“Odd how the creative power at once brings the whole universe to order.” Virginia Woolf
Hello from Anne and Helen of Creations Unlimited, LLC (http://www.creationsunlimitedllc.com/). We’ve been thinking about and discussing our different styles and approaches to creative efforts, and thought we would share them with you.
Anne’s creative style is deeply colorful, rich, and complex. She is unafraid of taking her creations to new levels of multifaceted intricacies and beauty. People look at the tremendous, time-consuming detail in her work and know she is patient, because her designs are elaborate and require focus and concentration. Her creativity reflects her intellectual depth, artistic flair, and stunning layering. She takes the same care in nurturing people.
Helen’s creativity is different. For her, simplicity can be profound, and humor is an essential part of her day. She wants each of her creations to have a purpose, meaning, or an application to daily life. Brimming with ideas, she sees possibilities and the value of creations through both philosophical and practical lenses. Her creations contribute a sense of hope, joy, vitality, and love, while reflecting her distinct voice.
Both of our creative processes use what we call, “The 5 C’s of Creativity:”
1. CLARITY. We have a project in mind when we begin working. It might be a poem, a quilt, or perhaps a new design for a gift, our tile art, or apparel. We focus on what it is we want to do, gather materials and ideas, and then let it all perk for a while. Very soon we notice that things related to our project begin to pop out at us—a piece of the design, a phrase or main idea, a color scheme—and our creations take off.
2. CONSISTENCY. Whether or not we feel inspired, we continue to work at our project. We may set it aside for a while for a short break, but we return to it quickly. Like doing a crossword puzzle, a particular piece may stump us and when we come back later, we get the answer because we have a fresh perspective, and the will to finish it.
3. COURAGE. In his landmark book, “The Courage to Create,” Rollo May considers creative courage “the most important kind of courage of all.” When we abandon good projects and start others, or procrastinate finishing something important, the creative courage to overcome obstacles is missing. While moral courage can right wrongs, Dr. May describes creative courage as “the discovering of new forms, new symbols, new patterns on which a new society can be built.” In practice, this is not as easy as it appears to be in theory, but what of value ever is?
4. CONFIDENCE. Confidence comes with developing talent. It is the clear, consistent, daily discipline of working towards goals or the completion of projects. In these efforts we see the results of work, and can also picture the final outcome or product. The creative process itself then becomes an affirmation, and begins to satisfy the deep hunger to produce. At this point, it’s important to stay on track and continue to strive for mastery. Guard against diluting strengths or becoming “jack of all trades and master of none.”
5. CHARISMA. All work has a certain charisma. Creative work has charisma in spades. We recognize charisma in creative talent when we look at a painting, design, or work of art, and our jaws drop with the “wow” factor. Talent shows through. The artist creates something new while revealing personality, a message, or a true and accurate reflection of a portion of life. Creative genius is at work, and the viewer not only appreciates it, but participates in it, if only for a moment.
A parting thought for the day:
“The reason a lot of people do not recognize opportunity is because it usually goes around wearing overalls looking like hard work.”
--Thomas Edison
Warm Regards,
Anne and Helen
Come view our website at http://www.creationsunlimitedllc.com/ or visit our display at the Tacoma Dome Holiday Food and Gift Festival (Tacoma, Washington) from October 21-25, 2009 (Booth 1820) to see our latest offerings.
Friday, September 25, 2009
Thursday, September 17, 2009
MAXIMIZE MEETINGS, How to Have Creative, Productive, Marvelous Meetings: 7 Tips
“The creative is the place where no one else has ever been. You have to leave the city of your comfort and go into the wilderness of your intuition. What you’ll discover will be wonderful. What you’ll discover is yourself.” --Alan Alda
Hello from Anne and Helen at Creations Unlimited, LLC. Hope you’re enjoying these beautiful, if unpredictable September days!
We just spent an entire day in a meeting! Our day consisted of planning details of our upcoming booth at the Tacoma Holiday Food and Gift Festival (October 21-25 at the Tacoma Dome). This isn’t our first all-day meeting, and we have come to realize how much we look forward to these days, and why they inspire us with joy (and not dread). So, we took the time to identify what makes our meetings fun, productive, and extraordinary. Here’s what we discovered:
1. EASE. We ease into our workday…welcoming each other, filling our coffee or teacups, offer culinary treats, and have everything pre-organized and set out, ready to begin. We’re human beings first, not production robots.
2. AGENDA. We have goals for the day, and a set agenda. Our plan is flexible and we allow for an influx of new ideas, additions, corrections, editing, and changes as need be. New, better, and more creative ideas come pouring forth with an open atmosphere of supportive exchanges of thought.
3. GET TO IT. Our agenda for the day is full, and somebody has commuted to the meeting, so we are motivated to make the most of our time. We cruise through the steps of our plan, thoroughly, but at a good, steady pace.
4. SHARE GREAT CUISINE. Lunchtime! We go out to one of our favorite haunts, a café which in itself inspires us by its beautiful interiors and wonderful food. Our conversation is everything but business so we really feel like we’ve taken a break.
