"Real" Dress-Up Time for Kids!!

As I mentioned in my last blogpost, one of my requirements for my various creative projects I've been pursuing is that I HAVE to finish every project!  Now, I've got a project I've been playing with for a few months, and for a while there I thought it was going to end up in the trash.  I just couldn't motivate myself to finish, and I just kept filling myself with doubts that anyone would find it valuable.

Ever done that before?  STOP IT!!!!

Luckily, my new goals required me to complete it at the very least, even if it's a complete failure.  Here's the project:

The idea sparked from an afternoon when my daughter came running in to the living room with a pad of paper and a pen and said, "Mommy, what would you like for lunch?  Do you want a sandwich or milk?".  She was playing "waitress", imitating what she's seen at various Denny's, Outback Steakhouses, etc. that we've been to.  And it occurred to me: why are we inundated with princess, superhero, and cartoon character dress-up products when what our kids really want is to be like other "real" adults?  Or maybe we should be encouraging them more often to imitate real adults rather than pretend ones?  Allow me to add that I don't have any problem with princesses and superheros - I think they're important to kids' imagination development and giving them a certain sense of "What's possible" outside of reality - but why don't we find more fun ways for them to imitate the "real" things in life?  What little boy doesn't want to put on a suit and tie and go to work like Daddy?  What little girl doesn't want to sit down and sign paperwork like Mommy does at the end of a long day at work? (my daughter imitates this one all the time too!).

And so was born "Kidz Career Kitz" or "Kidz Dress-up Kitz" (I'm testing both names).  I recently participated in one of these fun consignment shows where a huge event is held at a local hotel or venue and you can bring your gently used kids clothes, toys, etc and sell them.  Quite a few people also sold handmade hair clips and other items, so I decided this would be a good place to test my idea.

Of course, I don't really have any manufacturing capital, so I got creative and hit up the local thrift stores and made use of my computer design programs!  I would prefer to have some more colorful pieces, but I think this was a good start.  I made 2-3 kits (a boy one and a girl one) for 4 different careers (10 kits total) that I thought would be fun to replicate, and would likely catch kids' attention:

Lawyer (boy shown):

It's hard to see in the picture, but this one has a "briefcase" (basically a vintage game case - perfect size for kids!!), a tie or purse, a Daytimer, a name badge (on one of the pull clippies that kids love to play with), a folder with a laminated Client Checklist and dry erase marker (reusable!), a small notepad folio, a "Deposition", a pair of reading glasses (frames only), a few pens and a USB port.

Businessperson (boy shown):

This one has a full-size leather folio, a tie or purse, a name badge (on one of the pull belt clippies that kids love to play with), a folder with laminated Sales & Marketing charts and graphs and dry erase marker (reusable!), a small notepad, a Sales & Marketing Proposal, a pair of reading glasses (frames only), a checkbook with a pretend business credit card, a few pens and a USB port.

Real Estate Agent (girl shown):

This one has a clipboard with a laminated House Inspection Checklist and dry erase marker (reuseable!), a tie or purse, a name badge, a folder with various housing documents to "fill out", a Phone & Address Book, a set of Open House invitations, a pair of sunglasses (for showing houses in Colorado!), a set of keys (for their next showing!), an Available Housing Catalogue, a few pens and a USB port.

Waitress:

This one is a little different.  It has a serving tray, apron, 4 laminated menus, a Sales Order book, pretend dollars and coins, a name badge, a couple of Gift Certificates (to give to customers), a credit card, a pen, and a purse (for the girl one)

Ideally, these kits would come with a short DVD video that shows a cartoon of someone going to work to do each job and using each item so the kids know exactly what each item is for - but I'm not that talented yet!!

So what do you think?  Would you buy one of these for your kids?  I'm putting them in the next JBF Broomfield/Brighton sale so we'll see how it goes!  If I sell one of them, I will be happy. :)  If not, I will be content to have tried and failed.

Well, another day in Denver, another snowstorm.  Another opportunity to blog!  Today I wanted to share a fun craft I did recently: my first custom book!!  This was a lot of fun.  I ripped the pages out of an old book, redecorated the cover, cut, pasted, punched, painted, and decorated in the inside pages and then bound it all together with scraps from an old t-shirt!!  And I used only materials that I already had on hand (from old scrapbooking projects of yore) and stuff I got from the local thrift store.  It was a fun artistic and practical challenge.  I made this for my niece who will be turning 7 (I think?) in a couple of weeks.  I'll explain what the different pages are as I post the pictures.

