Heather Cleveland Design

Getting inside the mind of a designer:

Sometimes I will be at the Design Center working with a vendor on sourcing fabrics or rugs or furniture and I will find that I have stopped talking mid sentence. I won't even really realize that I have done so until I notice the look on the face of the vendor I am speaking to. It is kind of embarrassing, to tell you the truth. But I can't help it. This happened last week while I was sourcing rugs at Madeline Weinrib. When I noticed "that look" from the lovely woman who was assisting me, I felt I had better explain. You see, us designers are really visual people, I mean REALLY visual. When we see a pattern in a fabric, or a color combination or the lines of a chair leg that really attracts us, we don't process that by thinking that is lovely and move on. It ignites a flurry of creative fire in us that takes us out of our present moment and into our heads in an instant. Suddenly we are full of inspiration, imagining what colors or textures or styles would go with or compliment the item that has captured our attention. So, in that moment while browsing through dozens of rugs with my vendor, I came across a rug I did not at all expect to like and down the designer's rabbit hole I went. Suddenly the entire room was taking place right before my eyes: colors, theme, layout, texture, all of it almost too fast for me to grasp. And so, I had to stop talking and let the inspiration just "happen". When I explained this to the vendor, she told me that this happens when she works with designers all the time. Whew! At least I know I am with "my people!" It is such a rush when that inspiration hits. For me, starting new projects can often be very difficult in the beginning. After having spent months, even up to a year on the previous project, it is sometimes hard to shift gears and think in a whole new design direction. So when that inspiration hits, it is like a charge to the new project that I never tire of.
Above is an image of the two rugs that triggered my passion for this next new project I am just embarking on.....I am inspired!