This March (2019), I was lucky enough to travel to Ecuador, with the lovely Mayesh family. As a guest designer for their first “International Experience,” I asked to teach two of my favorite topics- detailed wearables, and foam-free large scale design. Every time I teach large scale design, I’m reminded of the importance that material selection makes. If you can choose to work with mostly “reliables”- items that last without a water source for the length of an event, you can create impressive, large, lightweight, foam-free designs with much more ease. The vibrant orange arch the students and I created during our time in Ecuador received the most activity on Instagram that any single post of mine has generated. I share photos of this stunning piece, and my “reliables” list with you today, to inspire you to create big beauties of your own with confidence.