WHO SPILLED THE BEANS ?

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There they were, lying in the middle of the pavement.
With a curious translucence, a glistening surface and a somewhat luminous underbelly; stark against their own shadows.
The angle of the suns rays enhanced this scene of sweet abandon.
A display of discarded jelly beans.
One that I probably wouldn’t have noticed had it not been for my train of thought beforehand. 

A few hours earlier, I’d been admiring the colour palette of the collection of wrappers inside the box of Green & Blacks Tasting Collection that I’d been given for Christmas. The butterscotch and the ginger in particular. 

When it came to my daily dose of fresh air, I walked around the park. And as I wandered, my mind wondered, back to the chocolates and the colours of their wrappers.

I wondered if the chocolates could be made in the same colour as the wrapper ? 
I wondered if then, they might end up looking like jelly sweets ?

This thought reminded me of one of my clients who gifts a pack of jelly sweets with every pair of shoes.
Could they be in the shape of one their shoes ?

Bottega Veneta’s Puddle boot came to mind.
They certainly look the part and would be a great shape for a sweet.
A Jelly Boot !  Or a Jelly Welly ?

Either way, they’d be beautifully packaged.

SWEET ABANDON

I walked two laps of the park, leaving via the gate on the opposite side of the park and up the hill. As I reached the top and turned left on to Sydenham Hill, there they were.
The Jelly Beans.
The scene of sweet abandon.
Like a synchronous acknowledgement of my wandering wonderings.

Nietzsche said that  “All truly great thoughts are conceived while walking.”

I’m not sure my train of thought was quite the level Nietzsche was referring to, but I do recommend  finding a sense of joy in the ordinary.

I guess it didn’t really matter who spilled the beans, but being present enough to notice the scene.
And being present enough to be inspired by what’s around you.

“Awareness is like the sun. When it shines on things, they are transformed.”
: Thich Nhat Hanh.

FRAMING THE CURVES

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Simplifying the use of inspirations …
The curves along the side of a grand piano are blended into the shape of the platform.
Super smooth, and polished black, akin to the exquisite finish on the outer rim wall of a Fazioli Piano …
A woven textile upper, with additional stitching, for extra texture, and to catch the red ribbon into the upper.

ENERGY FLOW

Earlier today, I was reminded of seeing Ryuichi Sakamoto perform on the South Bank, so I thought I’d include one of the songs he performed that night; Energy Flow from the BTTB album – here.

Or this link, for a slower, much more recent recording …

COMFORT IN THE KEYS

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The comfort is in the keys 😉
A sneaker idea to show how one source of inspiration can keep on giving.
Using the framework from under the lid of the piano, like on the platform wedge, as inspiration for the moulded frame to hold the foot in the shoe. The rest of the upper being an ultra flexible and comfortable woven or knitted textile.

BUT A SWEET SYMPHONY

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Something a little lighter, more open tonight …
The heel design inspired by the structure under the lid of the Piano … some section open, some sections closed …
While the keys take centre stage on the front strap.
…
I like to play with words as well play with shoes… and when perusing on a title for this post, the word Symphony came to mind, closely followed by the incredible Verve song … and then with a sweet and satisfying note of synchronicity, I find this beautiful cover of the same song, recorded with a perspective overlooking the very details that inspired the design above.

Encore …

INSPIRATIONS FROM RESONATIONS …

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… inspirations continue to resonate from the beauty inside a Fazioli Piano …
A platform wedge mule.
Holes on the frame – that I assume are an integral part of being able to create the depth of sounds – provide a lovely inspirations for the detail through the heel of the wedge.
The horizontal structure bars become a moulded section of the vamp, that provides a secure fit to the woven, textile upper – inspired by the pattern created by the strings and ribbons on the bridge…
And a raised footbed reflecting the levels in the frame.

 

A FAZIOLI INSPIRED HEEL …

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Ever since my last post, I’ve been intrigued to see what might transpire by using the patterns and detail under the lid of a Fazioli Piano, as inspiration for a collection of shoes.
The lines that provide the structure of the plate.
The curves on the bridge, and shapes they create.

A plain bootie style helps to enhance this initial idea for a heel.

 

INSPIRATIONS THAT RESONATE

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The search for inspirations that resonate can be a fascinating part of the process when designing shoes and developing ideas.
It’s an intriguing journey and results in more unique, distinctive ideas when the source of inspiration is a little more unusual.

I’m neither a pianist nor a connoisseur of Pianos, but since my last post, I’ve been intrigued by the various tenuous links I started to notice.

The immediate visual, scenic connection, of a piano being played on a beach reminded me of The Piano; the 1993 film written and directed by Jane Campion. It had been years since I’d seen the film and was curious about the detail, so I sat and rewatched it a few nights ago. Aspects of the opening scenes – the protagonist being rowed across a sea and landing at a dramatic beach – reminded me of Portrait Of A Lady On Fire, which I wrote about in  New Letters recently.

The night preceding The Piano, I’d watched The Power Of The Dog; a slow burning masterpiece also written and directed by Jane Campion. I’m not sure whether it’s a theme in her movies, but there was – playing a smaller but significant role – a piano!

FAZIOLI

Nick Cave’s tongue-in-cheek letter written in response to a fan also came to mind.
He’d been asked which Piano he’d played for his Idiot Prayer performance at the Alexandra Palace.
It was a Fazioli.

Handcrafted in the North East of Italy, in a small town called Sacile.
They are a beautiful instrument.
Herbie Hancock won’t play anything else, and has them written into his contracts.

The view inside a Fazioli is exquisite. An elegant colour palette and intricate pattern of strings; perfectly positioned and rich in vibrations.

All laid beautifully inside their polished majestic case.

“An instrument that reacts to your thoughts and leaves nothing else to desire! …
No other instrument inspires so much love, joy, freedom and brilliance as Fazioli!”
Inspiring words from Georgian pianist Ketevan Sepashvili.

FABRIC STORYTELLING

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The upholstery fabric BMW developed for their iNEXT concept car a few years ago has me wondering how fabric can play a part in storytelling.
They’re painting a beautiful picture in this concept video

THE FLOW OF IDEAS

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A few posts ago – SHOESTORMING – I mentioned Drillog – a beautiful new dip-pen.
Something about the pattern of the engineering and the flow of the ink down the nib to the paper inspired this sketch … mainly of the outsole, but the ‘flow’ could incorporate an aspect of the upper too …

 

As I was sketching it out, I was thinking about the ‘flow’ aspect, and of all the different directions this idea could go in.
A way to channel liquids away from a shoe ?
Or to encourage blood flow while wearing the shoe ?
A digital download of prose being flowed around the shoe ?

MOVING WORDS

Jenny Holzer‘s work came to mind … which I first came across at the Guggenheim in Bilbao over a decade ago, and then again at the Tate Modern in London just a few years ago …

A conceptual artist from New York, her work focuses on the delivery of words and ideas. Often in her signature medium of LED’s – the words and messages scroll down the length of the installation – and was one of the first artists to use information technology as a platform for political protest.

Finding unique sources of inspiration results in unique design, which helps your product stand out from the crowd.

Here’s a blend of all the above using some of my own poetic prose as the message.