more than love is in the air.

As much as I love design for the sake of design, nothing quite beats the zing of a real message going across- when you feel you tried to change the way something is typically perceived. Valentine’s is such a cliche all over the world, and as the heard too often phrases like match made in heaven and love at first sight, hit themselves repeatedly against deaf ears, one really starts to feel cynical about this whole commercial aspect of love.

But work is good this time of the year because everyone’s a feelin it. Love is in the air and yes, it sells well. So while jumping onto the bandwagon, its a knee jerk reflex to try to do it differently- to ally yourself with people who will also want to do it differently. Who don’t necessarily view the whole thing with rose tinted glasses- but who also aren’t wearing black armbands against the nature of the holiday. Design this time of the year is always fun- always a challenge to try to make it look different while having fun with it; it ends up replenishing your faith and hope in love to some extent as well. And that,  is never a bad thing.

musings~ inspirational women in my life.

I realized that I need to celebrate the women around me who are inspirational in what they are doing- so for the next few weeks, I will profile those lovely ladies whose words, actions, undertakings and passion sparks a reaction inside me, making me want to be part of this lot who are putting themselves out to make us look good and feel great.

Bina’s words having been reverberating in my head since I read them. “I, for one, need to flesh out my identity as a Pakistani with histories and views that are very different from those that are being constantly highlighted. And I hope that in my own small way I am representing an equally real and present version of my city, my country and my part of the world that is pretty, witty, creative and joyous. It’s as real and as close as the bombs and the tears are.”http://www.newslinemagazine.com/2010/02/you-are-only-as-good-as-your-last-act/

Brilliantly said B.

Best-of-2009: a lookback.

http://www.gwenbell.com/blog/2009/11/30/the-best-of-2009-blog-challenge.html

Loved this idea so am going to try and do this as part of my gratefulness awareness campaign. So many small things to be truly happy about that get waylaid in the couple of big things that dont go the ay you want them to. I still believe somewhere some kind of balance is being maintained in the universe.

A quick catch up:

Dec 1: Best trip would have to be thailand Travelling with friends opens doors to sides of you you never knew existed.

Dec 2: Best restaurant moment would have to be the Nov 9 brunch sans kids- when we all finally reconnected as adults without attachments. I just remember the smell of coffee- it goes with good friends, the kind you are comfy with, like favourite socks.

Dec 3: The best article I read was by Keri Smith on Artists and Motherhood. Wonderfully written it does justice to being both- an artist and a mother.

Dec 4: One book that really called out to me was The Bitch in the House. It had the perfect mix of passion, cynicism, warmth, humour and honesty. Being a woman in this day and age is hard because of this overriding need to be great at everything we do- all at once.

Dec 5: There were so many night outs that deserve a mention. But the one that sticks out most vividly was the night the sisters and I sat at ciao and talked away till the wee hours after kay got back from NY. There was no need to move, no need to be anywhere but there and listen and talk and be. Oh and the pompeii dinner with Hussy and A- I think it was a connection after much time.

Dec 6: The workshop conducted by Prof Abbas Husain at my alma mater to help resolve communication issues by using Edward de Bonos Six Thinking Hats definitely deserves a mention- and I especially want to mention the talks on TED that have completely left me reeling. Chimamanda Ngozi, Elizabeth Gilbert, JK Rowling to name the top of my mind right now.

Dec 7: Blog find of the year would be Kelly Rae and Joanna Goddard and Design Work Life. They go right up there with my Keri Smith, Ximena Maier, DesignSpongeonline and Smashing Magazine (to name a tiny few)

Dec 8: Moments of  actual physical peace have been hard to come by in the last  (as the mom of any 2 years old will tell you!) but thankfully the mental peace aspect  has been quite constant. And so I wait till my world is asleep and then I sneak out of bed to come online, make a phone call to a friend, or to simply pick up a book and have a quiet cup of tea.

Dec 9: The best challenge of the year was the return to self. To wear the mom mantle and yet step up on the personal time space and projects. Balance is hard in every sense of the word and the key lies in being able to do all that you want without the guilt that something is suffering. Am perhaps not totally successful but there was a sense of being able to do it the way I want that has started seeping into life. *insert prayer of gratitude here*

Dec 10: Lots of individual songs for sure but the complete album would still be Dostana. Just connects me to the happiness that has been my friends in the recent few years. And the changes of the past year.

