Stella Burchard
for Shiny Squirrel

Everywhere, everyday inspiration
Daily, I can seek and find inspiration in my surrounding people, buildings, nature, art, etc. All I have to do is turn on music I want for the mood I'm looking for, pick up a book, browse online, take a walk.

But what really sticks with me are the things I don't have to seek out. The everyday, business as usual, yet uniquely inspiring things I come across just by living in the world. All I have to do is be and the world drops inspiring jewels right to me. Here are some things I've come across and taken photos of. These everyday moments noticed continue to inspire me as I refer back.

• Work may get hectic, but when I stop and look, I realize I lead a lucky life and am blessed with what I get to do and take home money for. I think my computer desktop is even aesthetically pleasing for the most part.


• Coffee with a friend is always nice. For the conversation and company, yes, and when the coffee is its own art you want to take a picture of, even better.


• Walking around, I never know what I will find. I love when I find symbols and things that reflect the inner, core me.


• Definitely core material.


• I wish I spent more time walking around in Italy, but looking back at when I did, this moment of laughter, friendship, and being comfortable as is makes me smile and pushes me forward.


• And the silliness of people just being people inspire me to let my silly out.


I love inspiration.

Raw talent
I'm lucky to find myself surrounded my creative and talented people. Even within my closest friends, there is so much talent I can hardly stand it. What I find especially remarkable is how in awe of their rough, this-is-what-I-do-naturally-not-trying pieces they create. I love seeing the whole piece, process, and idea come to full life, but I'm blown away how random doodles and natural expression can be so beautiful. I happen to naturally like the aesthetics of line art, but the thing that really gets me with the raw beginnings of something more or perhaps an accidental discovery of something cool is the grounded, inspired, and from the heart origins of these rough sketches.

Inspiration is passed along and in just looking at what my friends sit down to work on, sketch on a napkin, throw together to demonstrate a point, or randomly come up with in a moment, I pick up their inspiration. See what I mean...

One day, while she was living in Dubai and I in NYC, Leah emailed me this sketch. She titled it "Sharing" and sent along this drawing she had felt inspired to put onto paper one night. I've known her to work on large canvases and with paint, so this was new for me to see and unexpected, too. Leah had been journaling and writing poetry a lot at the time and I love how this sketch called itself to be expressed, and she was kind enough to let me see.

When Brian shared this with me he prefaced, "well, my sketches are usually pretty rough..." I think they're awesome. Brian Pope is a talented graphic designer and a creative mind at large. These sketches are the basics for his recently launched kids' streetwear line, PRE-K. In everything he touches and designs, you can see the attention to detail, thought, imagination, and artistry put in. I think even in his sketches you can get a feel for how he deliberates and generates. What's even more inspiring is he can come up with original ideas, execute them on paper + computer, and bring them to market.

Miss Jessie Williams is another creative + business-minded type who leaves her mark on everything she touches. It can be a hand-cut dress, screenprinted tote, long labored pair of earrings, portfolio video, or an envelope in the mail: you'll know she touched it and left a bit of sweetness. This sketch was just whipped together real quick and arrived to me via U.S. postal service handling of a no-longer standard white envelope. The hand drawing in itself made the mail so much more worth it for just the smile it brought out.

This last sketch I have on hand to share is from my much-admired tattoo artist Dave C. Wallin . Beyond tattooing, he can do just about any type of drawing I can think of on paper and computer. Plus, he's a musician. This sketch was the first one (well, technically the second as he drew in green marker on this piece of scrap paper when we were sitting together beforehand but I didn't get a chance to snag it) of my latest tattoo, and I was amazed when I saw it. It captured what I wanted even in the humble beginnings he was apologizing for and explaining. The end product is stunning work and just what I wanted, but I love how he totally channeled my motivation and desire for this tattoo in his simple pencil sketch. (For your own end product, stop by.)

Perhaps seeing one of these sketches will inspire you to make your own, even if it is stickhead figures with awkward dresses, or maybe your name on repeat. Good comes from expression and you might have some fun, if not the next piece that inspires you.

Inspiration in my hands & home



I am not an actual or aspiring homegoods or packaging designer. I didn't think I pay particular attention to them or scrutinize for profession or hobby, but let's face it, we are surrounded by them both. Our homes are filled with stuff and EVERYTHING seems to be packaged. Be it your coffee, a button, a gift, a necessity, it's pretty much inescapable to run into one of the two, and usually both, at any given time.

Luckily, I find the quirky goods and packages to be inspiring. This weekend, while giving myself a home manicure (hello, budget) I noticed the color I picked was "Poor Lil Rich Girl." Ok, fine, I actually picked the color because of the name. It's pretty, I love me some red hues, and it was a solid choice for a change, but really, the name spoke to me. As I painted my new theme on, I thought what a neat job it would be to come up with that name. And what does that name mean? And how much better that is than "496." And what else has awesome little copy details like this?

Point is, just a fragment of text got me thinking, and I love it. I've been known to save and store clippings, wrappers, etc. from bottles and boxes and such because of the text. I have the ripped off end of a Ghirardelli chocolate bar package held by magnet to my refrigerator not because I want to get the same kind again (though it was delicious), but because it says "Moments of Timeless Pleasure." The date that brought me the bar didn't live up to the text and we didn't ever talk again after consuming the chocolate and bidding each other good night, but I like the words. Not because they speak to me profoundly or remind me of some epiphany or lesson, but they're just clever. Who would think to put those 4 words there? On a chocolate bar? Does anybody else notice this? I don't know, but I love it.

I love reading (and very often saving) the blurbs around a bottle of Vitamin Water, and if I could, I would probably still have a few more cartons of Ben & Jerry ice cream, for the outside copy and the inside details on "limited edition" flavors. I also love checking what my rare Starbucks cup and sleeve have to say, and flipping through the bliss spa catalog to see what words they choose to lend personality to their products and services.

After thinking about how much I love to find fun typography, well-written copy, and perfectly captured package details in everyday items, I ventured to my kitchen to see what else there might be. I was at first disappointed by the lack of Vitamin Water (those bottle aren't cheap), but happily surprised that my making-coffee-at-home budget also brought these coffee creamer messages:



Ah... well said, and will do.