This summer I found myself in the biggest “creative block” of my almost decade long career as a designer. Like writer’s block I’ve heard of from authors, I was completely void of new ideas or that familiar impulse to create. Anyone in a creative role likely finds themselves here: periods where we need to inhale (look around, notice things, deepen our curiosities and even our relationships) and then times we exhale where it all comes pouring out.

This inhalation period was almost at 6 months. Surprisingly, I wasn’t panicking. Instead I went in: strengthening my mediation practice and my relationships. Things that maybe I’d put on the back burner during moments of creativity now became my new focus. 

Then I was invited on a girls’ trip to the south of France and I was so excited to explore and connect with 7 other women. 

We went for a week in mid October and explored the oyster farms of Sète, the perfumeries of Grasse, and the drop dead beautiful streets of Antibes. There was beauty everywhere and I started to feel that familiar impulse to create. But the inspiration isn’t coming from the colors of the sea or the stone formations in the streets; it’s coming from the stories of the women and the connections that we’re making with each other. It’s from the trauma bonding of travel shenanigans and the late night chats of baring your soul and feeling seen and appreciated. It’s holding space for one another no matter what. And all of a sudden a new collection and ideas are spilling out at a break neck speed. I can hardly get them in my notebook fast enough. I came home feeling restored and ready for whatever is next and finally let out a deep breath I’d been holding on to for the better part of a year.