Since I am now working part-time in marketing, waiting for a baby to pop out, and trying to focus more of my energies at home, I've decided to just let myself pursue whatever crazy, whimsical crafts I've dreamed up over the past year or so.  Now that I have the time and energy to devote to them (and not much time and energy to devote to anything physical!)!  So my next few posts will likely be random, strange, completely unrelated crafts or projects I decided to take on in my spare time to feed my creative appetite.  I've decided on two rules for these projects:

1) I must finish every project before moving on to the next one.
2) I can only have 3 projects going at a time.

And I will probably break them both.

I will still be singing with Pure Jukyn (gig next week!) and working on pursuing a long-term project working with songwriting and teens (see my New Years post), but those will most-likely be on hold until after the baby comes and life gets somewhat predictable.  So for now: Creative Jane Rears Her Ugly Head!!

 The Cover.  "E" for Emily!  I found a fantastic post about gluing paper towels to the cover of the book and then painting it to give it some nice texture.  It worked out great!

The first page, and several other pages in here, are just for making notes about things that have happened, thoughts, she has, or anything she wants to write.

The "nicesies" on the inside cover are little notes that say nice things like "Thank you" or "I'm sorry" that she can give to family members or friends when she feels the need.  Sometimes it's easier than saying it!

There are several "Secrets" pages throughout the book.  These are places where she can take some special paper (included in the back of the book) and write down any private thoughts, feelings or "secrets" that she wants to keep special for herself and put them in this pretty envelope.  They are always there for her to look at - for her eyes only!

I added a small "About Me" section where she can write a few small details about herself.

This is just another spot for writing notes - I tried to make the spaces fairly small - big enough to write it, but not big enough that she feels like she has to write a novel.  This is one of my favorites because I found some old wedding invitations at the thrift store that make a cute "book opening" look to this page!

Another Secrets page on the left, and on the right is a decorated plastic baggie where she can keep an "Stuff" she wants to - artwork, movie tickets, notes from friends, whatever!

Another notes page with a more vertical writing space (might be actually too small for her to write in, but oh well).

Another Secrets page, and a small card on the left with a fun mini burlap bag for storing stuff she likes.

More writing space!

 Secrets page and another baggie that says "I'm Bored" with 20-30 activity ideas - many craft and creativity focused - for when she is looking for something to do!

The right page is a place for her to keep photos (I know, no one develops film anymore, but it seemed like there needed to be a place for pictures!).

More writing space on the left, and then a stack of colorful scrapbook paper on the right for writing, pasting, drawing, whatever she wants to do.

On the right is the pretty paper for her Secrets envelopes - you can't tell, but it's purple and shiny.

The back of the book.

And the binding!

Fun!

Finding Your SuperPower (We All Have One)

As tends to happen just preceding one of my blog posts, I read a very interesting post from another blogger a few weeks ago (hooray for stealing other people’s thoughts!).  The blogger is Erika Andersen, a business-owner who consults with top business professionals around world about various topics surrounding people management and leadership within the business world.  I follow her posts regularly because there is so much insight into the way businesses SHOULD be run and often aren’t.

Anyways, this particular post was a little more personal in nature.  She was discussing the way to discover your career “sweet spot”.  One element of this is discovering your individual “superpower”.  This is  a difficult thing to define because you have to minimalize your various talents and wittle them down to one very basic skill.  For example, she describes her superpower as this: “I’m uniquely good at understanding the essence of a thing and expressing it simply and clearly.”  

Here’s the post, it’s worth a read if you have the time (and much shorter and more concise than mine!): http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikaandersen/2012/09/26/heres-a-simple-formula-for-finding-your-career-sweet-spot/

 

Her post goes into more detail, then adding “What drives your economic engine” and “What are you passionate about” to the formula.   But I want to focus on this “superpower” piece because I think this is the most difficult thing to identify, and often the most crucial to a person’s success.

