The 74 ways to be Inspired series is all about finding inspiration and applying it to your creative life ~ whether it be for your own satisfaction or as part of the process of setting up and maintaining a small creative business.
These interviews aim to inspire by gaining an insight into the inspirational and creative process of those who are doing exactly that. Today we are talking to Alli Michelle from Hooray.

First off, an introduction,  tell us a little about yourself, what you do and perhaps, briefly, how it came about.
I live in a village just outside Ann Arbor, MI with my husband and our two cats. I’m an Air Force wife and designer (event design + an online paper shop), with a passion for creative things like art, photography, styling, and (sometimes) cooking. I’ve had creative interests since childhood, always drawing and making little things.

What was the inspiration behind the name of your shop/blog?
“Hooray” is the perfect fit for how I feel about design. I realized this while I was brainstorming a name for my blog. I wrote down all of the words that best described things I liked, and I narrowed it down to several phrases, many of which contained the word hooray. My best friend looked at them and said, why not just name it Hooray? So I did.

Cataloguing inspiration: Darcy Miller‘s Scrapboxes via Martha Stewart | Textiles: Lisa Stickley London

Now this series is about inspiration, so where do you find inspiration? Either online, in the “real world” or from whom? What kind of things inspire you?
Things that inspire me are: places we’ve traveled (or dream of traveling to, like Paris!), colors, textures, industrial elements, architecture + interiors, and nature. I usually find those inspirations in real life, on blogs and in magazines, in stores (jcrew tops the list), and in movies.

{products from hooray design}

What leads you to a product? Like the gorgeous bags with the camera stamped on them, as one example?
I make concept “boards” to gather all of my ideas + inspirations in one place for a project. The final outcome evolves from there. For example, I have textures like kraft paper + cotton muslin on my shop’s board. My camera bags were a result of wanting to use cotton muslin (the bags), and an image that reminds me of travel (the camera).

Do you catalogue your inspiration in some way, either virtually, clippings in a notebook or perhaps an inspiration board?
I’m pretty serious about cataloging inspiration. Magazine clippings go into folders or get tacked onto inspiration boards, digital photos are stored in desktop folders, and blog/website photos are bookmarked in google reader/posted to my tumblr. And of course, whatever I like best makes it onto my blog.

Pretty paper goods: Martha Stewart Weddings | Interior inspiration: Byron in London by Michaelis Boyd

Tell us a little about your creating process, do you set aside time and focus or do you find yourself multi-tasking?
For the most part, I work during the day and come up with new creations during free time or at night. I like to be organized and scheduled, but also like to wait until a creative mood strikes – even if that means taking a break during the day and working at night instead.

How do you find juggling the creative life with your home and/or work life?
My faith + family play the most important role in my life, and that is where my priorities are. That being said, my home is a creative place to me as well, so it’s not as if I “go home” at the end of the day and “stop” being creative. I’m happy to do what I love, so I try to let things blend together naturally, aware of what my top priorities are.

Running a small business can be quite the time consuming, can you share with us how you organise your time ~ what with online marketing, staying up to date and then the actually creating?
Yes, it can be extremely time consuming, much more than it would seem! I’d like to plan out more time for marketing, but for now I rely on client/customer referrals for my design work + etsy shop, and focus my time on creating + working. My extra creative energy goes into my blog – it allows me to share my inspirations + ideas with a community of people who share my interests (which is so helpful).

And because we are in blogland, can you share a couple of your favourite or most inspirational blogs/sites.
So many! My favorite blogs include design is mine, darling dexter, simplesong, and sunday suppers. Favorite sites include Rebecca Thuss, MS Weddings, and French Women.

Thanks for stopping by 74 Lime Lane Alli Michelle and sharing these insights into your creative life.

Find alli and hooray: blog | shop | flickr | facebook

She has also done a post on her favourite French things at You Are My Fave.