The Idea Fairy

Where do our designs come from? All over. Sometimes we work from patterns purchased with commercial reproduction permissions and a lot of our less expensive designs come from modified existing patterns. When a client contracts a custom wheel we like to talk to them and find their likes, dislikes, favorite colors & animals, what artists do they admire, and so on. Then the brain is allowed to wander.

By far, however, our favorites are the ones that assault us in the night, sneak attack from the horizon, and pester us when we're trying to not be creative. Annoying creatures like this:

This deer-thing has been haunting me through the wall. It's been living on a plate in the antique shop next door since they opened for the summer last month. Today it had to come over to stay in the workshop for a bit. I don't know what it is, but something on this plate has me thinking of wheel designs. Not exactly the same, but definitely inspired by it. I think it's the background design. I dunno. But a wheel is definitely coming out of this thing.

If you're in Ashland, WI, during the summer Antiques on Main is a great place to check for cool stuff. They have walls full of beautiful china.