, I can see whether I’m on the right path and make adjustments before I get too far along a path that’s not working. One key for me over the course of this class was the realization that I feel more excited and engaged in my designs if they tell a story, evoke a place, moment, or memory – real or imagined – like the woman and her shawl. That image engages my imagination and my creativity, and I hope that it comes through in my work – that my designs will spark something in the imaginations of the people who use them. Now that I’m working on my next collections, if I have an idea and I’m not quite sure whether I want to pursue it, I stop and think about what story this design could tell.”
