Creative Design?

For many years now I have been working in the textile industry and so far I really enjoyed my journey. Probably it is because I believe that beautiful fabrics not only can fulfill our home interiors, but also have the ability to give us a good, quiet or businesslike feeling. Otherwise why bother doing it? It is reflection of yourself in a home atmosphere and opportunity to establish recognisable image as a potential business partner.

Nevertheless, in these days, world sometimes reminds me a madhouse. Terrible tragedy in Norway, drought and other natural disasters in Africa, public debt crisis in USA with a possible far-reaching global consequences... It is scary to think what else will come up, when and where... A mix of emotions comes out…

As an effect of this circumstances, we are living today in a world where most of the population simply wants to survive. We humans have hide back into our skins, loosing trust and significantly reducing our limit of tolerance. When we talk about being social, we think about the ‘internet’, violence is on rise and a fear of loosing a job, relationship or wealth increased significantly, parallel with our stress level. Yet again another mix of emotions comes out…

Looking at the sales levels, todays’s most benefitting branches are: wellness & spa, hospitality and holidays bureaus. Demands for places where people can relax, increased enormously! Same pattern has been observed in industries related to interior design and home electronic appliances. Yes - ‘home’ became a keyword again, signifying a place where we can relax, for a minute forget the problems and feel safe.

And here we come to the concept of creative designs. It seems to me that times when you can only create a beautiful product with a good media plan are gone. There are much more sophisticated needs for being innovative, brave and keeping price vs. quality ratio in a good balance. People wants more for less - this a representation of current times.

Thus I set myself a goal to listen to this moods and trying to convert them into colours and fabrics. I would love to make a concepts which hopefully can enriches ‘modern’ humans life. This is the main force that drives me forward. Also, I always bare in mind my two favorite quotes, which helps me while I’m working:

Quote 1:

“Stand up straight, say what you think, tell what's in your lives, so everyone can be there to share. Be fearless, lets hear your opinion everywhere. Life is a dare". (Lewis Morris)

Quote 2:

“Not everything has been done”. (noticed at the Dutch Design Week, the Netherlands)

I believe that appreciating all of this, it is much more easier to reveal positive and productive creativity in our everyday work. Soon we will see, if our 2012 fabric’s collections is creative enough. I hope that colours, colours and even more colours will give people exciting energy, spreading positive vibes from homes into offices and streets, turning our ‘not so great’ times into better ones.

Please visit our Facebook site to see some exclusive previews: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Reynaldo/126565737412110

Enjoy and all the best,

Esther van Kemenade

Product Manager at Bernard Reyn