When I was a little girl, I loved creating anything from jewelry to origami. I still do. I could look at a hand of recycled beads and incision a beautiful necklace, or take scrap wood to make a jewelry box. I love being able to transform something ordinary into a beautiful piece. It’s my perspective and my art.
I was always called crafty and had some sort of project in the works. To this day, much to my husband’s dismay, I still constantly have projects going on. Someone else may be able to go to a furniture store and pick out a coffee table or a buffet as is, but I can’t These pieces don’t speak to me. I have uncles and cousins who are engineers. Like me, they were always building something new or putting something together. From LEGO sets, to furniture, or household items, they were industrious and I was creative. It’s just how I was taught to look at life.
I feel like a piece of furniture never truly fits until I have transformed if in some way. Sometimes it’s simple, like hanging heart shaped mirrors above it, and adding a few rustic-chic wine bottles to it, while other times I feel it needs a fresh coat of paint and a little splash of color. It drives my husband a bit crazy, but he just shakes his head at me now. He knows I won’t be happy until I’ve turned it into something that’s mine.
It took me painting an old hope chest to understand how my “crafty-ness” plays into my manufacturing journey. To this day, I still get to be creative. Some days that involves connecting customers with an engineer who can bring their idea to life, and others, it involves developing a new marketing campaign. More recently, it has been creating PPE with a glue gun and Cricut… two small but mighty items that have been providing our community with protection from this pandemic. With a splash of creative spirit, we can make incredible things happen. This creative manufacturing approach has completely changed some of my viewpoints, to say the least.
Here’s my challenge to you, and myself: let’s not limit our thinking, and rather expand our viewpoint, thus allowing the expansion of our creativity. When I see my son 3D-printing a Yoda figurine, I want to stop and see more than just an action figure. I want to experience his desire to design and his passion for Star Wars Fandom. Maybe nothing more comes of his creativity than decorating his bedroom shelves, or maybe one day he helps find a cure for a disease that is administered through a tiny little Yoda that saves a child and brings them joy.
Industriousness and creativity only blossom when given room to grow. So at work and at home, I’m going to pay attention to be more intentional about what I water. When I see a colleague who cleans and reorganizes the break room for their teammates without being asked, I’m going to invite them to join the culture committee. I’m interested to see what we can all create together when we help nurture each other’s talents, interests, and creative spirits!