Living Creatively: Creative Crafts

This is part of an ongoing series at Living Creatively where I learn how to write in a different language. I start by putting my article through a machine translator like Google Translate, then I work with my tutor to copy edit the grammar and polish for publishing.

Hoy en día existe mucha gente emprendedora que se propone un proyecto y lo logra a través de la creación de una empresa independiente para ofrecer un producto o servicio que por sus estudios o intereses ha decidido desarrollar. Los emprendedores siempre han estado pero con los avances del mundo actual han tenido que renovarse por lo que han buscado la forma de adaptar su estilo al negocio moderno.

Existen muchos tipos de empresas creadas por emprendedores, que con poco dinero y desde su propia casa han originado artículos muy curiosos que han llamado la atención de muchos clientes. Solo se necesita ingenio y ganas para realizar grandes creaciones que logren captar la atención de los consumidores al igual que obtener muchas ventas que harán un éxito de tu negocio independiente.
Entre los negocios de emprendedores podemos mencionar blogueros, diseñadores, youtubers, etc. El concepto de las personas independientes es la creación de piezas únicas que no se encuentran en tiendas por departamento por lo que son más exclusivas y a un bajo precio en comparación con las grandes marcas, ya que su fábrica se encuentra en su oficina o casa.

Sólo necesitan materia prima y sus manualidades para hacer su propio producto, en el caso de las líneas de ropa muchas veces los emprendedores crean sus propias prendas y se apoyan con algunas empresas en ciertos detalles para concluir su elaboración. Es muy común la creación de líneas de ropa concebidas por personas audaces que tienen ciertas destrezas en el mundo de la alta costura.

Pero para comenzar en este mundo de la moda algunas veces se deben subcontratar ciertos detalles para lograr ofrecer la calidad deseada. Las etiquetas de las piezas son un elemento con el que se puede buscar ayuda porque todas las marcas que inician no poseen toda la maquinaria para realizar una pieza completa. Se encuentran muchas empresas que fabrican etiquetas estás son una opción si estás comenzando tu negocio.

Entre las opciones para crear etiquetas de líneas de ropa se pueden mencionar: ETI – TEXTIL es una empresa Española, con más de 30 años de experiencia que fabrica etiquetas de tejido, etiquetas sintéticas y etiquetas impresas. DORTEX produce etiquetas textiles personalizadas de buena calidad y con una gran variedad de materiales, es originaria de Alemania.

Etiguel organización Argentina con una gran trayectoria en el rubro textil de 30 años provee etiquetas bordadas, etiquetas de goma, etiquetas estampadas, etc. Megatex una empresa Española dedicada a la fabricación de etiquetas, para el textil, desde el año 1984, entre sus productos se puede mencionar las etiquetas de cartón, etiquetas estampadas y etiquetas tejidas.

Otra opción reconocida es Wunderlabel una empresa de España que ofrece sus servicios en Australia, Estados Unidos, Francia, Italia, Japón, Países Bajos, Sudáfrica, Suecia, Reino Unido y España, fabrica etiquetas impresas y tejidas. Con 2 cedes una España y otra en Alemania. Existen muchas opciones si quieres comenzar tu independencia en el sector textil, solo debes estudiar qué empresa llena tus expectativas en cuanto a calidad y servicios para ser el proveedor de tu línea de ropa.

