Category: Inspiration
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May 11, 2011
Blog 2.0……

Hello all! And THANK YOU for sending me such sensational and appreciative comments! I apologize for not updating any posts lately and I realize, with my hectic life, and someone who, amidst searching for inspiration all the time gets a bit side tracked by my large, color coordinating and growing to do list, that I hadn’t had the time to sit and write a long and thoughtful inspired blog post.
So…. to this effect, I am sure you my fellow readers have had less time on occasion to read all of my rantings.

To the point, I will strive to add more and succinct thoughts, rantings and images so for those in-between times when I haven’t had a chance to sit and write for hours (which I love to do), I will just post short and sweetly.

and to that, I beg adieu and leave you with this my lovies!!!

xoxo
Hope that inspires you!
Yay!

April 7, 2011
Manifestos for Life

http://jessvonbrandt.com/manifesto.html

Charles Gaines’ ‘Manifestos’ at UCLA Hammer Museum

In the goal towards being a more complete human being, serving your life’s purpose, a modern day renaissance person and more simply put; just being really damn happy – manifestos are a way to get to the point, recognize your main goals and live life to the fullest. I am brought to this destination while researching more of my passion, how to live an inspired life, and while writing a mission statement for my second company!!!!! It was brought to my attention at a young age, that life is delicate and full of unexpected lemon flavored twists and turns from which you may A) make a sour-face, spit the lemon out and pout, or B) make delicious lemonade, share the wealth and sit back and smile with friends.

In my quest for inspiration, knowledge, spiritual connection, mind, body and soul, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera… I have lists and lists and notebooks and notebooks filled with goals, missions, theories and more, yet I have digressed from sitting my arse down and creating one complete guideline for how I determine to live my life, with the option of course to add / delete and edit anything that I deem fit at anytime (hehe).

If you are anything like me, starting a new company, first, second or third, starting a new project, starting a new job, career path, have a new lease on life, or just want to get a lease on life to begin with, then I suggest you do the same.

Check out this amazing article from one of my faves, Scott Belsky’s website for creatives
5 Manifestos For Art, Life and Business on The99Percent.com

Here Jocelyn K. Glei writes about 5 of her top manifestos, including that of Architect Frank Lloyd Wright, Marketer Seth Godin, Designer John Maeda, Writer Leo Tolstoy and Innovative Power Company Apple.

I know that any time I meet a person I admire, whether a friend, business person or an accomplished or motivated individual – I always ask them about their morning routine. I always like to understand how this person is able to do what they do and how they do it. For me, if every one gets the same 24 hours in a day to do what they do, I want to know – how they spend their time, what do they value and HOW DO I DO THAT!!!

SO I ask YOU, please send me your Manifestos – I would LOVE to hear them!

As for mine, it is a work in progress, but here are the creeds I strive to live by.

My Manifesto (a work in progress).

1. Always make time for Mind, Body and Soul. Tune in to what your body tells you.

2. Be Authentic.

3. Seek the fun in everything, do what you love, and love what you have.

4. Seek to live a life full of meaningful relationships that benefit both yourself and many other people.

5. Believe in constant innovation, reaching beyond what has been conceived as possible, and reinventing that belief.

6. Strive to inspire and empower yourself and others to increase our ability to improve the world for the greater good.

7. Keep aligned with my mission to share my visions with the world and to create beautiful things for the masses to enjoy.

8. “Peace and happiness come from within, not from with out.” – Buddha

9. Trust myself and always listen to my inner voice.

10. Focus on sustainability (the capacity to endure) in everything you do.

For the more specifics:

11. Always have a life time goal, a 5 year goal, a yearly goal, a quarterly goal, a monthly goal, a weekly goal, a daily goal and an hourly goal – but don’t freak out if you didn’t accomplish it.

12. Work out or do something physical every day!

13. Substitute water for all juices or sodas all day long, and drink water with your social cocktails.

14. Send beautiful thank you notes to those you love.

15. Always let people underestimate you 😉

16. Spoil yourself rotten and love yourself as much as you love your favorite person.

17. Never go to bed angry, never end on a bad note.

18. Give compliments to strangers.

19. Follow your heart and don’t have regrets.

20. Life is meant to be LIVED!
.

For more manifestos, check out the link above, and as always –

I hope that inspired you!
xoxo
Emily

March 31, 2011
Inspiration – isnt' that what its really about?