Dec 11: The best place is still Espresso. We discovered it, newly opened, tucked away in a corner a little over 5 years ago, adopted it as our own and to date is the place where we, as friends, prefer to converge to dissect, laugh, analyse, share and ponder. Their mocacino kicks some serious butt too.

Dec 12: Never liked thai food till I was introduced to Thai Green curry. Same goes for sushi. Husband is most happy!

Dec 13: The kitchen is finally how I wanted it to be. Warm, happy and mine.

Dec 14: Watching my sister publish and launch her book.

Dec 15: The best packaging for me this year was the Soap and Glory range. The witty lines, the retro look and colours and just the brains behind the idea has had me swept away enough to buy almost the entire range.

Dec 16: The tea at mom’s house tastes like no other.

Dec 17: 2009 was the kind of year you wish would not end.

Dec 18: I probably spent my most money at Liberty Books.

Dec 19: The best car ride of the year was the rainy day drive through Phuket in search of the Butterfly Farm.

Dec 20: Even though we have known each other several years,  urban niche and I connected this year on so many things that have opened up so many thinking and doing avenues.

Dec 21: A project I started this year was type whimsies- the sharing of interesting exciting inspirational examples of type design from all over with people.

Dec 22: I think the idea of KarachiSnob is amazing. Not only does it fill the empty spot of a directory for Karachi, it instills a sense of ownership, of pride  regarding a city about which I am very snobby.

Dec 23: Google Chrome has really helped make my browsing easier because of the tabs. I know its not a tool per se, but for a low tech like me, it rocks!

Dec 24: What I learnt this year that I feel really changed me is the ability to be honest at the cost of everything. Realized to the deepest extent that you have to call it like it is for the sake of your own sanity.

Dec 25: I think the best gift I gave myself this year was the gift of priority- of being able to put one thing above another by this amazing method of weighing its mental well being factor against other things for myself.

Dec 26: Epiphany of the year was a rather cynical and selfish one- that its most important that I survive the way I want to best- that the only way I will only be able to be of any kind of positive use to others if I first and foremost watch out for myself and make myself happy. And once you do that, somehow the pieces fall into place for others too. Weird but has proved true on more than one occasion.

Dec 27: Hinamommy and I made the cross from blog buddies to actual in person friends. Yaay!

Dec 28: My May trip to Dubai, and Hussy knew exactly what place would completely win my heart. If I could have, I would have bought out the entire stock at this place.

Dec 29: My biggest belly laugh of the year was on this one hilarious bloopery comment my sister made on a rather emotional photo. Just thinking about ti right now is making me laugh.

Calling out to Khizzy, S, Mad Momma, Cheesoo, Urban, Mona, Kat, Meyum, Aneela, Parul, Hinamommy, kay, Mina, Insi, Saba, Minerva, Nis and anyone else inspired by this to look back on their year 2009 .  I wish you all a fabulous  2010.

musing on me: the artists within us

As anyone with a degree in design will tell you, at one point in our career we feel like slaves. We feel that we are designing for others- and all the lofty hopes and dreams we had of changing the world with our design feel like they have poofled into smoke. We are bound not only by deadlines- which are acceptable- but by limitations on thought and vision and our aim becomes completing the work as opposed to creating something that would nourish the soul. We start putting off the bigger dreams working for now, earning for now- and before we know it the now has taken over our spirit and even when we want to return to work that energizes us, we cant because we have simply forgotten how it was to do something simply because.

I know ten years ago, when I graduated, I promised myself that I would always enjoy design. That I would never let it get to me, drag me down into a quicksand of should dos and must dos. That for every 5 bits of money oriented projects I took up, I would do one that would completely reinstill my faith in the grand power of design. I dont know if I stuck to those  numbers in the last decade but I am happy to report that I still love what I do. That despite there having been several unmentionable incidents, the magic of design and type still has a hold on me. I can still exclaim over impractical wonderful design ideas without needing to sap the high by mentioning the cost factor. I can still feel that thrill that an idea- no matter how improbably large and fanciful- gives and I dont feel liek puncturing the balloon of possibility by letting the adult voice in my head exclaim over the fruitlessness of the concept. I like the fact that despite my life having been crammed with things to do in the last few years, somehow I have managed to dig out time to embark on exciting new things with people who are as excited about them as I am. I am happy to look back and report that somehow, I have managed to retain that sense of wonder that is so necessary to be able to think “change” in this day and age and for that, I am truly grateful.

