If you are feeling bored or frustrated by your design, it’s very easy to say that you just want to scrap the whole concept and start from scratch. It’s like taking a wrecking ball to your work and starting from the ground up. It’s easy to start something new, it’s a challenge to make something new again. The most elevated designers are masters of this, especially those in the fashion industry. They work season to season, where they must create a new concept, but they must stay within the parameters of their design vision or signature style.
Part of developing your own signature style is committing to your ideas and being confident to stand by them and working to evolve them. It; is about a creative evolution, not a revolution.
By ditching your original concept, you might be cutting yourself short. You already invested time and energy in your idea, and you decide to dump it because you feel frustrated and can’t see it working.
Here’s the thing about starting over. If you start something new as a result of frustration, there is a likelihood that you will scrap this one as well and start again. and again. Until it becomes a vicious cycle of starting something and throwing it out.
Imagine the frustrated writer who types away on his typewriter, only to pull out the page and scrunch it into a ball, then tossing it out. Eventually a pile of paper snowballs around the trash can, because every time he made a mistake, he scraps it. As a result, nothing gets written.
Part of becoming a master of your craft is to not be afraid of your mistakes, to take them on as challenges and working with them anyways. A master can turn a blunder into a masterpiece.
To become a developed creative, commit to your vision by refining your work, rather than starting over. Its a greater challenge to work with what you have. It will make you a better, more versatile designer if you do this. You will also be more daring and confident in your work.
I know this to be true because I have done it many times. Started knitting projects and unravelled it. Started blogs and tore them down. started sewing projects and never saw them through because I made a mistake. While there are some situations where it makes sense to start again, I advise that you don’t make a habit of it.
For instance, I like to hand dye pieces of silk fabric in an array of colours for my designs. However, as one with any kind of dyeing experience might expect, it doesn’t always come out perfectly. The dye job looks even when its wet, but after the fabric dries, blotches of dye color might appear unexpectedly. Silk is not a cheap medium to work with. To simply scrap it is wasteful and disrespectful to the material. I have always come up with creative solutions for laying out the pattern pieces so that the discoloration would be cut away, or not appear visible on the final garment. It takes time and patience to pull this off. It may even require altering my original plans for the piece. But in the end, it all works out and I am happy with the results.
This practice has trained me to consider different problem solving strategies. Whenever I cut a garment, I always consider options that will result in the least amount of waste, and scraps are used for other projects where appropriate.
Starting over and over again is likely to lead into a vicious cycle of failed attempts and lack of commitment to doing something with determination. Knowing that you can always just start again will hold you back from committing to your performance. Instead, put in your full effort and find a away to make it work every time no matter what happens. You will be a better creative for it!
