Comments on: Talk It Out

By: mskivaa

mskivaa — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 14:51:38 +0000

good point! :)

but anyway, this whole art & design world are all intertwined. And one took inspirations off others and vice versa. Even we took the liberty to take inspirations out of people’s work, nature, the paper, tv, our dreams, everything! Inspirations are everywhere.

So, yeah, you’re right. Nobody’s on top of anything. Art & design is unlike the Olympics. :P And beauty it really is in the eye of the beholder.

Thanks for sharing :)
mskivaa´s last blog ..Video of the Day : The Orf – R515

By: vicki

vicki — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 06:57:06 +0000

Holly, I love this new feature on Decor8! It’s great that you can be so transparent with all of us and that you encourage us to do the same. :)

I think I can pretty much echo what Michelle P. said (above). Most of the time I’m in awe of other people’s talents but there are times when I look at my work, especially my photos, and feel like I’m really lacking the skill and talent of some of my peers. When I first started blogging, I felt somewhat driven to become a recognized blog, but that’s just not important to me anymore. Now I blog for the love of it and for the many great friendships I’ve developed because of it. I’m hoping that I’ll eventually have that carefree attitude about my photography, too. I want to do it for the joy it brings me (and hopefully others) and for no other reason.

O.k., enough rambling on….thanks for the opportunity to be “real”, Holly. xo!

By: Annie

Annie — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 05:23:44 +0000

Oh reading this I kept thinking of the Eleanor Roosevelt quote “no one can make you feel inferior except yourself”. We are so often the first to put ourselves down or not think we are “good enough” – when in fact quite the opposite is true. And sometimes it’s jolly hard remembering that! Thanks for the post – a timely reminder :)
Annie´s last blog ..Beautiful illustrations…

By: Jill

Jill — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 23:46:32 +0000

Love the idea of discussing competition and knock-offs. In a time when computer-generated imagery is everywhere, antique dealing product designers are very challenged and must be very careful. I have four people whose work touches on mine in some way and I love to see what they are doing because each of us has a different approach to the same material. I am sometimes downcast at my own inability to conquer the universe of design but I feel very proud when I see my things in such good company. I do get upset when images find their way to some other firm and are reused but I try to remind myself that I have my own audience and – the fact is, they might not see EVERY example of something the way I do. I am the profesional, looking and thinking about looking, they are the end user and in general they don’t spend so much time thinking and looking as I do 0 unless they are making things, too. I say competition is great for business, and competition makes you define yourself your own way. This is what people like to buy in the end, not the copy cat.

By: Leanda

Leanda — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 12:13:55 +0000

Wow… you cannot believe how relevant this is to me!! I have always stopped myself from doing things because I believed I simply wasn’t good enough, or it’s not original and been done before. I’ve had countless lectures by well-meaning friends, telling me I’m talented and crazy to think like this and should just DO IT!! But the little voice in my brain always tells me I’m useless. Well before the dawn of the internet I’d tried my hand at every single creative activity going. I’d gone through art school and everything was a painful, excrutiating challenge. I’ve worked 10 years as a graphic designer thinking everything I did was crap. So how could I hang on to a job so long if I was, huh? Try telling me that. And now, I’m 40, living in a foreign country where I barely speak the language and expecting my first child after 2 years of IVF. Yes, my focus is on that, but I am desperately trying to find ways to create… and sell. I see this as pretty much my last chance. The interenet and blogland is my connection to the world right now, but I see so much good stuff out there it makes me scared to try. I know…. I’m pathetic. I get inspired one day, have a eureka moment, think I’ve found my ‘path’, and the next day it’s gone. I know only I can help myself, but God it’s good to know I’m not the only one. Thank you Holly!
Leanda´s last blog ..that’s more like it

By: MichelleP

MichelleP — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 19:29:20 +0000

Most of the time I find the success of other creatives HUGELY inspiring & motivating. I feel like the path has been forged for smaller businesses to succeed, & opportunity is knocking!

Every once in a while though, I come upon something that makes me think “Holy crap, I can never compete with that awesomeness!” …Hmmm, you know, I was just thinking that I don’t feel like that when I see the work of famous artists or designers(!) – only people I consider potential peers. How silly is that?
MichelleP´s last blog ..Free Bokeh Madness

By: vineeta

vineeta — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 17:43:42 +0000

WOA!! This is calling a spade a spade & I love you for doing that Holly- This happened initially when i started blogging, I would be jealous of blogs which were a lot more poplular than mine, but blogging is so beautiful, it gives & shares so much that beyond a point you find your own strengths & build on it & share it & you know this is your thing to do & then even if someone else is trying to do the same, your joy of creating what you do is so self fulfilling.
Holly, I am so grateful to you and blogging because here is where I found my voice & here is where I found my floundering creativity. There is so much inspiration to be found here that I most of the time I am more grateful than anything else. But very recently I found a blog which was almost a complete rip off on a fellow bloggers blog- this new blog had tried so hard to copy everything from the style in which the photographs were taken to the topics & even to the way it was written. I found myself getting angrier & angrier as I saw this blog- because not in a single place was there any acknowledgement of the source or the inspiration. I almost left a nasty comment and stopped myself- this was not really my battle. But i did ask myself what I would do if this had happened to me? Then I kind of cooled down. This woman was doing what she did because she couldn’t do any better & tomo she would get better and do original stuff. Its a learning curve I guess. All of us aspire to be better than we are & love a particalar style of someone- and if its a route or the way to reach our original voice- so be it. Writing this comment here for me has really helped me deal with my anger when I saw it & so a big thanx for this post Holly :)
vineeta´s last blog ..Shelly Kommers

By: Lisa P.

Lisa P. — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 02:44:11 +0000

Holly, this is a great topic. I’ve been thinking a lot about it lately. I’ve noticed that while I feel excited by all the cool things I see online, it also makes it very hard for me to come up with my own ideas. Then, I begin to feel discouraged because there are so many people out there already doing what I want to do, and can I really come up with something that will be good enough and fresh enough to join in? I’m not sure how to be able to keep an eye on all the great stuff going on in the craft/design world, but still unplug and find my own inspiration. I’ve been trying to figure that out, so I’d love some tips if you ever have the urge to share.

By: Brooke

Brooke — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 06:53:04 +0000

First of all this is such a great topic, thank you for posting Holly! This happens to me all the time. I know misery shouldn’t love company, but it is nice to hear I’m not alone in this. I agree with so many of the comments here specifically Katie’s about working up the courage to email a blogger and being rejected or not even respected enough to get an answer. It’s sometimes crushing.

It’s a constant struggle to not compare myself to others and to try and give people the benefit of the doubt and not take things so personally.

By: Chloe C.

Chloe C. — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 04:08:33 +0000

my god, what deep f* responses, Holly.
Many of you echoed what I had been thinking, my only 2c is be yourself.