Throughout my career journey, searching for an answer to this question of my “superpower” has been particularly intriguing.  It requires a lot of self-reflection and self-watching.  I know that sounds weird, but noting how you act and react during certain tasks, and which situations in which you find the most joy are very helpful exercises in working this out.  There was something particularly difficult about my “superpower”, and I’m guessing most people run into this same conundrum: the activities I enjoy the most, and where I excel the most seem to have very little relation to one another.  Here is a list of a few tasks that I’ve noticed I’m especially good at:

Songwriting

Analyzing  and interpreting graphs and charts

Building marketing strategies

Understanding the root of others’ challenges and difficulties

Poetry

Developing business ideas (large and small)

Huh… Well, that’s a little strange.  Songwriting and analyzing/interpreting graphs and charts???  That makes no sense at all!!  For a long time I thought all these skills were basically unrelated and that maybe I’m not as good at them as I seem to think I am.  

Well, I think I figured it out.  And I hope that this story and detailed (heh heh) explanation can help you do the same because I would be VERY interested to know others’ superpowers and see them come to optimal use in your life as well.  My superpower:

“I am uniquely good at taking many pieces of information from a variety of sources and mixing & melding them to create an interpretation or idea that takes into account all relevant parameters.”

Ok, that’s a bit of a mouthful.  I’m hoping I can condense that more over time, but let’s look at that in the context of two of the earlier-mentioned skills:

Analyzing marketing data requires taking in the information presented by various charts and graphs, looking for trends and upsets, and interpreting it or creating a basis for a marketing strategy that also takes into account many other factors including the performance of past campaigns, common customer complaints, available resources, and the complications of execution.  Quite a few variables!

Songwriting, on the other hand, though generally seen to be the creation of something completely new out of nothing, but it is actually more of a process of combining all kinds of different information: feelings, styles and genres of music, instrumental capabilities, theory of chords and rhythms, words read and spoken on a daily basis,  stories, general cultural interpretation of what “sounds good”, right down to the sound of a car driving by or the feeling of sitting in the forest alone.  All these things must be mixed and melded and combined to create one piece of art.

Kinda cool, right?  The coolest part of this is that since I’ve recognized this and started to wield this skill more and more, I’m seeing some great results.  My boss has commented on more than one occasion that I’ve got a great eye for catching trends and upsets in marketing data that others don’t see.  I’ve always gotten decent compliments on my songwriting.  I’ve been invited regularly into brainstorming sessions at work.  I simply feel better and I feel like people are starting to work with me on achieving the career direction that I want!

So what’s your “superpower”?  If you already know it, please share it!  If not, challenge yourself to pay a little more attention to what you’re exceptionally good at and what common skills can be pulled from all your various talents.   I guarantee it will build your confidence and your ability to achieve your goals – you won’t regret it!

Stepping Forward Into the New Year

An old year closes and a new one begins.  It’s pretty typical for me to make a resolution every year, and I’m not so bad at sticking to it.  But this year is different.  This year, rather than making resolutions, I have decided upon a theme that will guide my life in 2013.  I like this idea because it offers opportunities for many resolutions that fit under the theme and lots of flexibility for living under the theme depending on the road upon which life carries me.  I’m VERY excited about this, and I want to preface it with a little back-story that really gives life to what I hope to achieve in 2013.

I read a very interesting blog post from a girl that I think I need to meet someday – she calls herself the “Shy Singer-Songwriter”.  Talk about my twin!  In her blog, she mentions that in her youth, she rarely felt any other emotions other than discomfort and fear.  I can relate very closely to this.  Granted, I recall some good feelings – happiness, satisfaction, love, enjoyment…but the only negative feelings I recall are discomfort, anxiety, and fear.  To give you an example, I distinctly recall the day my Mom and Dad gathered all five of us kids in the living room to announce that they were getting a divorce – no doubt an announcement that would trigger some deep emotions.  But I can still see myself sitting there watching my older brother and sister get angry, and my younger brother and sister start crying, and having absolutely no idea how to react.  So I didn’t.  Now I don’t know why this is, but I suspect it’s connected an inability to give myself validation of my own feelings, and to a mantra I put on myself at a young age to be the savior of the world – how selfish was I to waste time with negative feelings when there were so many problems around me?

There was only one time I freely allowed myself to explore my feelings, to be human, and to feel things that I closed myself off from elsewhere: songwriting.  For some reason, when I was writing music, I was allowed to do or be anything.  I could be sad, frustrated, lovesick, angry, jealous, whatever awful feelings I felt I was not privy to.  Now, I RARELY shared these emotions or songs with others.  For some strange reason, I would love and worship others who expressed conflicting and avid emotions through song (famous or not), but I was always far too insecure of my own feelings to give myself the same permissions.  I do remember one song I wrote that articulated everything I felt about myself and expressed for the first time the inner struggle I had with perfectionism.  I think Mikey Michaud is the only one who ever heard it – “What I Wanna Be”.

