As a creative person and a teacher/guide to creative people, Tim Gunn's common sense approaches are a breath of fresh air. He's polite, considerate, no nonesense and not over-the-top emotionally driven when faced with a dilemma. Maybe its that we share so many of the same outlooks on life that I find that he inspires me to do better. The one point he raised I always thought I was alone in is his comment on having creative boundries:

"You don't flourish if you are left to do anything in any situation. I say this in art and design and it doesn't always make me incredibly popular. [...] I maintain that that having constraints is very helpful for the creative process. On Project Runway, the designers do better work when they have a specific challenge. And for me, it's easier to discuss thier work when there's a real point of departure, rather than the  do-whatever-you-want challanges, when all I can say is "Well, if this is the look you wanted to achieve, you did it!" With a certain amount of maturity we can set up our own restraints."


I feel relieved that I have sort of found a mentor when I thought I'd never find one. Someone who I think I share a similar process with and who I'd respect if he told me what I was doing 'didn't work'.

He's also going to be in the 3D Smurfs movie and that in no way changes my love for him.