Writing a blog about inspiration is, well, inspiring. That is exactly why I do it. I feel incomplete with out being inspired – for my art, for my dreams, for my goals, for my passion, for the relationships I have, for life etc. Sometimes, it takes a while to come up with something that is really jaw dropping and doesn’t just fascinate me, but INSPIRES ME!

It’s amazing that especially when you’re not looking – inspiration finds you. I was checking my profile on A Small World (aka. ASW www.asmallworld.net) that I had busily neglected and after taking the day to do some maintenance, organizing, spring cleaning, reading and just catching up on things (all the juicy pleasures that I had been putting to the side because “I had to get “”WORK”” done”) and it fell into my lap! An ASW message from the talented Inspirationalist Dodo Newman. I saw her tagline – The Inspirationalist- and obviously had to scour the web to find out more about her.

Dodo Newman is an artist, a fashion designer, a survivor, a philosopher and a spiritualist.  She has an astounding circle of supporters, an awe-striking resume and list of experiences, a worldly pedigree and is soon to be the subject of a book and television show based on her life.

Dodo Newman – Siddharta

A few inspiring excerpts from her bio:

“Because Dodo has grown up in various continents, countries, among various nations and religions she has seen the real faces of the different cultures. She has seen poverty and richness, beauty and ugliness, happiness and sadness, Life and Death. Dodo through her projects and individual works, supports many foundations and initiations with her art.”

– I have come to find that Ms. Newman works only in natural daylight and paints through her emotions, she delivers masterful artwork done in fragments of gold, crystal, stones and pearls. She incorporates Swarovski elements into her art and not only paints something valid and worthwhile, but as an investment piece a collector can actually own art composed of precious stones and elements. Dodo muses that her collectors and admirers often express the same emotions whilst observing her art as she herself experienced while painting.  What an astonishing example of a transfer of energy through art.-

Dodo contrives incredible emotion from her past experiences and is so inspired by her triumphs and tribulations. She says “Every step, falling, sadness, fight or victory forms a part to the final aim: praise your mistakes, (and) your struggle; you need them all for the final story.

Another of my favourite quotes from the insightful Ms. Newman: “Our soul knows more than what we think or believe…”

Dodo Newman – Forms of Life

Ms. Newman continues;  “There were many periods of my life when I had nothing to eat, when I was hungry and most of these times the persons I most expected to stand by me were the ones who did not.  It is usually very hard to achieve an objective without the background support of the family, especially if there is no one who appreciates the aim one is fighting for.” – “In life anything we create is a long process, taking time, it is impossible to expect from anyone to achieve them immediately. When I was a teenager once I have given up my dreams and I needed more than 15 years to find them again. Now that I have found them I will never let them go!”

“For me the process of marketing, (and) sales of my art represented always a difficulty, just as for all artists, but fortunately I had the best people around me who helped me in this, although I fought my life’s most serious battle in Berlin. I had to learn that there are walls that only I am capable of breaking down, that there are aims that only I can reach. On 13 August 2009, I was lying tired and anguished on the battlefield, which has been created by my own dreams, aims. I was bleeding from all my wounds and I knew that if I will not win today then it will be my end, I will bleed away and I will die. My Soul flew out from my body but the will to win was so strong that it did not let go, and so it was that I won my battle and I was reborn on 14 August at 04:15. My aim became a reality by dawn and my project became stabile. Now I am LIVING and I am very happy from my true heart!” – DN.

I would like to think of myself as an “Inspirationalist” as well, and for me – this heart-wrenching journey of a young woman pounding the pavement, beating her fears and turning out the victor, really establishes the notion that your dreams are only as far away as you deem them to be.  In reality, your dreams have always been with you and are always with in reach, you just have to slowly take down the wall that you built around them, each brick, one by one, of all your perceived misconceptions.

Dodo Newman – Life Lines

Dodo has an extreme version of this story, she was born in Hungary where her dream began, grew up in India where her heart and creativity was nourished, attended High School in Iran, over coming adversity and oppression, fled to study Fashion Design in Italy where she accessed the freedom to create and experiment once more, attended University in England, summered in Monaco and now is a resident of Germany living her dreams.