Nell’era dell’omologazione e della produzione di massa, la definizione di un’identità forte, unica e inconfondibile è un must. Antichi mestieri che non esistono più rischiano di scomparire, le macchine vogliono sostituire il lavoro dell’uomo e l’abilità manuale si va perdendo, rischia di essere dimenticata, superata. L’artigianato, oggi più che mai, è sinonimo di unicità ed è il contrario di omologazione. Tuttavia, per realizzare qualcosa degna di nota non bisogna essere necessariamente degli artigiani esperti! Grazie al Fai da te chiunque può mettersi in gioco, cimentandosi nella realizzazione e nella creazione di prodotti di ogni tipo.
Quali sono i vantaggi del Fai da Te?
Sprigionare la propria creatività, inventare, creare! Quando mani, ingegno, ispirazione, curiosità e fantasia si incontrano ecco che nasce l’artigianato Fai da te! Al di là delle motivazioni più scontate, l’artigianato Fai da te nasconde benefici e lati positivi poco conosciuti! Il risultato finale infatti non è soltanto un prodotto materiale ma molto di più! Si tratta di un vero e proprio viaggio: cosa realizzare, la ricerca del materiale, le modalità con le quali assemblare…idea dopo idea, tappa dopo tappa! Talvolta si procede lungo un itinerario predefinito, altre volte si devia e il risultato cambia! Può anche capitare che, a volte, ci si renda conto che la strada scelta non era quella adatta. Le uniche costanti sono la sperimentazione e “il fare”, come processo creativo.
Quando il prodotto è terminato la soddisfazione è grande, come la visione di un panorama mozzafiato dopo la lunga ed estenuante scalata! È uno stimolo costante, che non annoia mai: pensa, cerca, crea, torna indietro, va avanti, prova, riprova…e alla fine non c’è nulla di più gratificante di vedere la propria creazione ultimata!
Mettersi in gioco è stimolante per mente e corpo e mette di buon umore.
E il parere sul risultato finale? Si sa, talvolta, il giudizio di chi crea può essere poco obiettivo rispetto al proprio operato. Da un lato ci sono i perfezionisti, troppo severi con loro stessi, che non apprezzano quanto creato, nonostante sia invece gradevole. Dall’altro lato, si può correre il rischio di sopravvalutare la propria creazione (un pizzico di autocritica non ha mai fatto male a nessuno). In ogni caso, non esistono regole ed è il gusto personale a guidarci! L’ingrediente fondamentale? La passione, motore trainante, insieme alla creatività, nella realizzazione del manufatto.
I materiali che si possono utilizzare sono a dir poco infiniti, e con un pizzico di fantasia tutto si può mescolare, creare, riadattare, reinventare e soprattutto riciclare (non si inquina!). Cosa aspetti ad iniziare questo viaggio chiamato “artigianato Fai da te”? Cucire, lavorare i metalli, il legno, la carta… L’aspetto artistico si coniuga con l’abilità manuale, per un risultato unico ed insostituibile, ma soprattutto di qualità.
Quando il Fai da te non è solo un hobby ma diventa un mestiere, offre l’opportunità di acquistare prodotti unici e di qualità. Acquistarli significa anche finanziare, e promuovere, piccole realtà imprenditoriali, locali e non, e valorizzare talenti.

I have an admission to make: I love crocheting. I know that’s not a particularly masculine thing to say, but I don’t care. I have found that no other activity manages to capture my kinetic energy in the same way that crafting does. There is something about coming home from a long day at the office and being able to sit down and experience the unique combination of mindlessness and focus that crocheting offers. And I have this Pinterest board to prove that I’m not alone! Not that I really care to be honest, I basically feel like most of the commenters in this Quora thread do- get over it.

With that out of the way, I wanted to cover a few of my favorite crochet ideas…

Crochet Cactus

You can bring one of these to life using a pattern or just improvising. And after you make one, you might find that it’s so much fun that you just can’t stop and create a whole garden. I have yet to make any of these myself but they are definitely on the ToDo list. I do live in Tuscon, after all! The best tutorial I have found on these yet is this roundup here.

Check the video below for a step by step on how to crochet a Kawaii Cactus:

Crochet Chair Socks

If you are like me and have a matte finish on your floor, you might find that it gets easily scuffed by the movement of your chairs in your kitchen. You can usually buff these out, but why bother doing that when you can avoid them in the first place. There is also likely the fact that the movement of a chair on tile is eerily similar to the sound of fingernails on a chalkboard, and nobody enjoys that. Instead of resurfacing your entire kitchen floor, why not just pick up some chair socks. Basically these are adorable little socks that you place onto the foot of your chair, and which allow for easier shifting and far quieter chairs. To bring these to life you’ll need a 3.5 mm hook, worsted weight yarn, and a yarn needle. Oh, and a chair. Don’t forget that. This great tutorial from Crochet Bug shows how you can bring these to life your own chair socks to life. I am considering selling my own on Etsy, and recently got a pair of woven labels custom-made for them. They will arrive in a week and I can’t wait!

Other Crochet Items

One of the things I love about crochet is that it is completely unlimited in it’s scope. Basically, if you can imagine it, you can bring it to life in crochet form. It won’t necessarily be functional, but it will often look great and make a welcome addition to your home. A few fun ones I’ve found with just a handful of Google searches are: avocados, crochet computers, R2D2, and a bagel with cream cheese. Unfortunately you’ll need a real avocado and bagel to get those calories in, but if there is one thing I have learned in life it is that nothing improves one’s mood like the thought of avocado. If I can look up from my computer and see a miniature yarn avocado staring back at me, I’m a happy man.

Cultivating Creativity

I have been thinking of this word “creative” a lot recently, and wondering what it is that makes it. Why do some people seem to have it while others don’t? Is it an attribute that can be cultivated at all, or is it simply native to people who have won the genetic and or environmental lotteries

The short answer is that I don’t know, but I do believe that creativity is an attribute that can be honed in virtually everyone. If you have the mental capacity to read and understand this sentence as you are now doing, you have the capacity to turn on a creative side of yourself. Yes, even if that side of yourself has been long neglected. Yes, even if you don’t think you have it in you because you are not a creative type.

I think so much of creativity is born of experience. As Steve Jobs said, creativity is simply a matter of connecting the dots. And the more experience you have, the more dots you have to connect. So get out there and see the world and enrich yourself, and you will soon find that you have many many dots to connect!