Back to my New Year’s Theme. 2012 has been very much a preparation for 2013, even though I didn’t realize it.  Life is awesome that way.  2012 marked my venturing back into songwriting and singing after a near 6-year hiatus (with a little bit of dabbling in music theatre here and there).  It also was fraught with hours upon hours of brain power and career counseling as I tried to work out what I want to do with my life.  I watched my best friend wield confidence and intense love to make a difference in Denver – the majority of my inspiration for chasing my dreams.  I moved into a more suitable job role with a more suitable company.  I did my first live performance of original music written by me and my guitarist.  I began making my first CD.  All with much love and support from my husband and daughter.  Now I plan to take all that, mold it, mesh it, and take the next step forward with my 2013 theme:

Wield Passion to Make a Difference

I’m not sure yet how I’m going to accomplish this.  I only know that it will likely have an element singing/songwriting, and it will hopefully involve a lifelong desire to work with youth.  I know the first step will be to record and publish “What I Wanna Be” on my future album, and finally allow myself to be open about that crazy insecure girl I once was, and in many ways, still am.  But I’m trying not to define it too closely just yet.  As it has been known to do, life takes unexpected turns, and this theme could end up meaning something entirely different than I’d planned.  But I have a starting point, and  many people to thank for getting me here over the past year, and over life in general:

Chris – my husband.  For being the first person I ever really felt I could express my deepest, most private emotions to and who never judges me for or holds me back from being who I am.

Alyssa – my daughter.  For inspiring me to chase my dreams.  Every day I wonder what kind of example I’m setting for her – I so desire for her to never lose her innocent desire to pursue her dreams and desires.  She will only do that if she sees her parents achieve the same.

Sarah Weight – my bestie.  For showing me how to love without bonds and turn that into something tangible to make a difference.  Her confidence in her own feelings and aspirations is truly inspiring.

My Dad – who always believed in me and is constantly overwhelmingly supportive and proud of even my smallest accomplishments.

My Mom – for having the foresight to start me in piano lessons at the young age of 4, and for starting me in a program that I believe helped me build creativity and musical mind.  I am prepared to start Alyssa on her journey in the exact same way and see where it takes her.

Belinda – who was always my biggest supporter as a songwriter in my youth.  We had some rough times in those days, but I always, always remember how excited she was about the songs I wrote, and how much encouragement and motivation she gave me to pursue that talent and share it with others.

Close Friends old and new – who put up with me and my OCD and perfectionist tendencies which I once did not understand, and which the world tended to value and reward despite their often debilitating side effects.  For helping to open my eyes a little bit to what the world has to offer when we relax and let ourselves screw up and just be who we are.

And many more.  Let’s make 2013 the best year yet and get one baby step closer to who we want to be.

Happy New Year!! 

What is a Talent? It sounds simple. But it's not...

So I'm actually extremely tired right now and I've been chasing a very cranky 3-year-old all day (yaaaay...), but I've been chewing on this post for a few weeks now so I'm going to go ahead and crank it out.  Just don't expect it to be as beautiful and articulately written as all my other posts (cough, cough...).

I've been thinking about talents a lot lately.  We all have them; we all have many of them.  And, generally, we all cultivate them as best we can once they're recognized.  But I look back on my life and I can think of a lot of things I was really good at that just didn't really stick.  For example, I played the flute starting in elementary school and up through freshman year of college.  I started young so I was a step-ahead of my peers.  I got a lot of recognition - first chair placement, solos, lots of pats on the back.  And that's really what drove me to continue playing for so long.

Now I wonder: was playing the flute actually a talent, or simply something I got ahead on and continued with because of all the recognition I received?  When I hit college and plopped my butt into 13th chair for the first time, I realized I didn't really like it all that much.  It wasn't worth it to me to put in the effort to get back to the top again.  I just didn't enjoy it enough.

So what part does recognition play into what becomes a talent?  Does it take the front seat or the back seat?  And does loving what you do have any part to play in something being a talent?