She speaks Italian, 
French,
 English,
Hungarian,
Farsi and
Hindu.  Are you not yet inspired?

Ms. Newman’s artistic experiences include New experimented resin art (current, since 7 years), Oil and acrylic art, Japanese ink technique (early years) and 
Fashion design in Firenze.

Her biggest selling price in 2009 for one single artwork was 265.000 Euro (Year 2009 – Canvas artwork). I must say, that is an inspiration for anyone who things “Impossible is nothing”.

Dodo Newman – Gonaives

Dodo Newman – Itiah

Find out more about Ms. Newman at:

www.DodoNewman.com

@DodoNewman on twitter

Hope that inspires you!
Xo

Emily

March 18, 2011
My buddah ganesh drawings!

I just thought I’d share theses with you – a few of my musings!!

I hope you enjoy and are inspired by their deeper meaning – check umm out!
xo
Emily

P.S. I like them so much I am going to make this my blog header!

March 18, 2011
Creative Space by Supermachine Studio

I want to share with you such a cool concept that I as a creative, anyone who likes to change up the game, and any one who appreciates interior design can truly get inspired by. Supermachine Studio in Bangkok, Thailand is a group of talented and incredibly imaginative architects who recently designed the interior space of two floors of one of Bangkok University’s new buildings created by the 49 Group /. The Bangkok University Creative Center (BUCC) includes a workshop, library, exhibition space, viewing room and office. The truly remarkable thing about this project is that the BUCC was commissioned by the government as part of their goal to “transform the country’s economy from agricultural and industrial into the creative economy. To encourage creativity, communication and experimentation, the BUCC facility needed to be open, playful, expressive and flexible.” Said TheCoolhunter.net (one of my fav inspirational websites).

This space is not only those things, it is bright, inspiring and INTERACTIVE! Supermachine created a “Lo-Fi Pixel Wall” at the entrance of the building, covering 180 square meters and made with 10,000 custom revolving plastic quadra-fragments. The sides are covered in pink, blue, green and yellow; students can unite each to create color patterns, words, images or any kind of inspirational art, proving the concept of fluid thought translating into things.

The main space for students to work, on computers or just at desks an open “spaceship like pod” that students can further enact the concept of fluidity.

It is amazing that the Bangkok government had commissioned this to the point that they recognize the incredible importance of creative enterprises as a fuel to enhance their economy… Things have really changed since the “great recession” and now even governments have a whole new perspective on what is important. Cheers to YOU, the creatives, the brilliants, the daring and the new thinkers. You have changed our world, so fast, and it is only going to continue with the force of rocket power or as fast as a new generation of iThings will hit the market!

Hope that inspires you!

xo
Emily

March 12, 2011
The attitude of Gratitude

I apologize for my tiny deviation from keeping up with my blog posts, however I have just started to embark on a journey! A spiritual journey, and one that is far better than I would have ever thought. I am scouring the internet and books for sources and many have come up. Definitely one teacher that stands out in my mind is Gabrielle Bernstein of www.gabbyb.tv/ Spiritual Teacher, Entrepreneur, author, life enthusiast and amazing human being. Gabby – if you are reading this – Thank you!

At the mere mention of this title, one may think that yes, you’ve heard this before… this is the most heard practice everywhere however we, as busy humans seem to forget to practice this attitude. For me it has been very transformative.

Right now I am so inspired by everything, the possibilities that are out there if you just seek them.

If you have lived, take thankfully the past. ~John Dryden

If a fellow isn’t thankful for what he’s got, he isn’t likely to be thankful for what he’s going to get. ~Frank A. Clark

He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has. ~Epictetus

We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures. ~Thornton Wilder

Only a stomach that rarely feels hungry scorns common things. ~Horace

Most human beings have an almost infinite capacity for taking things for granted. ~Aldous Huxley

Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it. ~William Arthur Ward

I just felt the need to express this especially during the scary and incredible devastation occurring on the other side of the world in Japan and Hawaii. We all have so much to be grateful for and when you are … magic happens. You will then remember what you have, how good you feel, that you are alive, have health, happiness, food, a roof over your head, family, friends, money coming in… and if one or some of those things are missing in your life, be grateful for the others because we (if you are reading this – you must have internet and access to a computer which means you are doing pretty well to begin with.) do have amazing things in our lives. The more grateful for them you are, the more good things you are likely to receive.

