Would I call myself a #Swiftie? No. However, have I been listening to Taylor Swift on Spotify for the past 4 months non-stop? Yes and I'm not ashamed about it. I personally grew up in an era where Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera ruled the radio along with NSYNC and The Backstreet Boys. It was a very special time to just have easy music to listen and sing to.
As I got older, my taste in music changed and I never really found that "comfort" music that I had when I was younger. Then, Taylor Swift enters my life with Tear Drops on My Guitar and Our Song and it felt like I had that easy listening music back for a little bit. They were songs that I listened to over and over again. As I got older Taylor Swift's songs remained in my life because of the radio and the fact that the beats were catchy and so were the lyrics.
Fast forward to the announcement of the Era's Tour coming to DisneyPlus, I decided to go through her top hits on Spotify to see how many songs I really knew and I found myself just gravitating towards that playlist throughout the day because again, she has songs that are just so easy to listen to.
After watching the Era's Tour, I was inspired by the set design and her outfits and I knew I had to satisfy this need to encapsulate just how iconic this concert was/is. As I was designing these bookmarks, I really leaned into the different elements that caught my attention while watching the DisneyPlus version of the concert. I must admit, I did do some Googling to find images of her outfits and album covers, but at the end of the day, I hope any Swiftie who comes across this collection can easily identify the different elements.
Lover Era
This was my favorite set that she had - I fully understand that it's the first set, but the colors were some of my favorites and it just screamed cotton candy summer! I decided to use all the cotton candy colors I could think of and added some stars to add an fun/light-hearted-ness to it. Finding a glitter cardstock backing was a little tricky because I wanted something that reminded me of her leotard (is that what you'd call it) that she wore. I didn't find the perfect backing, but I feel like I came close with this one!
To expand on this even more, I created a silicone wristlet to match this particular bookmark! I also have this available to purchase on my website.
Fearless Era
The Fearless Era reminded me of the carefree teen years. Where love was such a simple concept/idea and the thought of heartbreak really wasn't a thing. I wanted to lean into the idea of that "teenage" carefree feeling and pale pinks, but I also wanted to incorporate her beautiful champagne gold out fit that she had on. The most important thing for me to incorporate though during the design of the particular bookmark was a heart.
Evermore Era
If the Lover Era was my favorite set design, Evermore has to be my favorite bookmark. I loved the colors that were used during this era because it reminded me of my favorite season (fall) and I wanted to make sure I found a color that was close to her dress. The mustardy yellow/orange and the beautiful dark greens of the robes - such a beautiful color combination and I wanted to make sure that I incorporated those elements in addition to the woodsy/nature theme.
Much like the Lover Era, I found the perfect beads to create a matching wristlet!
Reputation Era
I loved this era because of how different it was from the rest of them. This era was dark and edgy and I loved everything about it. Of course I had to incorporate the snake somehow, I mean it was wrapped around her mic, how could I not? I found myself constantly drawn to it while watching the concert, so I decided to make it the focal point of this design. I love how this stands out from the others and it is one of my top 3 favorites from this collection.
Speak Now Era
A part of me feels like I don't need to explain this particular design. Speak Now embodies the beautiful shades of purple that were incorporated during the concert and also on the album cover. Fun fact - Enchanted has helped me during a couple of my bowling tournaments/league nights!
Red Era
I'm sure you can tell that the design for this bookmark was heavily inspired by her outfit for this set. I loved the combination of the black and red and how it faded into each other, so I played off of that to come up with this design. Also, I know that she wore a darker red, but I wanted to use a "true" red.
Folklore Era
This was the toughest era for me to design. There were so many different elements that I wanted to bring in, but I just couldn't figure out a way to do it without it all clashing. I pulled in the trees that were featured in the background and as much as I wanted to include the cabin, it was a bit too big to really have the impact that I was looking for. So I decided to Google what this particular era looked like during her other concerts and I saw that she had this beautiful lavender dress. So I decided that lavender and cream (the dress from the DisneyPlus version) were going to be the color scheme. She mentioned that she had imagined this album taking place in the woods/cabin and I imagined that there would be birds and butterflies that would show up to the cabin. So I incorporated some glowy butterflies to add a little dimension.
1989 Era
Was this particular bookmark inspired by the concert? No (obviously), but when I was going through the different eras, I couldn't get the album cover off my mind. So of course, I need to incorporate it. As much as I loved her outfit for this era, I just couldn't think of anything else except for the album! I had such a clear vision for this and I love how it came out! I did add the glittery element from the concert, so I guess it kind of ties in?
Midnights Era
This was by far my favorite outfit during the entire concert - the color, the sparkle, the boots! Absolute perfection. Out of all the bookmarks, this is the most simple, but the most cohesive and I love it. I felt like all the other bookmarks had a lot of glitter/sparkle, so I wanted to add something a little different. So I decided to do some Googling and came across a picture of Taylor wearing a starry midnight blue slip dress and knew I needed to figure out a way to replicate it. As simple as it is, I feel like this is just the perfect balance of shimmer and vigilante stuff.
I had been wanting to create a "Behind the Design" post for this collection for the longest time and I'm so glad that I finally had the chance to actually write about it. Creating this collection took me a few weeks to do and I dedicated a lot of time to it and at the end of the day, I hope that I have done right by the Swifties out there. Watching the concert, seeing the crowd, and just listening to her songs, I understand why she is as popular as she is and after all these years, I have missed having someone that I can just listen to.
This collection also inspired me to bring in the silicone wristlets to my shop because it reminded me of the "candy" bracelets that became a hit during the tour and are also featured in the credits. I feel like there are so many things that I could do/add based off of this one concert and it has revived this creative energy in me. I really hope that you will take a moment to check out the bookmarks and let me know what you think! I forgot to mention that each bookmark comes with a silver tassel and a silver microphone charm!