5. SHOW, TELL, AND CALL. Back to work after lunch, we again waltz into work by doing something truly fun first. We show our new products, innovative prototypes, or share raw, but exciting plans for future designs. Sufficiently enthusiastic now, we get back to our to-do list. We discuss gaps in our plans, and rally help from people who excel in areas we do not. We make phone calls on the spot—less to do later—and our questions get answered immediately.
6. TASKS LIST. We list every task that needs to be completed by a certain deadline, and then divvy them out according to the talents and strengths of our team. Whoever is best at doing a task gets the job. This way, everything not only gets done, but we also get the best and fastest results. Having a show looming automatically poses the deadline for us, but if you don’t have a set deadline, put one on the calendar so your hopes and dreams don’t drift into the never land of oblivion.
7. DINNERTIME! If we have a marathon business day then one of our meals is homemade. It can be either lunch or dinner, but one of us hosts a meal at our home. It doesn’t have to be fancy, just good. Anne is a champion at meals. She loves to cook, and her meals show it. Her gourmet feasts nurture and sustain us, and reinforce strong, shared, personal bonds. If you want a cohesive team who will work their hearts out for you, provide outstanding perks for them. Take care of people and they will take care of you. This is our way, our sendoff (small gifts are nice too). We haven’t forgotten life’s niceties, and small kindnesses and terrific hospitality are key, and often overlooked, in business.
That’s it until next time. We hope you find our successful meeting tips helpful. We invite you to visit our website at www.creationsunlimitedllc.com to see our growing product line and link to our fantastic associates. To ensure quality, we only provide links to those companies we use ourselves.
Blessings!
Anne and Helen
“Around here…we don’t look backwards for very long. We keep moving forward, opening up new doors and doing new things, because we’re curious…and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.” --Walt Disney
Hello from Anne and Helen at Creations Unlimited, LLC. Hope you’re enjoying these beautiful, if unpredictable September days!
We just spent an entire day in a meeting! Our day consisted of planning details of our upcoming booth at the Tacoma Holiday Food and Gift Festival (October 21-25 at the Tacoma Dome). This isn’t our first all-day meeting, and we have come to realize how much we look forward to these days, and why they inspire us with joy (and not dread). So, we took the time to identify what makes our meetings fun, productive, and extraordinary. Here’s what we discovered:
1. EASE. We ease into our workday…welcoming each other, filling our coffee or teacups, offer culinary treats, and have everything pre-organized and set out, ready to begin. We’re human beings first, not production robots.
2. AGENDA. We have goals for the day, and a set agenda. Our plan is flexible and we allow for an influx of new ideas, additions, corrections, editing, and changes as need be. New, better, and more creative ideas come pouring forth with an open atmosphere of supportive exchanges of thought.
3. GET TO IT. Our agenda for the day is full, and somebody has commuted to the meeting, so we are motivated to make the most of our time. We cruise through the steps of our plan, thoroughly, but at a good, steady pace.
4. SHARE GREAT CUISINE. Lunchtime! We go out to one of our favorite haunts, a café which in itself inspires us by its beautiful interiors and wonderful food. Our conversation is everything but business so we really feel like we’ve taken a break.
5. SHOW, TELL, AND CALL. Back to work after lunch, we again waltz into work by doing something truly fun first. We show our new products, innovative prototypes, or share raw, but exciting plans for future designs. Sufficiently enthusiastic now, we get back to our to-do list. We discuss gaps in our plans, and rally help from people who excel in areas we do not. We make phone calls on the spot—less to do later—and our questions get answered immediately.
6. TASKS LIST. We list every task that needs to be completed by a certain deadline, and then divvy them out according to the talents and strengths of our team. Whoever is best at doing a task gets the job. This way, everything not only gets done, but we also get the best and fastest results. Having a show looming automatically poses the deadline for us, but if you don’t have a set deadline, put one on the calendar so your hopes and dreams don’t drift into the never land of oblivion.
7. DINNERTIME! If we have a marathon business day then one of our meals is homemade. It can be either lunch or dinner, but one of us hosts a meal at our home. It doesn’t have to be fancy, just good. Anne is a champion at meals. She loves to cook, and her meals show it. Her gourmet feasts nurture and sustain us, and reinforce strong, shared, personal bonds. If you want a cohesive team who will work their hearts out for you, provide outstanding perks for them. Take care of people and they will take care of you. This is our way, our sendoff (small gifts are nice too). We haven’t forgotten life’s niceties, and small kindnesses and terrific hospitality are key, and often overlooked, in business.
That’s it until next time. We hope you find our successful meeting tips helpful. We invite you to visit our website at www.creationsunlimitedllc.com to see our growing product line and link to our fantastic associates. To ensure quality, we only provide links to those companies we use ourselves.
Blessings!
Anne and Helen
“Around here…we don’t look backwards for very long. We keep moving forward, opening up new doors and doing new things, because we’re curious…and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.” --Walt Disney
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