Austin Crafternoon • Surrounded by Creativity

The whole point of Crafternoon was to get together with creative folks and make stuff together.  Today, I'm sharing a little bit about what we did and the benefits of surrounding yourself with creative people.  It's so easy to get stuck in your own bubble of creativity.  Making a point to brainstorm and spend time with folks that challenge you can help you grow personally and in your craft.

I work from home on my blog, graphic design, illustration work, and crochet scarves so a lot of my day is spent sitting at the computer or on the couch blasting Neko Case and Mazzy Star while my cats knock stuff off of my shelves.  It's really easy to spend the whole day in yoga pants and sweatshirt (that I may or may not be wearing while writing this) and just not leave.  Luckily I have a ridiculously creative husband who always pushes me, but my day to day can get stagnant.  It's just a symptom of working from home.  That kind of stagnation can seep into my work and I end up writing boring articles and not pushing myself in my designs or illustrations.

But by introducing another person, with their own creative ideas, the pot begins to be stirred and your creative juices start flowing again.  Take the above photo.  April and her daughter Lucy came by Crafternoon and started working on projects that were totally different from what I brought.  Alaina, one of the other attendees brought beads to swap and April and Lucy started making necklaces from them.  We all brought different things to mix: I brought the people, Alaina brought the beads and April brought her ideas.  You never know what kind of inspirations will pop up by just gathering with folks.

When I was managing a photo team, I tried to build a team with diverse backgrounds and perspectives to bring as many new ideas and skill sets to the team as possible.  The same should be true in life and was absolutely true for Crafternoon.  We had bakers and crocheters and stitchers and lovers of handmade.  It made for fun conversation, the spark of creative inspiration and lots of laughs!  The best part of the day was the people who showed up.  Surround yourself with people who know more than you.  Get together and be inspired by things you could never have dreamt up on your own!