Is a true talent simply the one that you love to do even if nobody else cares?  Or is even the opposite possible - is it possible to be extremely talented at something you HATE doing?  In either one of these cases, we could all be potentially missing out on offering some major services to society.

I guess I could break "talent" down into three pieces:
a) you're good at it
b) you love it
c) you get recognition for it

I've always assumed that all three go together.  But what if we mixed these up a bit?  I'm going to leave number 1 alone because it's assumed that if it's a talent that you're good at it.  But could these scenarios be possible:

a) you're good at it
b) you love it
c) you get no recognition for it

a) you're good at it
b) you hate it
c) you get recognition for it

a) you're good at it
b) you hate it
c) you get no recognition for it

Or are they three separate pieces entirely?  A talent is something you're good at, you may or may not like doing it, and if you get recognition for it, you're likely to pursue it despite the status of the first two factors.  And if you love it enough, you're likely to pursue it until you receive the recognition you merit IF it's truly a talent.  If it's not a talent, you will not receive the recognition.


I think that if the second and fourth scenario are going to be true there has to be an assumption that the lack of recognition is temporary.  If you truly are talented at something, eventually recognition has to come (usually after a lot of sweat and tears) or it can't be truly considered a talent.

I would throw out the possibility that we could have a talent and never get any recognition for it, but a talent is usually defined by it's use to society.  In other words, if you hear someone playing a squeeky off-pitch violin after 10 years of practice and performing, you would say they are not talented but that's only defined by our society's standards of what's considered "music".  If our definition were different (and our 7-key scale were different), this player could be considered one of the greatest of all time.  So rather than go around in circles about what's considered talent, I'm just going to skip that all together and assume that "talent" means a general recognition by others in society that someone is exceptionally good at something that is considered valuable.

Discuss.

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Marketing FAIL!!

For those of you who haven't seen this on my facebook page, I think this is absolutely hilarious.  I'm sure Blackjack Pizza didn't plan it this way, but they really should have thought twice before leaving this as-is.  I drive by this everyday and I think to myself, "That makes SO much sense".  Which for Blackjack, is a very bad thing.

Need I say more?  This one is pretty self-explanatory.  Feel free to share and comment!!

Walmart's Missing Niche

Ok, now I know not everyone is a Walmart fan - actually I don't know anyone who is really a "fan", more people who see it as necessary evil at times.  I admit, we sometimes get our groceries there (although we prefer King Soopers) and lately I've been buying my materials for art projects there as well.

Either way, there's no doubt that Walmart's ultimate goal is world domination.  Who doesn't have that goal??  They want to be the "everything" store.  The one-stop shop: if you need it, you know you can get it there without having to run around to several different stores trying to find whatever it is.  These days that includes musical instruments, real estate, and gas.

But the other day I found a market they are missing.  Not that I necessarily wish for them to accomplish their quest of world domination, but I'm an ideas person so when I come up with something I have to blog about it to all you unsuspecting victims.  The story of this idea goes like this (and I believe most good ideas are born this way):

I'm driving in my car with my daughter in my back seat.  We are headed to the water park.

On the way there, I realize that we don't have any sunscreen.

"Where can I get sunscreen?" I think to myself.  "Well, there's a Walmart right on the way..." (as usual).

But did I go to Walmart?  No.  I didn't.  I went to a gas station knowing that my chances of finding sunscreen were maybe 30% less than my chances of finding it at Walmart.

Why would I do such a thing knowing that what I needed was at the local big-box warehouse cheap-o schmeap-o store?

Actually, part of that last sentence answers my question: big-box warehouse.

Walmart is big.  It's huge.  It has everything!  Which means...that if I want something...

• I'm going to have to park in Walmart's big box big-ass parking lot - most likely near the back.
• I'm going to have to take my daughter out of the car and walk 3 minutes into the store. 
• I'm going to have to coax her past the candy machines and electronic rides that will immediately envelope her attention.  
• Best case scenario, the sunscreen is by the check-out stand which means it will take me a minute or two to grab what I need.  
• Worst case scenario, I have to walk all the way to the back of the store - look, I know it's not THAT far but it sure as hell feels like walking a 5k when you're hauling a 3-year-old! - and then wander around to whatever random-ass section the marketing team has decided to stock the sunscreen that day (last time it was the shoe section).  
• If I happen to avoid the toy section during my journey, I'm still going to have to pass the clothing section, which, yes, is occasionally a temptation for me (don't judge me!), and the candy section (more a problem for me than my daughter...), and the special seasonal section up front which is like an amusement park for me.
• And if I get through that, whew!  I'm finally done!  Wait, no... I still have to wait in the long-ass line.  
• And I have to entertain my daughter while in that line, and talk her out of every piece of candy, gum, or mints that she decides look like a great treat.  
• Then, I make the long walk out of the store, through the parking lot, get in the car, and drive out of the parking lot (which can be a journey in and of itself at times).

