Testing my boundaries with Lihaopaper
Lately I've been thinking about under what circumstances we may push ourselves to venture beyond our familiar journaling style. It can be satisfying but also intimidating to play with deco materials that lead you to explore new directions for your style.
Do you like to experiment with art tapes by different designers who challenge you to stretch in new ways that may feel unfamiliar? Or do you prefer the comfortable embrace of patterns, colors, and themes that fully resonate with your inner creative compass?
For example, some of the style elements I find difficult to relate to include ornate vintage content and delicate romantic imagery. I also struggle with bold geometric patterns, although I do feel more drawn to these.
Increasingly, though, I find it is a joy to interact creatively with all kinds of art tapes—even those that are not necessarily my own style. Over time, I've started to prefer having little snippets; instead of accumulating whole rolls, I like to have a loop or two and see what I can create with it. This shift in approach feels a bit like gathering fresh flowers from a field. That’s a big part of what moved me to want to open a sample shop, for collectors and curious stationery lovers looking for fresh bouquets of inspiration.
We can appreciate each tape as a work of art in itself, that began from a tiny seed of inspiration and blossomed into a fully realized design concept. Spend time taking it in, getting a feel for its artistic rhythm, palette, and mood. Find the beauty, let it move you.
One popular designer that has consistently intrigued me over the years is Lihaopaper. Their tapes have a lot of modernist influences as well as retro vibes. And their designs are especially well suited to complex and elaborate layering, calling for a skill set that definitely falls outside my comfort zone. Experimenting with their art tapes leads me to lean into layering, more than I usually would. But I also regularly find features in their art—touches of grunge, playfully abstract concepts, and a love of nature—that deeply appeal to me.
There is sometimes a very structured and formal quality, counterbalanced with a sense of delicacy and spaciousness. In short, this is a designer with an impressive range, and it takes time to fully explore the many dimensions of their aesthetic style.
Who are some of the designers who challenge you to grow creatively, or help you to map out more clearly the boundaries of your own preferred style and artistic tastes?