I am grateful for all of you (you who are are reading this now) because it gives me the freedom to express myself, and even if I can make a difference in one person’s life, to me it is worth it. I am so blessed, I have all of my limbs, I can walk, speak, think, hear, see, I am beautiful inside and out, I am intelligent, I have dreams, I have friends who are amazing, an amazing family who loves and supports me, food to eat, a place to live, an amazing boyfriend and partner, a career that I am cultivating and the freedom to do so. There were plenty of times in my life when one or some of those things were missing, or at least I THOUGHT some of those things were missing. It was not until I got truly grateful that I realized all that I have and all that I really am grateful for. So many of us beat ourselves up for not being as beautiful, as successful or as lucky in love as we think we should be. We beat our selves up if we have a family who does not support our dreams ENOUGH, or have to deal with a much worse issue, like unemployment, disease, a death, poor self esteem, etc. It is when you get really grateful for what you DO have, that you are not sitting on the street in Africa or New York City begging for change, for food or struggling to survive, that you know there are infinite possibilities.

My friend Julie Rath of www.rathandco.com/ Entrepreneur, Image consultant and personal stylist as well as an amazing friend and woman, sent me this really great quote from one of her friends when I needed it the most. “Someone once taught me to look down at my feet and remember that where my feet are, is (exactly) the place that I am supposed to be.” To me this means – if you are dealing with some s*@t in your life, these are just lessons and opportunities to learn from and to grow.

Please, be happy for what you have, give love to those who mean something to you and be grateful for everything, EVERYTHING you have. Because when you do, it will come back to you ten fold and you will begin to move mountains.

No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man.
~ Heraclitus Quotes

People seem not to see that their opinion of the world is also a confession of character.
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson Quotes from The Selected Writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson

When written in Chinese, the word ‘crisis’ is composed of two characters–one represents danger, and the other represents opportunity.
~ John F. Kennedy Quotes

Hope this inspires you!
Xo
Emily

February 26, 2011
Born this way…

And this is why we love Lady Gaga. I am a huge fan of hers, and having had the fortuitous pleasure of seeing her rock the stage live in concert around this time last year, I was even more enamored. Yes, her egg appearance was not my fav, however Gaga has “Again and Again” made my jaw drop. Being a fashion designer – her House Of Gaga Couturiers are incredibly talented, visionary and on and on. (I have even had the intense and secret pleasure of working with one of her pattern makers for a secret line that has gone into production that I have yet to unveil for a certain new enterprise that I am not yet at liberty to speak of, wink wink!) I cannot say enough of how inspirational her garments are, how amazing her stance on gay rights, human rights and artists rights are, how talented she is and what a comet she is truly in a sea of shiny rocks.

That being said…..

Gaga has taken on a whole new stratosphere with her new song “Born This Way.” The Lyrics are so incredibly inspirational, it makes me shiver and
reminds us ALL how we all have our inner “Fireworks” waiting to burst out. Ladies and Gents – If I can transpire any more drive in you to be who you are and do what you were meant to do on this planet we call Earth. Please – do it. And let this little girl who covered Gaga show you how to bring that feeling back! Perez Hilton, jest of all jesters had sent this video to the Lady Herself, in effect rendering her to tears. In the first video which you may have seen on YouTube, Maria belts it out with such a powerful effect. Watch the second video below of Gaga and the now famous Maria entertain a short duet, following a request by the Lady Herself for little Maria to appear onstage and sing the song with Gaga at her next performance.

“We are all born superstars”

—–

Thanks and I hope that Inspires you!

xoxo
Emily

February 22, 2011
Imagination

Albert Einstein once said “Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand.” If your mind can conceive it then believe you can achieve it. Have the tenacity to create the extraordinary!

Hope that Inspires you!
xoxo
Emily

February 20, 2011
For New Yorkers – every day is a photo shoot

Check out this awesome promotion done by dirty sugar Live for the New York Post at the Metropolitan Pavilion for the Style360 shows during fashion week. A dream come true for most fashionites – your face in the photos of page six. It inspires me to see how street fashion (as best described in my last post “Fashion Week +” ) is alive and well any where you look in the fabulous city we call home. Check out these outrageous photos, the first one staring yours truly and my celeb stylist friend Meital B. Other faces to follow are some that you will surely recognize.