Ah crap.  The sun already went down.

So, instead, I go to the gas station where I can park right next to the door, walk in and find the sunscreen (hopefully) right in the section with the kleenex, oil filters, and rubber bands, grab a quick snack for the kiddo, wait behind one person in line and hope right back out.  So much eaiser!!!

So if Walmart really wants to take over the world, they're going to have to adopt this model in some way - organize a section near the front of the store that has "gas station" items, or even better, put a separate building in the back of the parking lot where no one parks, and make it a little convenience store where people can drive up, grab, and go.  Even better, make it a drive-through!  How much easier would my life be if I didn't have to unbuckle kiddos to get my sunscreen...

It's the wave of the future.
And yes, I like adding -ass at the end of all my adjectives.  8th grade really stuck with me.

You Have More Talents Than You Think

My Poor Bloggy Blog!  I can't believe it's been over a month since I last posted on my blog!  I'm sure my faithful readers are all writhing in pain from the lack of brain stimulation due to my laziness...

Ok, well maybe it's not so much laziness as it is busyness.  Whew!  A lot has happened!  Mostly I just changed jobs at work.  I finally got out of sales - I'm quite happy about that.  I'm now in the marketing department which is a much better fit for me.  Of course, with my luck, all the deals I was working on will close this month and I'll have missed out on huge commissions!

But you know what?  I get to spend more time with my family, and I don't hate my job.  That's got to be worth it's weight in gold, right?  Well, that's what I'm telling myself so SHADUP!

Anyways, there's another reason I've been neglecting this a little bit.  I don't know if it's the past year I've spent doing practical and uncreative day-to-day work, or the work I've been doing with my Career Coach identifying my strengths, or maybe it's just progress in my quest for self-actualization; whatever it is, I've been spending a lot of time tapping into my creative side lately.

I may have mentioned previously that I've started getting back into the music industry to find my place there.  Well, I've found another guitar player to collaborate with in Denver and we've got a pretty cool project going so far!  It includes a number of remakes of old tunes, and will include a large amount of original material as well.  One step closer to that album I've always wanted to produce!

On top of that, I've been...wait for it....keep waiting...one more just to draw this out so the climactic word shows up on the next line... painting!  I've never really painted.  Ever.  Seriously.  I mean, I did when I was kid, but that doesn't really count, right?  I always just considered myself a person who's not very good at creating something from a blank canvas.  There's just too many possibilities and narrowing it down to one painting has always seemed overwhelming.  I've thought about giving it a try several times in my life, but never nipped it in the bud.  Well, after an inspiring trip to the Denver Art Festival in downtown Denver (and a realization that it's worth trying to create the paintings I want for my living room wall if it's gonna save me $1,000), I pulled the trigger. 

I've been using a tree theme.  My best friend recently got a gorgeous tattoo of a tree that I absolutely love, so I'm guessing that was my inspiration.  But I wanted something with some deep green, maroon, and yellow/gold colors in the background to match my living room decor.  This is what I got with my first attempt:

I was pretty proud of myself - nope, not gonna be humble here, it was pretty damn good for a first try. 

Then last night I gave it another go - was it just a coincedence the first time?  Did I get lucky?  The second one turned out even better!

So now I'm really excited about this painting thing!  And to bring this full circle with the point of my Scratch Paper Ideas blog purpose, this fits perfectly with a business idea I thought of a few years ago, but didn't think I had the talent to execute: Custom Artwork Consulting. 

What's the most common way to buy art?  Look around at shows, shop at the store, purchase online, or talk a well-known artist into doing a custom piece for you ($$$).

