Biz Buzz - Great Ideas Down the Drain?

Twice this week I heard mention of Crafters/Artists getting their ideas in the Shower. I must say that I found it funny, but not surprising, because I always get my best ideas in the Shower or Bath. Usually a nice long bath with some great floral smelling bubbles works best for me. As a matter of fact, if I'm having a creative drought, I will draw up a bath, because I usually take showers.

Once I interviewed for a design job with a leading toy company. I was being interviewed by a panel of the head of all the departments. They asked me how I brainstorm, and I replied "I get my best ideas in the bath".  Well apparently they were not in tune with how wonderful a tool the bath/shower is because they gave me the "OMG she's an Alien" look. OK so maybe I am a bit odd, but wouldn't that kind of imagination be just what is needed in toy design?

That was my first outing in the design world after graduation. I ended up in decorative residential lighting. Those people didn't mind at all that I was quirky. Not the socially affecting kind of job I was looking for, but it was a job.

After hearing that several other of my friends use the shower method, I decided to do a little research. I turns out that this is a very effective method of creating.

Here is a link to 20 Reasons Why the Best Ideas Come in the Shower

And Why your Best Ideas Come in the Shower

While some suggest using a waterproof dry erase marker on the shower wall. I kind of like this idea of a waterproof Notepad I found on an AOL News  post Waterproof Notepad Helps You Record Ideas in the Shower could be the best idea of all.

Notepad in the Shower and Notepad by the bedside help gather those fleeting thoughts that you just can't grab hold of once they have passed. For that matter, I wish I had a notepad in the shower a few weeks ago when I came up with the idea of this post. It took a few reminders from twitter friends to pull it back out of my subconscious.

There is a plethora of posts (I like that, plethora of posts) on ideas in the shower. You can search it yourself to see them all. But the most important thing to remember is if you are having a creative drought, just go to that secluded space and turn on the faucet. Relax and let your mind free to do it's own thing. The subconscious is an amazing thing, and the best tool we have as artists.