Hokey Croquis is one of the most stylish and innovative fashion design tools we’ve seen in some time. With sketchpads this fashion forward, we’re sure anyone can tap into their inner designer.

Designed to facilitate the creative process, these pretty little sketchpads are portable must-haves for aspiring and professional designers alike.  Affordably priced at under $20 each, Hokey Croquis pads feature 40 pages of quality paper with pre-printed croquis outlines, which disappear upon photocopying.

Say goodbye to light boxes, tracing paper and frustration, and say hello to smart tools that support your design visions.  Created by Tamar Daniel, Hokey Croquis is dedicated to creating tools specific to fashion design.

With a background rich in fashion design and fine art, Daniel has a deep understanding of what today’s fashion designers need.  It is  a great pleasure to share our interview with Hokey Croquis creator, Tamar Daniel, with you.

Krista Peck (KP): What inspired you to cross over from fashion design to fashion tool development?

Tamar Daniel (TD): I wanted to create a sketchpad with pre-printed templates which would streamline and accelerate the design process for established designers, but also even out the playing field for those struggling to get there.

When I set to work finalizing my first product, my husband came in handy.  He is a physics major, and had learned about how certain shades of gray are invisible to Xerox machines.  This allowed me to come up with an innovative solution in developing a Croquis template that disappears upon scanning!

KP: Why did the FashionFlat Sketchpad and Travel Sketchpad receive the honor of being the first tools sold by your business, Hokey Croquis?

TD: I was just wanting to create a product that would have a wide appeal to the more amateur design sector–at a price point that students and aspiring designers of any age could afford.

KP: Who is your target audience, and what does Hokey Croquis offer to them that is different?

TD: I have always believed that fashion designers, whether aspiring or professional, deserve tools that can improve the creative process, eliminate the need for rework, and allow for effortless fashion sketching as they establish collections and portfolios.

I have also always found it sad to see people giving up on their dreams of designing because they find it frustrating to get the ideas in their heads down on paper,  or they’ve been discouraged by their family or peers, or even told that they don’t have the necessary “drawing skills.”

KP: With a presence in the blogosphere, Twitter and Facebook, how do you feel the online community has helped your brand?

TD: Using these tools has proven to be a great way for us to hear customer feedback immediately and to respond quickly. It’s also allowed us to get to know our customer base, and potential customer base, and to interact with them in a way which offers immediate contact, and therefore a faster response time on our part.

KP: Will the next tools be similar to your sketchpads, or should we be prepared to be wowed by something totally different?

TD: I can’t reveal all the details yet, but I’ve actually just sold the license to manufacture our design sketchpads to a big publishing company, and they’ll be taking over the manufacture and distribution of our goods starting next year! I’ll still be involved as a consultant…and yes, we have some fun ideas in the works!