I recently had the pleasure of visiting Nashville, Tennessee. It was my first time in what I guess would be considered the “Deep South”. And I have to say that the experience was very different from what I expected.

Actually, to be honest, I wasn’t entirely what to expect. I am currently writing a book on creative people and thought that Nashville would be an interesting place to visit, as it seems to be the creative hub of the southern US in a lot of ways.

But before I get into the creative individuals who I had a chance to meet, I need to first write about the food. THE FOOD. Now, as you now know, I have never been anywhere in the south. Maybe this is simply the caliber of restaurant cooking throughout the area, in which case, wow.

Firstly, compared to where I was spending the previous year, New York City, the food here was cheap. And delicious. If you have ever read about Nashville then you have heard of Jack’s Barbecue. Jack’s is an institution, having first opened in 1976. I got a pulled pork sandwich that was absolutely amazing, and massive. I couldn’t finish it, and I pride myself on having a strong appetite.

The coffeeshop scene seems to be booming as well, with a lot of creative types sipping on cappuccinos throughout the city. Apparently the frontman of the Black Keys lives here, as does Jack White, the singer of the band The White Stripes. White called Portland home for a long time, and I have to admit I questioned his decision to relocate to Nashville when I heard of it, but now I understand. I really do.

The music scene is another plus that Nashville offers. We saw a seriously wide range of bands perform during our week long stay in the city. And if you are into Bluegrass- forget about it! This is the city for you.

In fact, I think it might be an even better city for music than Austin, Texas, which is saying a lot.

But the real purpose of my trip to Nashville wasn’t just music and beef brisquet. It was to help a friend’s aging mother get situated with assisted living there. My friend’s mother is a widow and is in a wheelchair, and while she had been receiving homecare from an excellent provider (thanks Marty), it was time to move her into assisted living. It is also a city that my parents have been considering as a possible retirement destination, so I was keen to check it out.

It’s not ALL good though. For example, locals complain that prices have gone up a lot in recent years. And the weather is seriously humid in the summer. Really gross. I’m not sure about levels of crime but that is something I always research before moving to a new city.

So we’ll see. My parents might well end up here in 10 years. Even if they don’t, one thing is for sure- I’ll be back, if only for the beef brisket.

If there is one individual who I find myself looking to more than any other for inspiration, it is Steve Jobs. A lot of people consider Jobs to be a great entrepreneur, but I don’t really fit him into that categorization for a few reasons. Let me say that more clearly: Steve Jobs was not one of the great entrepreneurs of the 20th century.

Following is my argument for why that is…

Jobs founded three companies in his lifetime: Apple, Next, and Pixar. We know that Apple was the big winner of the bunch, with over $100 billion in CASH sitting in its coffers. The massive success of Apple outshines that of Next and Pixar, but these have both been very successful companies in their own rights. Personally, I’d be thrilled to create just one company of Next’s caliber, and Jobs created three in the course of his lifetime. Pixar went on to be acquired by Disney and Next, the “loser” of the bunch, was still eventually acquired by Apple for nearly half a billion dollars.

So if Jobs has created three multi-million dollar companies, how can I say that he isn’t one of the greatest entrepreneurs of the 21st century?

I say this because, while jobs had moments of great entrepreneurial inspiration, he also worked in the companies that he founded for extended periods of time. On the entrepreneurial spectrum, Jobs would sit somewhere between a one time founder like Phil Knight and the frenetic non-stop founder of Richard Branson.

I don’t say this to discredit Jobs in any way. In fact, I believe Jobs deserves recognition as being one of histories greats. And there is one thing that Jobs has done better than anybody else in the history of the world. And yes, I mean it.

Steve Jobs was the greatest product manager that the world has ever seen.

Jobs has repeatedly built products that have spanned categories and even created entirely new ones. He was the first to understand the direction that the music industry was going in and he capitalized on it with iTunes.

His ability to do so is testament to his vision and unique understanding of the time he lived in, a time of collapse and disruption when an electronics company could become a publishing company nearly overnight.

Jobs genius started with the Macbook, but went mainstream when he unveiled the first generation of the iPod. Looking back on this product now, it seems a bit clunky and obtuse, but Jobs was at the cutting edge during the time it was produced in the middle 2000s.

From the iPod, Jobs set his sights on his next great innovation, the iPhone. It was the iPhone that was the clearest expression of Jobs’ appreciation for minimalist design, sleek lines, and no clutter. To our eyes in 2015, the design certainly appears overly skeumorphic, but at the time it was first released in 2007, the iPhone not only met the standard of the day, it set it.

Product management requires an appreciation for several disciplines. One must work with marketing to understand precisely what the end user wants, and coordinate with engineering in order to bring those specifications to life. Jobs had an innate understanding of this that even the best product management guru in Silicon Valley can teach.

So there you have him, Steve Jobs. Not the greatest entrepreneur in the history of the world, but the greatest product manager of history, bar none.