Well, what if there was a consultant available who could come into your home and do an analysis of the following:

•  the shape and size of the spot you'd like your artwork to be placed
• the feel and colors of the room's decor
• the subjects/ideas/images that are meaningful to you                                                           

Perhaps even go through some other favorite pieces to get an idea of the person's personal style.  Then a custom piece is created just for that person that fits perfectly in that room.  It wouldn't be a cheap thing to do, but not being a well-known artist, I could charge a little extra without being ridiculously expensive.
And the only reason I've never made an attempt at this business idea is because I thought I was completely talentless at art.  Never assume you can't do something until you've given it a fair shake.  I've lost years of practice over a stupid assumption.

But pretty cool, huh?

WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!

That's how I feel about a new idea.  Some of you may feel that way about roller coaster rides, or winning the lottery, or, uh, moments in the bedroom maybe (just don't vocalize it, kay?  I don't care who your partner is, that's weird).  That's how I feel about a REALLY good idea.  I have many of them, and I freak out when someone else has a good one - try me; it's veeeeeeeeeeery interesting.

Enter my trip to Green Bay/Chicago/Gillette last week (yes, I did hit all those in one week, and no it's not as cool as it sounds).  This time my blog post is brought to you by Hemispheres Magazine provided by United Airlines (secretly I'm hoping the CEO frequents my blog and will send me a free flight for plugging them...maniacal laugh...).

As much as I complain about traveling, some of the best ideas are discovered on the road either by my own hand or the genius of another.  In this case, the genius's name is Blaine Wetzel.  It was on my way to Gillette, WY from Denver that this article caught my attention.  It intrigued me with it's Page One photo of a cereal bowl filled with...uh, well rocks...and oysters...and I think some seaweed?  And the picture was situated right underneath the category title: "Food and Drink". Ok, Mr. Wetzel, you got me, no need to put a gun to my head, I'll read the damn article!!

http://www.hemispheresmagazine.com/2012/05/01/so-far-so-good/

Mr. Wetzel is the owner and chef of an amazing restaurant called Willows Inn that serves fresh seafood in amazingly original recipes.  Like all restaurants that want to, you know, make money, this one is located in the middle of a metropolis with plenty of foot traffic to furnish a solid base clientele.  Just like everyone else.

Wait, no it's not.

Actually, it's located 90 miles outside of Seattle.  On a remote island where no people live.  And you have to take a ferry to get there.

"Blaine, what's wrong with you?!  You build restaurants near people, you don't make them come to you!!  You're crazy, this will NEVER WORK!".

PFFFFFFFT

Blaine's restaurant is thriving.  It is completely unique and completely brilliant.  People come from all over the world to eat his fine cuisine, dine in a one-of-a-kind location, and enjoy freshness that can't be found anywhere else.  Why?  Because Blaine did something DIFFERENT.  He took restauranting in a whole new direction, made his own kool-aid and then drank it, thought "outside the box" if you want to be cheesy about it...  Who says that people wouldn't drive 90 miles to take a ferry to eat at a restaurant that offers complete solice, a one-of-a-kind dining experience, the freshest seafood available, recipes that trump the finest of the finest, and a soft cool breeze unencumbered by smog and egos?

No, you're right, I'd rather squeeze into a tiny table at a crowded eatery in New York, trying to have a conversation over top of the lame music piping in through a cheap stereo system, the gridlock on the highway outside, the wining and moaning of the relentlessly unhappy couple at the next table, and the overwhelming smell of vanilla from the raunchy over-applied perfume of the lady behind me.

Not to mention, the unbelievably creative set-up of the dishes.  I cannot get over how cool it is that he puts rocks and seaweed in his recipes.  Want to show your customers how fresh your seafood is?    MAKE THEM FEEL LIKE THEY'RE EATING IT DIRECTLY FROM THE OCEAN.

Brilliant.

Why not?  Why hasn't anyone ever put rocks in a food bowl before?  Are they afraid people won't be able to figure out what is rocks and what is food??? 

By the way, here is the litmus test for a truly brilliant idea:  You find yourself thinking, Why hasn't anyone ever done this before?  You literally feel dumber for having not thought of this idea yourself.  Huh.  Maybe that's why I like coming up with new ideas.  It minimizes the amount of time I spend feeling stupid, lol?

Oh, and the final sector of my amazement is this: Blaine is only 26.  26.  That's 5 years ago for me.  At 26 he is running a completely unique, completely independent, completely successful restaurant that is revolutionizing the way restauranting is done (yes, I KNOW that's not a word.  Suck it up). 

I need to get on the God Damn ball.