Everyday Art


“As photographers we always want to travel and go to exotic places. I want to do that, too, but sometimes there is so much magic right in front of you.”
– Andre Wagner

It’s common to think that creativity happens somewhere else, doing something else. Particularly on those days we stuck in our routine, when the day is just “ho hum”, we dream of moving to Paris (or that really creative exotic place where magic happens) to do something amazing.

There’s value in shaking up routines and traveling away from the familiar, but the real art, as Andre eludes to, is finding the magic right in front of you. If we can’t be present and creative where we are, no amount of travel will help.

Many days, the magic needs to be found in ordinary places. Places like email.

Email as Artwork

canvas

In a recent podcast, Derek Sivers (founder of CD Baby) tells Tim Ferriss the story of the now-famous CD Baby delivery email.

One day Sivers looked at their “your product has shipped” automatic system email, and decided to make it better. Twenty minutes later he had this:

Thanks for your order with CD Baby!

Your CD has been gently taken from our CD Baby shelves with sterilized contamination-free gloves and placed onto a satin pillow. A team of 50 employees inspected your CD and polished it to make sure it was in the best possible condition before mailing. Our world-renowned packing specialist lit a local artisan candle and a hush fell over the crowd as he put your CD into the finest gold-lined box that money can buy. We all had a wonderful celebration afterwards and the whole party marched down the street to the post office where the entire town of Portland waved “Bon Voyage!” to your package, on its way to you, in our private CD Baby jet on this day.

We hope you had a wonderful time shopping at CD Baby. In commemoration, we have placed your picture on our wall as “Customer of the Year.” We’re all exhausted but can’t wait for you to come back to CDBABY.COM!!

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Sigh…

We miss you already. We’ll be right here at www.cdbaby.com patiently awaiting your return.

All your friends at CD Baby
Sell your music on CD Baby and in stores worldwide

In a single moment of inspiration, Sivers turned a boring system email into a quirky little gem that CD Baby customers just happened to love! Screenshot of this email started popping up all over the internet, as delighted customers shared their delight with the world.

Everyday Magic

If you’re like me, your day is filled with micro-interactions with ordinary things like emails, conversations and getting snacks ready for the kids.

Which of those things will become a little canvas for your work of art?

andre-wagner