…everywhere!

It’s undeniable, everyday we read, watch and listen many things online and offline that inspire us, sometimes even too many! For us, here in InconnuLAB, inspiration can be found everywhere: in a book, a blog, a designer, a tasty recipe, a film.. These not only inspire us in our everyday lives, but also in our work. Nora gets design, colour and material ideas to make each of our bags unique and also finds useful tips to help InconnuLAB grow even more. I love reading a huge amount of blogs everyday, be informed on current trends and keep a fresh eye on art, design and fashion. For us being inspired by the works of others is as beautiful as to inspire others ourselves, so we decided to feature a post about all the things that are currently inspiring us and share them with you four at a time.

Enjoy!

Love, Nina.

1. A Book: Wes Anderson Collection: The Grand Budapest Hotel 

Wes Anderson’s award winning film ‘The Grand Budapest Hotel’ was one of my favourite films of 2014. From the cinematography and the acting to the costumes and the sets, this film is just great and I completely recommend it! What is even greater is that they published this beautiful companion to the film, as well. It includes a wealth of interesting features such as exclusive interviews, photos and essays. It’s just mind- blowing to go behind the scenes and explore the vast variety sources that inspired Wes Anderson from author Stefan Sweig to photochrom landscapes of Middle Europe. The book itself is gorgeously made and it’s must- read for Anderson fans!

2. A Blog: The Private Life of a Girl 

Sophie’s blog is just so interesting and a pleasure to read post after post . She is the designer and maker of the minimal, handmade jewelry line Oh my Clumsy Heart  that you should totally check out. In The private Life of a Girl she gives the most useful advice on running a small business, being creative and blogging, while sharing her own experiences in the field . It’s great to see that creatives out there want to help each other grow and she certainly inspires us!

( Photo found in The Private Life of the Girl )

3. A Recipe: Paper & Stitch’s Watercolor Popsicle 

Ingredients (makes 12 popsicles):

1 fresh lime, 1 fresh lemon, 1 small fresh orange (optional), store-bought (or homemade) lemonade or limeade, food coloring (use drops NOT gel)

Supplies:

food safe brush, popsicle mold (mine is from Amazon) and knife

How-To:

1. Slice up half of the lime, lemon, and orange, as thin as possible. You can cut them in half too

2. Add lime, lemon, and orange slices to the popsicle wells. A couple of slices in each is really all you need. It’s more to add a pop of color than anything else. This would also be a good way to distinguish between lemonade and limeade post, if you’re creating both kind of pops in one ten count mold, for example. Lime slices in the limeade popsicles and lemon slices in the lemonade pops.

3. Pour limeade or lemonade into the popsicle molds, over the fruit. Then pop the mold into the freezer for 45 minutes before removing from the freezer momentarily, to add the popsicle sticks.

4. Freeze until hardened, which typically takes 3-4 hours. Once they’re ready to eat, run the mold under warm water for 15-20 second to easily them out.

5. Now for the painting! Squeeze 1-2 drops of food coloring onto a paper plate. Then dip your food safe brush into the food coloring and use it just like paint to add a watercolor look to the popsicles. I just started at the bottom and painted upward from there, leaving some of the popsicle unpainted to create kind of a gradient or ombre look.

Once you’ve painted the popsicles, you can serve them up on a platter of ice OR place them back into the popsicle molds to refreeze, if you’d like.If you put them back in the molds to freeze, this will spread the color a bit more, just FYI.

See more at: Paper and Stitch

 

4. Etsy Shop:  Tattoorary 

For undecisive people like me, getting a permanent tattoo is an impossible task. I like too many things, I change ideas every second and I’m never sure if I would be happy in the long run with a permanent design on me. That’s why I love shops like Tattoorary ! It features a variety of high quality temporary tattoos that last up to 2 weeks. The designs are just beautiful from bohemian and vintage to (my personal favourite) floral and Delfts Blauw. The shop owner, Wilma, writes her own blog full of DIYs and recipes that you will be sure to try!