3D printed dress by Iris van Herpen on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City as part of Manus x Machina fashion exhibition. Photo: Martina Sestakova. June 2016. 

People say shoes make an outfit. Well, I am not so sure ... It seems to me a scarf is the best touch! Why? It expresses your personally in a playful way and it wraps around your neck like a beautiful piece of jewelry. And ... it draws attention to your eyes, not your toes. 

You can tell from my blogs that I am incredibly excited about textile design. I love the fabric as a medium to share my joy of creativity. I love the fluidity of textiles and how they constantly adjust to you and your mood. As you may have figured out, I design many scarves and I have many scarves. But onto the practical stuff ...

As with shoes, we all need ideas on how to wear scarves and how to style them. So, let's get to business and learn how you can wear my unique designs and bring joy into your day. Today, I will review four different ways but keep checking back in as there is more!

Ok ... my favorite way to wear my infinity scarves is doubled over. You get volume - though my scarves are lightweight - and make a strong visual statement. Or, pull one of the wraps around your neck down to elongate the design. Completely different feel! You will make your upper body seem longer. Keep on reading ... 

If you are wearing a jacket and want a pop of color underneath, just drape the scarf around your neck once. You can add a belt on top and you have created a blouse-looking silhouette. Knots are also a fabulous way to style your RADOST™ scarf. Add one and you will draw attention of everybody around you. 

Design and fashion are way to bring joy to your life. That's my motto. And as you can see, my scarves are designed to do just that for you and your outfit. I will be in touch with more. But in the meantime, if you like what you see, treat yourself to some goodies in my shop!

Sky, water, land - it all comes together. Seneca Creek State Park, Maryland.

Photo taken in June 2015. Credit: Martina Sestakova. 

For many fashion designers, travel is a significant source of inspiration. It is indeed the same case for me. Travel is a priority - I take time to explore the world and always come back from my trips full of creative ideas and jitters to design and make beautiful things. In January 2015 I took a trip to Guatemala. It is always fascinating to me to learn about the country and its people. Local textiles in Guatemala reflect the richness and variety of the nature. I fell in love. 

When I came back home, I got to working in my sketchbook - I collected imagery, I sketched, and I sketched some more. I love shapes and as you can see below, I located an image of a woman weaving a fabric and abstracted it into a shape. I also took an photo of a Mayan pyramid and simplified it with a few strokes of a crayon. 

I came up with many combinations of colors and shapes and textures to achieve the final designs. Like travel, design is a journey and I can tell you that I truly love the creative experience. I hope this passion is obvious in my design work!  

As I am planning my next trip, I am already excited about creative opportunities it may lead to. Jitters - I can't wait for you!

I am excited to bring my collection of travel scarves to you. Travel important to you too? Wrap yourself in these to always remind your of the magic travel brings into our lives. Shop them here. 

Ethiopian wedding dress designer Amsale Aberra in her studio. 

I mostly draw with markers and color pencils. But while researching Pollock's masterpieces, I decided to experiment with watercolors. They seem to be more fluid; there is a level of surprise to the final outcome as the paints seep on the paper in tiny pools of water. And that's exciting! So much magic and unexpected beauty. As I was aiming for a lot of visual texture in my collection, I dropped salt into the drying paint. A lot of salt. And then more ... Take a look below at my paintings (top row of photos) and the textile collection (bottom row) I created with these playful patterns.  

Like these? Do you want to wear art around your neck? Shop my Salt-y Watercolor Collection of scarves! I promise to continue to seek inspiration, test out interesting art media, and create refreshingly unique textiles for you and your home. 

Design by Carolina Herrera. New York Fashion Week. Spring/Summer 2015.  

While my textile and fashion design work tends to start with my own inspiration, from time to time I take on projects that involve updating an existing garment. It's a great way to get creative and find a new and innovative solution for my customers. Let's take a look at my latest project!

Here we have an Aerosmith t-shirt in yellow and red. The front has the band's logo; the back is blank. To add more interest to this concert takeaway, I cut off the sleeves, the neckline and the hem. I serged all open sections in white thread to add a nice detail. I had the most fun while working on the back of this t-shirt. I cut stripes of red fabric (to match the front), framed them with white thread, and created a web out of the stripes. Ready to turn the shirt over ... 

... and add tons of visual interest the blank back! The logo on the front contains a circle, which I thought would be fun to imitate on the back of the t-shirt. I cut out a sizeable circle and serged the edges. I inserted the red web-like design and attached it to the edges. And here we go! Now we have a fun concert t-shirt with a twist!

Like what you see? Take a look at some other t-shirt projects I have done and let me know what you think!

Rainy day? Sunny day? No matter, Brookside Gardens - a public Montgomery Country park in Wheaton, MD - is a great place to get inspired to create new textile designs! The park is a short car drive from my home so I make it a point to visit it several times a year to see how it changes with the seasons. Now is a great time to go for two reasons. 

First, an exhibition of butterflies is open until September 2016. And what a fun exhibition! I love butterflies and the beauty of their wings never ceases to amaze me. I take photos - primarily closeups so that I can review these and use the imagery in my textile design. Take at the examples below - aren't the textures and color combinations lovely? 

Second, Brookside Gardens changes through the year and there is always something to see when it comes to flowers. I stopped by not too long ago - it was raining and the rain drops added striking ambiance to the variety of colors and shapes flowers come in. So, put on your walking shoes and enjoy them too!

When something catches my eye and interest, I rarely let it go. Flowers are one of my favorite sources of inspiration and as you can see below, it is a lot of fun to create textiles based on my strolls through public parks. 

Do you paint? Do you design textiles? Or, are you just drawn to nature as much as me?Then, don't hesitate to pay a visit to Brookside Gardens! I promise you won't be disappointed.