Diane Kappa

color & line – overcoming a creative block

Kappa Diane — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 08:32:00 +0000

I have been struggling with a design project. I just can’t get over the creative block. So, I spent the evening (til 1 am actually) looking through magazines, making color sheets and brainstorming with a brush. As always, this helped.

Why is it so difficult to make time for this? I guess I feel guilty. Is this work? I need to remind myself that from this, work is easier.

Color Study Series

The above came from hours of doing this…

Then came the paintbrush. Playing with brush stokes and line weight.

What do you do to overcome creative blocks?

Europe2You

Kappa Diane — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 16:01:00 +0000

I have been busy as a bee working on a project for the past two weeks. A fun project for me–a catalogue and marketing materials. More graphic design than I usually do. The best part of this project is the product. I love it!

Owners Stacy and Joe Borocz created Europe2You as a vehicle to share their found European collections with American consumers in search of distinctive finds. They will be showing at the New York International Gift Fair in August using the sales collateral I helped create.

The Europe2You collection includes a wide array of authentic and upcycled products for the home and garden. The merchandise mix includes found glass and wood objects, salvaged furniture, hand thrown pottery, sustainable wood accents, vintage linens, hand woven baskets and architectural elements including 19th Century Bricks, Period doors, windows and shutters.

My wish list….

Found Dough Bowls

Found Bottles and Crates

Found Apothecary Bottles

Found Military Boxes

This project was great as I needed a break from designing textile patterns. It gave me an outlet to be creative in a different way. And Stacy and Joe are great to work with.

a special quilt

Kappa Diane — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 13:09:00 +0000

Do you remember back in May when I was trying to talk my Grandmother into making a quilt out of my Bonjour collection? Well, I was so excited last night when I received an email from her and this photo!!

It is not finished yet so I will keep posting photos as she keeps sending them to me.

monday motivation

Kappa Diane — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 06:31:00 +0000

A great way to start the week. The two I personally need to work on…number 16 and 25. What about you?

29 WAYS TO STAY CREATIVE from TO-FU on Vimeo.

Sometimes new is not better

Kappa Diane — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 14:00:00 +0000

3 years ago I redesigned my logo. I wanted it to look a bit more artistic and a touch modern. I thought the new design would be good for all potential licensing projects. It appeared on my blog, my website, all the collateral.

Forward to 6 months ago. I started designing for 2 new clients (you will learn more about them later) and I realized my logo that I was so excited to use, didn’t work. It had to sit with the manufacture’s logo and the collection logo…to many logos.

After weeks of trying to figure out what to do, I revisited my old logo and made some small revisions. Oddly enough, I think this is the better choice. I like the feminine aspects and the flowing swirls. The above logo looks so restricting when I compare the two.

For packaging that has a ton of logos already, I have this simple logo.

What do you think? I could use your creative input with this.

PS. I can not figure out how to get rid of the black box around the logos…blogger is driving me crazy these days.

Gerloczy + a glass of rose + warm evening = happiness

Kappa Diane — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 07:59:00 +0000

One of my favorite places, Gerloczy, on a warm evening in Budapest with a cool glass of rose. A perfect evening spent with friends. Notice the guy in the striped shirt and straw hat cooking whole fish on the grill. mmmmm.

Being a tourist.

Kappa Diane — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 07:16:00 +0000

Hi. I have been wanting to share with you all the projects I have been working on but I can’t…not yet. The collections I have designed for my new clients are in the process of being approved and shown to their clients…so, I patiently wait til I can share more. This is the downside to licensing…the waiting.

On another note…this time of year in Budapest is beautiful. Everything is green and blooming and all the fruits and veggies that I miss over the winter are back in season. I played tourist on Monday and took a 3 hour walking tour of Budapest. It was a beautiful day and I got some great shops of Castle Hill.

My all time favorite cathedral is theMatthias Cathedral in Buda.

I have always been a sucker for these colorful buildings. With the blue sky-I love them more.

Enjoy your weekend and see you back here on Monday.

dragonfly beauty

Kappa Diane — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 07:06:00 +0000

The other night I was outside checking on my flowers when I saw this dragonfly laying there perfectly still. It took me a minute to realize it was…dead. I have never seen a dragon fly this close and could not resist taking a few close photos. The colors and beauty of this amazing bug is beyond words. When I told a friend that I took some cool photos, he looked at me like I was crazy. Then he saw the photos and just as impressed as me.

Nature sure is something, don’t you think?

Lacemaking in Lefkara, Cyprus

Kappa Diane — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 12:56:00 +0000

Living in Hungary I have had the privilege of seeing lace made, speaking to a kekfesto master, touching old traditional costumes and seeing folk songs performed during festivals. I have gained such appreciation for hand-crafted arts, the folk life and the history behind it.

When I saw this video I just had to post it. This is the situation in Hungary as well. Shopping on Vaci, tourists buy all the handicrafts they can as gifts and souvenirs. Do they know that most of it is made in China? Do they care? What do you think? Would you pay more for hand made lace knowing it was made by a lady in the countryside?

Enjoy the video. This one from the Etsy blog. (I saw it on Anna Maria Horner’s site) Thanks to both for posting it.

Lacemaking in Lefkara, Cyprus from Etsy on Vimeo.

a bit of artist eye candy….

Kappa Diane — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 21:32:00 +0000

I was looking over at my friends Sisters Gulassa and saw they posted this video. So cool! Thanks Lise and Cyrille!

SUPAKITCH & KORALIE – VÄRLDSKULTUR MUSEET GÖTEBORG from elr°y on Vimeo.