5 Inspiring Summer Experiences

We love experiences that inspire creativity. It’s so important to take a few moments to reflect on these experiences and allow them to build your artistic fire for your next project. This summer has been full of refreshing adventures and we want to share some of those so that they may inspire you or inspire your next creative adventure!

A Trip to the Last Frontier - Alaska

There’s nothing like the peaceful silence of nature to make you appreciate the planet and the simple things. Alaska was such a unique trip for us, we are usually drawn to vibrance, color, excitement and the hustle and bustle of cities around the world but this was exactly the opposite in all the right ways. The landscape of Alaska is cloudy and magical, vast, quiet, and serene. Somehow it makes you feel like you’re the first person to ever see it. We’re always striving for creating experiences that make people applaud or cheer out in excitement, this trip taught us that sometimes the experience that silences you is the most touching kind.

Arizona Girls Trip

There is nothing like some girl time to re-energize! Phoenix is filled with bright colors, cacti, greenery and plenty of sunshine! We highly recommend the Royal Palms Resort and Spa at Camelback Mountain for a relaxing and beautiful girls getaway. Wandering around the resort we were reminded how much the details matter in design. We felt like we were exploring secret areas covered in greenery for some shade all over the property and discovered gorgeous tile work and unique doors everywhere we turned.

Releasing a Paper Lantern

In many cultures releasing paper lanterns into the sky is a symbol of hope and good luck. In some cultures they can symbolize the memory of a loved one, or letting go of difficult emotions. If you ever get a chance to attend a lantern festival - do it! No matter what you have going on in your life this is an amazing and touching way to acknowledge it and watch it drift into the sky with hundreds of other symbols. It reminded us to take a moment and appreciate the people and events in your life and to be open to new cultural experiences.

Graffiti Lesson in an Abandoned Steel Furnace

Carrie Furnace in Pittsburgh was closed operations in the 80s and is now an abandoned blank canvas for artists in the area. Art installations made of found objects are hidden inside the grounds, the maintenance worker even creates metal sculptures such as benches with materials he finds! Graffiti artists are also brought in to update the walls of certain areas of the furnace that are not considered a National Historic Landmark. It’s dark, moody and inspiring to visit this place. It’s a great reminder that beauty can be found and created anywhere and to look a little closer and a little deeper.

Chihuly Museum in Seattle

We’ve seen Chihuly’s work and this museum is undoubtedly a beautiful collection of work. But the actual sculptures aren’t what we left thinking about…. it was the sketches. Chihuly’s sketches take up the walls of the museum and are sold in the gift store and they are everything every artist or designer wishes they could do! They are confident, simple, straight to the point and beautiful. Looking at the sketches it’s clear he isn’t afraid to just let the art pour out of him, following instinct and without consequence. The sculptures are an adaptation of the sketch, allowed to change form during the process or as the idea is refined. It reminds us to use more sketches and concept ideas without refining it in the beginning. Just let the art pour out.