Savoring Summer: Inspiration from Design Pool

Summer goes by fast and if you’re anything like us, you try to savor every last minute of it. The beauty and bounty of summer have inspired many Design Pool collections, as well as articles in our blog. If you’re looking for some inspiration to help you nurture your creative side while you’re savoring summer, we have you covered.

Here are four of our favorite summer-related posts from the Design Pool blog.

Slow Down & Be Inspired
It can be frustrating when you have a creative job and feel the need to be creative on demand. The best ideas don’t always show up when you need them. More likely, they show up when your brain has the room to roam. In this blog post, Kristen and Kristin both share their tips for taking a break from your regular routine and opening up to inspiration.

How to Plan an Inspiration Day
It may seem self-indulgent to take a day off work to spend doing no work at all, but it can be incredibly productive. Summer is the perfect time of year to schedule an Inspiration Day to break up the routine of work and allow coworkers to interact in a low pressure environment. There is no right way to have an Inspiration Day, but we have suggestions for helping you plan a fun and creative one.

A Daily Creative Practice, Tips for Success
Finding time for your creative practice can be difficult. If you don’t prioritize it, it can feel like something you do “when you have time.” Which, spoiler, never seems to happen. Yet, so many successful artists say that practicing daily is key. If you need a push to help develop good habits, we have ten tips for success.

Summer Reading: Books About Artists
The Design Pool team are avid readers and we periodically round up current faves to share with our audience. Recently, we shared books about artists that Kristen has been inspired by. This post also links to other reading lists we’ve created with topics such as color, textiles, business, and creativity.

We’ve done more than write about summer though, we’ve designed patterns inspired by it.

These summery patterns are perfect to use on a range of products anywhere you need to feel a reminder of summer. Check out these three collections which were all inspired by a few of Kristen’s favorite summer activities.

Click on the inspiration photos and they’ll take you to Pinterest where you can see all the patterns in each collection and pin your favorites to your boards.

The Coastal Collection
When designing The Coastal Collection, Kristen drew from photos she’d taken through the years on summer trips to the beach or vacations to coastal towns.

The Farmers Market Collection
The Farmers Market Collection was inspired by roadside stands and summer Saturday mornings at the farmers market. Patterns in this collection were based off original block print designs.

The Garden Beds Collection
Garden Beds was inspired by a love of gardening. No matter where Kristen lived, whether in a place with a big yard or no yard, she always tried to incorporate some type of garden into that space. These patterns tap into that love of gardening and plants.

Summer offers us the opportunity to slow down and stretch our creative muscles in a more relaxing way. Whether that means committing to your creative practice or refreshing a room in your home, I hope you let yourself slow down and truly enjoy savoring summer.

If you’re looking for something summery to do in August, Kristen will be at the 92nd Annual Craftsmen’s Fair presented by the League of N.H. Craftsmen. The event takes place at the Mount Sunapee Resort in Newbury, New Hampshire August 2 – 10, 2025. Find Kristen in Booth #109.