I clipped this image out of a magazine after my recent fashion muse binge and have it hanging above my monitor. I love their candid relaxed and comfortable look without a sense of striving or harshness. Thoughtful clean lines and quality? Yes, please.

After getting out to meet locals here in Waltham at a networking lunch a few weeks back, I connected with Joshua Bob (@joshsambob) one of the founders of Texturant. It’s a very cool startup – giving restaurants the ability to tell patrons their table is ready by texting them on their phone. He asked me if I’d be up for designing a whimsical menu-like handout for their “side dish” at the WebInno event last week in Cambridge. Why, yes, I think I would.

In addition to channeling quaint dinner typography, I also had fun translating their text into menu-esque copy. My favorite: “Mobile makes for a Better Meal!” Take a look, and click the images to see them larger!

Can you tell what my new font loves are? I’m such a sucker for block type and a good script!

Despite its silence with some sporadic postings, I have been muling over the best way to approach this portfolio blog. Lately I have been fighting the urge to write what other design blogs are writing about. While it would be a good intentioned effort meant to take part in the community dialogue – I have hesitated because I wouldn’t want to fall into a dangerous routine of recycling content. That’s not how I work, and its not what I want this space to be.

So what to write about? Thank goodness I have felt this quandary unravel itself the past few days, and I am finally eager to blog. Not only that, but I realized a better way to approach developing content. Simply put – taking my head out of my RSS feed and looking around the world. What I’ve been drawn to lately surprises me, but I think is worth sharing!

Here we go:
The Devil Wears Prada has been my go-to chick flick of choice for awhile, but watching the past few seasons of the reality show Project Runway has really opened my eyes to better understand the creative process and where these clothes come from. If you haven’t seen this show, it follows a crop of designers through rigorous challenges (design an outfit out of newspaper, candy, burlap, an old wedding dress, etc!). One designer is eliminated each week until the top three showcase their work in Bryant Park in New York City’s Fashion Week. I am hooked – and piling up my netflix que with, Valentino: The Last Emperor, Unzipped, Coco avant Chanel, and The September Issue. Yesterday, in the name of muse, I bought Vogue and InStyle and soaked it in. What is happening to me, a fleece loving northern California girl?

Fascination and inspiration:
While the negatives and unhealthy facets of the industry (of which there are plenty) have largely kept my cynical about the fashion world, it also hid what I’m now relishing in the designers and their processes. Discovering the craftsmanship, muse, sweat and tears are like getting to know a family member I didn’t know I had. I am loving this, and can not get enough! And even better, magazines like Vogue have made translating this industry into print an art form.

And specifically:
I adore the interviews with Creative Director Grace Coddington in The September Issue. Her crazy red hair and comfy sandals dash the Devil Wears Prada vision I had of the Vogue office. Her flat is loaded with photography and books. She points to favorites and reveals meaning and relevance behind each image. She brings everything this wall symbolizes (experience, talent, relationships) with her into her work as a stylist, which Editor Anna Wintour calls genius. She is a self-admitted romantic, with ups and downs as her work is cut, then put back into the magazine. Indeed, dealing in personal creativity for a demanding and ever changing client is exhausting. Yet, I find myself with a new design hero who gracefully works through it and shines. Note taken.