Monday, January 14, 2008

How to Cook Up New Stuff

From an article in Vogue on the design of a pocketbook:
"To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk."

I agree about the pile of junk, whether it's tangible junk or odds and ends of ideas and memories. I think we all have a good imagination, and when we sit and play with junk, that natural inventiveness kicks in.


If you like this post, please bookmark it on del.icio.us, share it on StumbleUpon, vote for it on Digg. Thanks so much.

7 comments:

Debra said...

I agree, Peggy. It is sometimes quite astounding as to what can spark an idea.

Thanks for the reminder about being more observant. I just received a new camera as a gift from my husband, so I will be looking at things through different eyes for a while.

Anonymous said...

That phrase "for a while" is very astute.

It's so remarkable to me how we get used to things and then they become unseen background. That has its good points, of course. At the same time, I love the hyper-alertness that newness or fresh awareness can bring on.

Marina Martin said...

I *love* that -- and it's so true.

I'm an efficiency/business organization consultant, and people often think that makes me square and a slave to a stack of to-do lists. Really, though, I just organize and automate the unpleasant or less fulfilling tasks so I have the time and mental energy to spend an afternoon filling a notebook with ideas or to have a breakthrough idea (or even just a killer headline!) in the shower. I have lots of ideas that are lousy, but they almost always turn up again as a positive influence on another project later on.

Anonymous said...

The whole point of making space, I think, is making play space plentifully available.

I can tell from your profile picture that you're not the uptight type of organizer. At first I didn't recognize that a cat was in the picture with you and I thought: what is she doing to that camera?

Debra said...

Ohhh Peggy, I suppose I was being quite honest without even realizing it. I do wish that there was a way to keep the "hyper-alertness" turned on for a bit longer. I have promised myself that I am going to learn something new about photography each day, so maybe that will be a way to keep it fresh.

Marina, does your kitty ever kiss you back? We have a cat who gives "kitty kisses" when you ask him to. It is always nice to be able to clear away the clutter, before doing something enjoyable. Like Peggy said, making play space is important.

Anonymous said...

Great strategy to learn something new about photography every day. I'm still hoping to someday figure out how to turn off the flash on my camera.

Debra said...

Peggy, that is why I need to learn something new about photography each day...So I can stop bugging my girls to turn off the flash and have them roll their eyes at me. There is a method to my madness!