All photos courtesy of dirty sugar Live for The New York Post Style 360 Photo shoot

Check out the full photo shoot here:
http://www.nypost.com/promotions/events/style/

Hope that inspires you!
xoxox
Emily

February 18, 2011
Fashion Week + …

Oh the chic and glamour of it all… all the craziness that goes on inside the new shrine to fashion, a.k.a. Lincoln Center.

Now I could be writing a review of all the fashion week shows by each luxurious and chic designer after designer – however you can find that on my go-to favourite websites like www.NYMag.com, www.Style.com, www.WWD.com as well as many more and countless glam bloggers – but like I said, my blog is not about that. I don’t want to become a “news” blog – I am a fashion designer who is writing about my inspiration so hopefully you get a different perspective that you cannot find anywhere else. And although the shows that I went to were amazing (Thanks Meital) and the Fall 2011 RTW looks were inspiring on their own, I decided to pick a different perspective from the fashion world – the one OUTSIDE the shrines, on the street…

After devouring an eloquent article in the Spring Fashion issue of New York Magazine (acquired in the main lobby of the Mercedes Benz Fashion Week entrance), an Ode to one of my favorite bloggers The Sartorialist in “The Street Is Their Oyster” by Amy Larocca, the inspiration really is alive in the hearts of the people on the streets. Scott Schuman not only shoots the looks going down the runway – but also shoots the unassuming street promenadists all through out the fashion capitals. He shoots where inspiration takes him, when it moves him and how it moves him. No apologies. That is what I intend for my blog and hope to follow in his impeccably stylish footprints.

From the article — {“The world of who, exactly, makes the images that become our idea of “fashion” has, for a very long time, remained shockingly small. There are a few photographers who are on contract with several magazines, and they produce not only those magazines’ covers and editorials but also, more lucratively, the slick and shiny ads that appear between these pages. It’s been very close and very cozy for years.

But the Internet changed all of that, or some of it, and (Scott) Schuman, 43, and (Garnace) Doré, 35, [Of thesartorialist.blogspot.com and garancedore.fr respectively] were there at the right moment, lingering outside (and, as time progressed, inside) fashion shows with their cameras around their necks. It’s not that the concept of street style was invented by these two—Bill Cunningham’s been at it forever—but they introduced the world to its latest commercial possibilities. If once upon a time the idea of “street” fashion suggested looks that were somewhat off the fashion grid, either in opposition to or in advance of the runway, Doré and Schuman are the opposite of that. “The thing that is really different from street style that came before is that it always seemed like they were trying to find the really different thing, find the crazy people and take a picture,” says Schuman. “I’d take a picture of a guy in a suit, and people would say, ‘That’s not street style,’ and I say, ‘But he was on the street!’ There’s much more subtlety on my blog than on other blogs.”

What Schuman and Doré do, in effect, is to remove one layer of fantasy from a typical editorial shoot. Their subjects still radiate glamour, but they are very rarely models. They are on Sixth Avenue or the Rue de Rivoli rather than in a stark-white studio.”} —

In the NYMag.com article one of Scott’s favorite specimens Anna Dello Russo, Japanese Vogue editor remarks that Scott once said to her; “When I look at a fashion magazine, I don’t find anymore the look of fashion. I saw beautiful images but not how you can put on a coat for life’. And I would say, ‘This is very clever. In a magazine, the images are so high, they are so beautiful.’ They are talking about the dream, but they don’t have reference about how you do this for life. That’s why these blogs are a revolution.”

Revolution indeed, Schuman, Doré and all the other trending photobloggers capture elegance, beauty and chic in its natural form and habitat – on the people who LOVE fashion, and take pride in the art of dressing. Schuman has been famous for ignoring the celebrity that passes him on the street, if they are not so artfully dressed he doesn’t care that they are a celeb but only if their look is right. And IF he manages to catch a sumptuous ensemble on an actual celebrity he sometimes doesn’t even I.D. them in his blog – he takes the genuine approach to the photos and his blog, purely for the love of cool.


Photo courtesy of New York Magazine “The Street Is Their Oyster” by Amy Larocca
Photo by Graeme Mitchell

Hope that inspires you!
xoxo
Emily

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