Mondays are awesome right? Well the Monday I’m about to tell you about would set into motion a chain of events that I was not only not ready for but would turn into a lesson that I would never forget.
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artisan
...How did this happen? How did I go from a glass and glazing installer to a custom furniture designer and builder?...
It's 12:15p and my phone won't stop notifying me of new texts as well as social media alerts. The news of Season 5 being the last season of Fixer Upper has just broken the internet. Comments to date have ranged from, "how long have you know?" to "what are you going to do now?" I've spent the morning attempting to respond to each and every message with care and diligence because I truly appreciate the "Fixer Upper Effect" on my life. That effect has been a positive one, with some growth in business as well as many new friendships that I otherwise would not have.
For some people there is a natural element of life that requires them to be creative. That creativity may come in the form of painting or making jewelry...for me that creativity finds it way out any way it can. Sometimes the product of that creative moment isn't anything that makes a social media post while other times the final product is something that I am incredibly proud of.
There have been periods of time in my life where I get so busy with the business side of things that the creativity is suppressed. This isn't because I don't want to be creative but more so that I don't have the time to be. I have found that the most amazing thing tends to happen during these periods of suppression. I become more open and willing to take on the strangest of projects as long as I get to feed my need and desire to create. It is in these moments that my business base has expanded rapidly from what was once mirrors and shower doors to the broad scope of work that it is today. There was definitely a moment in time when steel fabrication and production wasn't something we even discussed. The reality of owning a 3d printer from a crowd funding site long before they were readily available to the general public, just so I could prototype invention ideas, wasn't even a thought. The list goes on but my point is that no matter what happens in life, the need to create will be expressed and for me, that creative desire has helped shape my business life.
I have two theories on where creativity comes from for most artisans. The first one is simply that people are inherently predisposed to being creative. Their minds just work differently. Artist in general tend to think and see things differently than most. That isn't always a good thing either but in most cases it is. My second theory is that while a creative mind is often genetic, we find ourselves learning from those that we received those genes from. For me, my mother has always been incredibly talented in the artistic sense. While I never picked up painting, sewing or crocheting from her, I did pick up the ability to see things for more than just face value. I think that attribute has suited me well in regards for seeing everything in a different light than those around me. At the same time, my father isn't a painter nor can he effectively use a hot glue gun but he can see a solution to a problem when there is no easy option. His ability to engineer a solution under pressure is incredible. This genetic gift serves well for business just as much as the creative process.
For most artisans, the need to create is something that finds it's way out on a daily basis through their craft. For others, its a hobby or side hustle. I think that a creative mind will always find a way to be expressed.