Where do the ideas come from?

So, many wonder where a designer gets ideas.  Like all good designers, I keep an inspiration scrapbook.  Sometimes things pop into your head that maybe you haven't seen before, but usually, you see something somewhere and it starts your imagination; a great trim on a shirt or shoe, a beautiful suit or coat, a color comination on an upholstered piece, or the print on a great textile.  The list could go on and on.  Some of my designs were daydreams of handbags, some just popped in my head, and some were inspired by the gorgeous work of other great designers like Chanel, Liz Claiborne, Diane von Furstenburg, and many others.  Here are some great finds that helped shape Third Willow Handbags for Fall 2009 and Holiday 2009.

The two pictures below are from Vogue September 2009.  The pictures show Chanel's fall line and when I saw the runway show last spring, I fell in love with the sleeve cuff treatments.  The tight wrap with flowing fabrics on either side of the cuff inspired the Maxine Clutch below as did the image of the woman  in the purple dress from Glamour July 2009 below. 

Red and Gray are hot, hot, hot, this fall.  The picture below, speaking of gray and red, is from Marie Claire September 2009 and inspired both the Maxine above and the two red bags to follow, the Delores Clutch and the Imogene Clutch!

The bags above were also inspired by this image from Real Simple September 2009 below.

MMMMM, sequins!

These bags were also inspired by sequins, the Delores and the Clara!

The image of the woman with the bow on her skirt is from Marie Claire September 2009, while the image of the ruffles (which are a Third Willow mainstay) is from Real Simple September 2009.  Both of these images inspired the Jeannette Laptop Handbag that follows.

The images below also inspired the Jeannette Laptop Handbag, especially in the great fall wool plaids!  The image on the left from Liz Claiborne is forever plaid and is from Lucky September 2009.  The image on the right is from Real Simple September 2009 and is so yummy!

So, as you can see, inspiration can come from anywhere at any time.  Look at magazines, watch fashion shows ( my favorite is Project Runway ), sketch, draw, take pictures, and never stop collecting those images that speak to you!

Designer, Out!

Bill