Fruition

fruition /frʊˈɪʃn/ the realisation or fulfilment of a plan or project

This week sees The Design Collective | Christmas come to fruition as we mark its official release. And do you know what? We couldn’t be more excited to share it with you!

Just like our time with needle and thread, the book has come together stitch by stitch.

Initially our Editor, Susan O’Connor, reaches out to designers the world over inviting them to contribute a project for the publication, which is akin to starting the search for the instructions for that just right design. As the projects then begin arriving at Inspirations HQ, it’s somewhat like seeing images of those designs for the first time. Whilst they absolutely convince you that you’ve chosen the right project to put your needle and thread to, there’s a moment, albeit fleeting, where you just hope your stitching will do it justice!

Then there’s the process of production meetings, location scouting, prop sourcing, photography, graphic design, editing, colour correcting and printing that can each seem like single stitches being laid one at a time. Whilst you can see each of the individual stitches being formed, they’re somewhat in isolation from each other, which can make it difficult to picture the final result.

Then, when the advance copies arrive from our printer, it’s like the final stitch has finally been laid!

It’s the moment when we get to see the result of our ‘stitching’, and it’s at that point we appreciate afresh how each stitch forms part of the whole, and that no one stitch is more important than any other as they are each integral to the outcome.

The truth is though, that whilst the release of a book marks the official end to the production schedule for that publication, it’s actually just the beginning. It’s the launching pad to seeing the work of the designers, as well as the team at Inspirations HQ, go out into the world and return much fruit as needles and threads recreate the projects from within the book.

If you’re anything like us, we think you’ll find many a project from The Design Collective | Christmas to put your needle and thread to as they are simply the most divine way to celebrate Christmas in stitch.