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The Magic of Spoken Word
Nine years ago I stood up in front of 50 Chilean and realized that I had something to say. For the first time I felt like myself in front of a group, without shaky knees, and realized that I could make a connection with people, make them laugh (at my own expense, maybe), feel and…
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Where Do Good Ideas Come From?
Often when we think of inventors and people with great ideas, we think of them as lone rangers with furrowed brows who have a “Eureka” moment that leads to their great discovery. Indeed, that’s how many of them would tell the story as well. In this talk by Steven Johnson, (and in his TED talk)…
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Embrace Your Constraints: Pecha Kucha Night
Last week I went my first Pecha Kucha Night in Winnipeg. What’s “Pecha Kucha”, you ask? Pecha Kucha was started in Tokyo in 2003 as an event for young designers to meet, network, and show their work in public. Named after the Japanese term for the sound of “chit chat”, the event centres around a…
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Creativity Takes Time
How long does creativity take? If you’re like me, you probably find it hard to set aside long amounts of time to develop creative ideas for your projects. When I’m doing a design project, I usually find myself running after the first idea I have just to meet a deadline or save time. But occasionally…
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Creativity is Subtraction
Austin Kleon has some great advice on creativity, and following his first rule, I stole it (but check out more by clicking on the image): Kleon is a generous artist, and I like that. I also like his art, called “Newspaper Blackout”. Armed with only a Sharpie, he creates poems by removing all the “unnecessary”…
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Intro to Letterpress
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You’re Weird
And that’s ok. We were reflecting the other day on how much time most of us spend trying to watch, follow, make and be what’s hot and trendy. Meanwhile, the people we find most interesting are those who have rejected the crowd and embraced their own weirdness. They’re not trying to be different (also a…
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Being Yourself
“Insist on yourself; never imitate.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson During my high school days, while learning to play the guitar, I tried my hand at songwriting. I’d spend hours in my bedroom with my guitar, working out some chords, lyrics, and melodies, writing them all down in my notebook, only to realize that I’d just…
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Turning Trash Into Toys
Last week when we built a cardboard box playhouse we thought we were doing well, Arvind Gupta taking making toys from trash to a whole new level! Years ago my Grandpa gave me the grooved-stick-airplane, which still confounds most adults (especially when you make it fly in reverse). I love the gleam in Gupta’s as…
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Mr. Owl
I cherish every chance I get to doodle. Today I got one of those opportunities. Meet Mr. Owl.