The Necessity of Making Space: Recognizing and Prioritizing the Value of Creativity
Amelia Island, Florida
In my early thirties I worked for a brand innovation company in the SoHo neighborhood of Manhattan. I remember the owner, a wonderful and cerebral character, insisting on a couch in his office, specifically to fit his tall frame and cradle his head as he laid down.
Each day he would stretch out on his expensive couch and either look out the window into the bustle of the city or gently close his eyes. I would walk past and think how odd it was - how unmotivating it appeared that he would rest so blatantly while everyone ran around shuffling papers, sending emails, being “productive”. So one day I asked him about his daily ritual and his response completely changed my perception on productivity.
He explained that this couch, or laying comfortably rather, was the most conducive way to provide the necessary space his brain required to tap into his ability to generate new ideas, creative directions, and innovative problem solving for his clients. Essentially the very core of his business, and without this ability, without this component, there would be nothing to email about, no papers to shuffle. There would be no company at all. So as one can imagine his creative abilities and this couch were both extremely valuable.
Personally, I grew up in a household where busy work was productive work. That one could not measure resting your mind or quieting your thoughts to produce “creative ideas” and therefore held no true value. A “hard days work” was a change outward not a change inward and it definitely didn’t include an hour lie down on a custom sofa.
My boss’s poignant explanation gave me a lot to process and allowed me to begin placing a great deal of value on discovering my own creative “couch”. And, over the years, I have learned that nature, running, art, and stillness are all my “couch” for creative productivity. A state where my mind can wonder freely unencumbered by time or obligation. For Bryan it’s music - a lot of music, green space, quiet pauses, and bouts of sleep, or what I call drifting, to rest his brain.
Last winter, we decided on scheduling a retreat to Amelia Island to remove ourselves from the day-to-day and focus on this state of mind, and after nine months of rebuilding from Helene, Bryan and I were desperate for a break. Not a break from creative work, but a break from physical work - both of great value in a small custom furniture company. A break to allow our brains to focus on creativity rather than daily logistics. To dream up new ideas. To discuss how to continue to sustainably and mindfully invest and grow our company, enabling us to do what we love, while also supporting our family during uncertain political and economic times. What we needed was a very big “couch” to release us from survival mode and into creative mode.
Our creative retreat was a wonderful thirteen days of inward productivity. Thirteen days to acknowledge the tremendous progress we’ve made in the last nine months. To rest our bodies and allow space for sketching out our creative long-term pursuits. To soak up and breathe in the surroundings of this beautiful island, a meaningful place I frequently visited as a child. To facilitate space for new designs and new ways to connect with our clients and our community.
We are grateful for truly understanding the immense value in slowing down to make space for creativity. For including those moments as a legitimate facet of our company. For knowing that ideas cannot be forced but must bubble to the surface when we’re in a state of mind able to hear them when they arise. We are grateful for our thirteen days dreaming on our “couch”.
