Perspectives on Staying Creative

We’re beyond fortunate to have built a community of some of the most creative artists, professionals, and entrepreneurs in the world and one of the most important questions we ask them is around keeping one’s creativity alive. Below, we’ve highlighted some of those responses.

Amy Bucheli

To bring more creativity into my life, I follow artists that are inspiring to me via social media and blogs. Accounts that are related to architecture and interior design. I travel to design trade shows, and parade of homes collecting new ideas and inspirations. Read more>>

Sara Brandenburg

I’ve always been a big creator and experimenter, even when I was young. I loved (and still do) having the opportunity to try new things creatively, whether it’s new mediums or subjects, or just questing into the unknown with an idea and no clear plan for how to make it happen.  Read more>>

LaSheena Wilson

There are a few ways I keep my creativity alive. One being in nature, it is where I find the most inspiration. Whether it is taking a walk through my neighborhood, walking on the beach, or hiking in the mountains. My creative gene tends to awaken and flourish in natural elements. I am inspired by different seasons and colors, the smell of plants or simply the breeze of the wind. Read more>>

Sandy Ghelfi

Everything in my daily life inspires me. So every time I have an idea, I write it down somewhere. When I don’t have an idea, I can always go and read what I’ve got in my idea notebook. Read more>>

Emily Peters and Patrick Milford

We are very fortunate to have such an incredible partnership. When we can’t find inspiration within ourselves, we look to one another. Patrick is an artist by trade, so his creativity is seemingly endless. When he’s not creating for Milford Design Co, he’s hard at work making cool stuff for our small business, Golden Collective.  Read more>>

Alli Flores

I think the practice of creating just for the sake of making encourages new ideas. I believe that creativity is a muscle and the more we exercise it the stronger it will be. Showing up day in and day out is the key to creativity for me. Read more>>

Emma Hampton

1. Keep shifting the sources and outputs of creative focus.. Generally I try to find places where I know the creative energy flows into me, and not police it when I feel the need to let it out. For me, this may mean spending an intentional weekend in inspiring spaces (tasteful hotel lobbies, well-curated goods shops, random coffee shops across town), selecting a handful of well-curated design magazines to peruse, or getting a huge poster board paper and pulling out all of my markers and crayons to let it rip. Read more>>

Zachary C. Bako

My creativity is kept alive by staying curious, experimenting with an array of medium, color and lighting that are impactful and personal. To evoke emotion or achieve the projected sought after photographic vision, I manipulate different properties through a variety of innovative methods. Since we are all limitless beings, the creative process should be an intellectual collaborative and fun visionary endeavor with a sense of curiosity and humility.  Read more>>

Chris Wells

It’s a bit of a catch-22. Creativity comes from somewhere we can’t really know. But, we find it when we are engaged creatively. As Picasso said, “Inspiration will find you. But it will only find you working.” I have found that the more I dedicate myself to my creative practice–whether that’s acting or writing or making music–the more creative I become.  Read more>>

Jennifer Oliverio

I like to think of creativity like a sourdough starter or an indoor exotic plant. It needs to be fed, nourished, and placed in circumstances that will allow it to thrive. With the idea of creativity, I find the most success when I’m surrounded by people/music/ideas that I’m inspired by. Read more>>

Peter Godshall

3d art is a blend of technical ability and traditional art principals; I find creativity can be inspired by either of those two aspects. Sometimes while learning a new software or workflow you’ll find an image that turns into a new project. The second half of the equation is curating an internal visual library to pull inspiration from. Read more>>

Ashton Ryan

I never ever quit using it. When that creativity hits, in what I may consider the wrong time or place, I jot my idea down immediately (always on something that ends up loosely floating between car and home, journal to planner and who knows where else) or I stop what I’m doing and create whatever just popped into my head.  Read more>>

Kalina Sazonova

Being creative is not as easy as many people think! If you are a creative person, then you need to learn how to work with your brain! Often people burn out very quickly after some kind of creative project and then think for a long time about what to do. Over time, I learned to charge myself and for me it’s like doing fitness, every day you do exercises to look good.  Read more>>

Thomas Cooper

I keep creativity alive by always searching for new ideas and stepping outside the boundaries to find new visual ways to make photos and create. I hate looking at things as others see them, I am always trying my best to see things from different points of view.  Read more>>

Xuemeng Zhang

Curiosity is a big part of keeping creativity alive for me. I try to approach everything, especially the unfamiliar, with a learner’s mindset and stay curious. Adopting a knower’s mindset can sometimes hinder us from absorbing new information, trapping us in our own bubbles.  Read more>>

Riccarda Richter

I keep my creativity alive by staying engaged and constantly seeking new experiences. I make it a point to remain curious and open to trying new things. For instance, I’ve recently taken up learning to play the piano as a way to challenge myself creatively. It’s crucial for me to maintain a sense of joy in what I do and to embrace imperfection, allowing myself to trust my intuition rather than getting bogged down by perfectionism. Read more>>

Stacia Bohnert

I’m a cinematographer so creativity is a part of my job every day. But, I don’t always feel inspired. I keep an on-going catalogue of photos of lighting situations I come across. Not professional lighting, but daily settings I come across. Maybe it’s a sunset, maybe it’s a parking garage, maybe it’s how the sun is reflecting off of a building. It’s an easy way to absorb new visuals every day. Read more>>

Yijun Yang

As a set designer, I’ve found that keeping creativity alive is all about staying open to inspiration from diverse sources. I love exploring different artistic mediums and attending theater productions and art exhibitions to spark new ideas. Research is key too—I dive into books, films, and online resources to gather inspiration from various cultures and historical periods. But it’s not just about gathering ideas; it’s about experimenting and taking risks. Read more>>

Jessica Bergmann

I try to remain up to date with current trends and push myself towards constant self-development. I aspire to become a bit better every day in what I do, and this includes a lot of research to meet the demands of the current social media trends. My main goal is bringing something new , while remaining true to my niche in all of my content to not only keep my current engagement and followers but to build an even larger base. Read more>>

Stephanie Kenney

I think the way that I keep my creativity alive is being fortunate enough to have a clientele that allows me to be very expressive in what I do whether it be with haircuts or color or even just down to the style. A lot of my clients when they come in give me exceptional freedom and will normally sit there and just say “surprise me “and I love that I’m able to have that type of relationship with my clients that they trust me that I know them well enough but also do some thing that would help make them feel better about themselves as well and I think that’s what helps me continue to feel creative in what I do every day. Read more>>

Sherry Nielsen

Doug and I have never been short of creativity. Our brains are wired to think outside the box. We both tend to think a lot. It should be dangerous to have two creatives get together, where is the balance for sanity? Read more>>

Kea Xie

The unwavering essence of my creative intent has always been to produce works infused with a warm emotional touch. Back in my student days, a wise professor shared, “Creation is a solo adventure.” In the realm of creativity, challenges are inevitable. However, I am not inclined to produce blindly trending content for the sake of fleeting attention. I believe that creation is a sacred act, one that must hold personal significance and be connected to what I truly care about and cherish. Read more>>

Erhan Us

First and foremost, creation is an incredible power. The disciplines I work on are in constant communication with each other. When I imagine the context of a sculpture I’m working on —and the conversations happening around it—, suddenly a caricature emerges. Or when I ponder the rest of a painting [as composition] beyond its frame, it becomes an installation.  Read more>>