Over the break, I was talking about life and business with my dad, who also

Over the break, I was talking about life and business with my dad, who also runs his own company. We were discussing up years and down years and all of the various phases of business, motivation and inspiration you go through as you evolve. I was talking about this next chapter of Design*Sponge and what I wanted it to look and feel like, and he said, “What if you went back to what you used to talk about all the time, like new artists and profiles"” I’ve always loved profiling artists and designers here (and always will), but sometimes I forget it’s okay to occasionally post the way I used to — short, sweet “Isn’t this cool"” posts — rather than spending a few days or weeks gathering detailed information (although that’s helpful, too). So when I came across Windy Chien’s “Year of Knots” project I thought it would be a great way to close out the week and possibly inspire some yarn or rope-related DIY projects. Windy spent a year devoted to the daily ritual of creating and photographing beautiful nautical knots. She said, “Knots are a new language. Every new knot is like learning another letter in the alphabet.” I love the idea of combining a tactile craft/skill with a little bit of a history or lesson. Click here to check out her website and here to check out her daily knot project on Instagram. Until ...