My favourite autumnal things include apple cider, big wooley sweaters, scarves and pumpkin spice bread. Pumpkin pie you ask? As far as my preferences are concerned, it can go wait over there with it's friends polyester and high/low hemlines, yuck.
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| * 1. Winter Warmth 2. Scarf Love 3. & 4. Food 5. Cozy |
Our individual taste(s) for lifestyle, aesthetics, the food we crave, goes back in part to that age old argument in psychology of "nature versus nurture" (for the record I believe it's a little bit of both).
This may be the academic in me speaking but, our culture or the things that seem "natural" to us are influenced negatively or positively through our upbringing and the initial culture to which we have been exposed. We subconsciously take away from our cultural exposure, our understanding of it and our place within it. Design within society at large, is referred to as this creature good/taste, To use a whimsical, yet literary example, Mr. Jekyll/Dr. Hyde or is it Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde.
Design is a difficult creature with which to interact, like the character of Jekyll/Hyde, to borrow from author Robert Louis Stevenson, you never know watch'a gonna get.
Bombarded with an increasingly complicated social media, with twitters, tumblers and blogs, being overwhelmed or on sensory overload seems to be what's considered a "normal" way in which to function within design and what is considered in "good" taste. Everyone makes an effort to put their best foot forward, after all isn't that what we're all taught? To be in "good" taste. It wasn't until the transformation of technology which really allowed the internet to explode and become the embodiment, vessel and vehicle within which individuals could really have a place to collect and hone their individual aesthetic.
It seems, in some way, shape or form, I find that as of late amongst friends and family members I am becoming increasingly approached to provide an opinion on an item of fashion, design or an aesthetic thing of some sort. A bit over a year ago, I discovered the wonderful medium of 'Pinterest' within which to catalog, collect and share all of those beautiful things that I admire, and run into online. At first it was just a curiosity. Over the past year or so 'Pinterest' has helped me to home my creative tendencies ...
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...without, you know...the commitment required to keep up with a blog (Yes I've been neglectful....I'm sorry to those who decided this page was worth a click-ity-click). I would pin this and that and I have to say I was pretty satisfied (see above collage which I believe is a good representation of my aesthetic).
Then,
Once upon a time,
On a cold grey afternoon,
On a cold grey afternoon,
happily pinning my heart away
something magical happened
something magical happened
Becca Cosmetics had a make-up contest (I will not review 'Becca' as there are a lot of reviews of there and I'm sure you know people "bloggers", who have already reviewed the products.). They called it 'Ultimate Colour Inspiration' here, the rules were here (Links on the 'Becca Cosmetics Page' seemed to have changed). I entered (and won, the judge who chose my board may be found here). The 'Ultimate Colour Inspiration' contest was an opportunity to focus all of my pins into a project, also because I had a creative itch which needed to be scratched.
Like Cinderella's fairy god-mother the judges of this contest bestowed upon me the beautiful and very generous gift of Becca Cosmetics (Check out my board here).
Unlike Cinderella, I was not the only winner...there were in fact three of us. Still, I was ecstatic, not only because I won, but because I realized something about myself, I can be creative, I do have a unique perspective.
My likes and my dislikes make me who I am which translates into things like my aesthetic style. But in my own unique mad-hatter-y way, my style may not always be considered to be in "good" taste, BUT, it is mine and I am kinda proud of that. 'Pinterest' helped me realize that certain boards like 'My Style' and 'Food' are ones which I focus on more than others... Its nice to know that there's a space for us fairly non-committal bad-keeping-the-blog-up-to date-types, to curate the things we like.
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| Sample of curated images for Becca Ultimate Colour Contest. For full board see: Ultimate Colour Inspiration Board via Pinterest. |
Ultimately, I discovered that I do have a 'voice' when it comes to design and all that jazz, A voice which others appreciate, its also lovely that others appreciate my aesthetic to such an extent that they are willing to allow me to bring a little bit of that into their living spaces. A little touch of 'MWiktoria'.
So, where have I been you may ask? Well, I've been practicing what I preach. I've been helping with paint colours, and accent pieces and proportions, and just trying to juggle well, life.
Why no blog post on that you may ask? Well, you see, my phone decided it no longer wanted to play and well...I've lost all of the before and after photographs I've taken...I've learned my lesson, next time I get an opportunity to let my creativity fly, I will back up, back up, back up them files.
'Pinterest' offered me an organizational space for my creative voice and shed some light on my aesthetic preferences, ones which I didn't realize which I held so strongly. While its no do all or end all, 'Pinterest' does offer a little bit of insight into a person, what they value, hold dear, and feel that they jive with. It strikes a cord with with in the sense that it gives people an opportunity to express different sides of their personalities and/or interests through their boards, and if you're being an honest "pinner" tells other people a little bit about yourself in a somewhat more abstract and visual sense without you necessarily having to say a word.
What's that saying again about a picture and a thousand words?
I hope this post finds you well, and if you don't see this space updated regularly...please wander over to 'Pinterest' as I'm sure I will have pinned something. Something which may give you a little bit of insight into my interests and wanderings around the internet. I'd be thrilled if you were to commandeer your own little piece of 'Pinterest' and let your creativity shine. After all you never know what you'll discover about yourself! And I for one, would be very interested in seeing that which you may find "Pinteresting".
X,
MWiktoria
*All Pins curated by MWiktoria via 'Pinterest', all rights to the images apply to their respective owners.
