From time to time, I run out of ideas for new products.
I get stuck in a creative rut and feel like banging my head against the wall until I think of something new to add to the shop. It fills my dreams and eats away at my productivity while I struggle to come up with that one idea that will (at least temporarily) get me moving again.
So the last time this happened, I decided to try something new:
Pick three things I love and create three things based off of them.
Love food?
Base a new design around baking. Or create something that you’d wear out to your favorite restaurant. Or cook something new.
Love the outdoors?
Design a print about kayaking. Or sew something you’d wear out to your next camping trip. Or go draw in the sand.
Love reading?
Repurpose a book into new décor. Or design something based off of your favorite book. Or write something that’s inspired from your favorite author.
Love shopping?
Design a new piece of jewelry. Or create a new shopping bag for when you go out. Or go out and window shop until you feel inspired.
The three things you create may not be things that even go into your shop. But they will get you creating again and that’s what matters. The things we love and the things we’re most passionate about in life are the things that drive us to live a full, beautiful life. So if we inject that love and passion into our creativity, we’re bound to create something amazing.
So the next time you’re stuck,
create three things based off of what you love in life
and see where it takes you.
Ashley Wagner — After Nine to Five
Ashley is the creative force behind the After Nine To Five blog and shop. She’s a self-employed consultant/blogger/graphic designer that is determined to live the life that she used to believe would always be just a dream. You can follow her journey along with her husband’s journey as they make their transition from being Wisconsinites to Floridians on And a DIY Life.
She is also the founder of The Better Blogger Network – a community dedicated to helping each other grow as a person and even more so, as a blogger. She is also the founder of RevolutionizeHer – a project that is dedicated to encouraging and inspiring women to live the life they dream of living, especially through self-employment.
I actually was having the same problem last week. I hate it because part of me feels like as a creative person I should be able to pull a new idea out of the air at will and I get into a funk when I can’t. But I just sat down and asked my self “What do you love?” and BOOM I have a new idea for a line of bibs in my shop. From now on when I get into that state I’ll just ask :What do you love.
Thanks so much for this post, it is such a good piece of advice.
I love the part about how what you produce might not actually end up as things that go in your shop, it’s so easy to feel pressure to be creating products all the time but developing your style and experimenting is as important. ANd sometimes taking the pressure off can help break a stalemate and pave the way to creating new things in the future.
Thanks so much for this post Ashley!
@Morgan I love it that you just did this! I think when you ask yourself that question and it inspires a new product you end up attracting customers who share that love. I definitely get that feeling when I see a shop or product that I just love. That I must have something in common with the designer. Love your bowtie bibs by the way!
@Sam I totally agree about the idea of creating for the sake of creating. I actually thought about this when I said that your “Gone with the Wind” drawings would make a great book. You found a new outlet that you were enjoying and the designs probably flowed freely because you did not have the pressure of turning it into a product.
I do this too! I just wrote a similar blog about finding focus and three words that describe me