 

musing on me- hungry is beautiful.

A couple of years ago, my husband was looking through stock images and stumbled upon illustrations he knew I would love. So he emailed me to check out the illustrator. And  I was hooked. Not only did she illustrate in this really happy kind of way but her blog was a food blog.

Now I am not a crazy foodie by personality or even that into cooking but I am married to someone who is. I do however, love the idea of fun recipes, beautiful kitchens, I enjoy eating well and I especially love gorgeous presentation and to stumble upon a soul who talks about food in these divine illustrations was an inspiration in itself. Of course shes madly talented and I can only stare at her strokes in wonder, loving the natural flow and movement of her lines. I love how people find things in their nature to nurture and fly with it, changing the way others feel. I dont know Ximena at all obviously, I haven’t even corresponded with her because I have nothing more interesting to say to her than a complete gushing over what she does. She is a fellow mom too which makes me admire her even more, because all too often I have seen people let go of what excites them because it gets too difficult to retain that sense of wonder with work when you’re constantly tired from performing a baby duty or the other.

I have read every single blog of hers, whether it was relevant to my life or not, and possibly hunted down every single illustration she has ever made that is online. If you are a traveller you will love her travel sketch series. If you are a chef you will love her food blog which has lovely little suggestions and the most fun dishes from all over. If you are a designer, you will love her take on food, love, life and if you’re a mom, you’ll cheer for the fact that someone else is out there, living her dream and hopefully get inspired to do the same.

musings on me- holiday mantras.

Its seemed like every single person in Thailand has taken an oath to sell their country in the best most positive manner possible. The people smile it, the designs scream it and the infrastructure , mostly, allows for it.Each word, each thought they projected seemed to be with the intention of imparting some fact or knowledge about their country with pride and excitement. Everywhere we went in Bangkok and Phuket, I would be noticing details that they had thought of to facilitate the tourist or simply make things look fun. The brightly colours pink and green taxis, the illustrations everywhere selling this, promoting that. Everyone seemed to be a guide or wanted to help us. If we asked directions to one market, they would tell us we could get the same stuff but cheaper in another one- it didn’t seem to be about making money for oneself rather for the country . They would suggest shorter routes, more baby friendly things to do. The waiters would be friendly, and would hold the kids and entertain them so we could have our delicious meals in peace. They would bargain in good humour- mostly.  Agree with our final price-mostly. Other cultures in this way help you cast a critical eye on your lot so much because you see two countries with roughly the same lot- and then you see what they made of it and you wish yours would get knocked on the head really badly and get it soon also.

musing on me

Last week I got an email from someone I know blogularly, saying that she is very inspired by me- with what I do, who I am and how I manage to remain me and how did I do it? Made my day, really, because honestly speaking, these days, I feel I am not even trying to do other than what is the very basic of living. No great art, no fabulous thoughts being exchanged- just basic good ol living. Which makes it more amazing to know that someone out there draws from even that lot of regular stuff energy you throw out into the universe. It just makes soo much possible, you know, within you.

Coming to the word “possible”, one of of my “inspire me” artists  is Kelly Rae Roberts. And if you go onto her website, she makes the best use of this word by turning it into a title. Possibilitarian. Love it, and I want to be one too.

musing on me.

It’s so easy to nurture on aspect of your personality and let the other atrophy away just because you can’t make time, just because your mode is different, just because you’re not bothered. The justification and excuses are endless arent they when deep down we know that it only takes a good minute or two to indulge the aspects of us we feel are slowly ebbing away just because.

I am in love with these fabulous illustrations by Elsie F. available on www.redvelvetart.com. They have awakened the illustration monster lying dormant in me and now I am all inspired again. Amazing how it just takes one thing to inspire you in 4 others. Happy Thursday Musing everyone.

18/07/09- rainful and lightless.

The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain- Dolly Parton

go grow.

The world is only as small, or as big as your imagination and will to make it.

It is only when you see the world grow to magnificent proportionsthrough someone else’s eyes that you realize how limitedly you were looking at it for yourself. And that my friend, is yet another upward turn.