Workbench 2.0 Empower Your Passion To Create

What does a bill like PIPA/SOPA mean to our shareable world?

noreply@blogger.com (WORKBENCH 2.0) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 01:03:00 +0000

Crafting Paper Planes

noreply@blogger.com (WORKBENCH 2.0) — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 15:31:00 +0000

Paper Planes by Glithero and Baddeley Brothers from Dezeen on Vimeo.

Happy New Year

noreply@blogger.com (WORKBENCH 2.0) — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 17:40:00 +0000

Embrace Change as an Opportunity to Take Action - Have a Happy, Enjoyable + Successful New Year
from all of us at Workbench 2.0

CAN or CAN'T Mentality Will Determine Business Success

noreply@blogger.com (WORKBENCH 2.0) — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 21:02:00 +0000

As the pace of the business environment accelerates the divergence in performance between companies (competitors) is increasing. The trend is the rising gap between those businesses that are being left behind by change and those that are nimble enough to seize the massive opportunities created by these shifts.

To align with the changing market environments it comes down to the fundamentals of accepting change on an individual level first, gain support then making the change on a cultural level.

To accept change on a personal level usually requires an external push in making a difference in things that people care about. This push invades our fear of change and we usually push back with why we CAN'T do this or that. This CAN'T stance needs to be approached with ideas, possibilities and problem solving approaches to why the situation, process or convention CAN be improved to meet the challenges of the competition and/or customers.

Don't buy in to the argument in favor of freezing things as they were.

The direction you choose when you mentally tee up CAN or CAN’T

can take you to new exciting challenges, directions and experiences or leave you imprisoned and locked into increasing the gap with your customers and/or competition.

The words CAN and CAN'T are some of the strongest and powerful words you will ever utter.

The words are contradiction for the decisions we make when confronting change.

Open your mind, break the CAN'T habit, stretch your boundaries and commit to making a difference. Create a new environment of positive change to bring you closer in line with your customers or potential customers needs. Just Commit Yourself to Making a Difference...The journey can be one of discovery, excitement, fulfillment and yes, a better chance for success.

CAN CAN'T

Unlimited Limited
Will Try Won't
No Boundaries Boundaries
Exploration Tied Down
Implement Change Limited or No Change
Forward Motion Remain Put/Slide Backwards
Solve Problems Keep Doing Same
Improvements More of the Same
Increased Business Flat or reduced Sales

Can American Students Rediscover Their Creativity? David Kelley Thinks So

noreply@blogger.com (WORKBENCH 2.0) — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 23:19:00 +0000

video platform video management video solutions video player
How can students develop their job-creating, innovation-oriented talents if our education system remains centered on knowing and applying information instead of teaching creative, big-picture thinking?

Transforming Society Begins with Transforming Yourself

noreply@blogger.com (WORKBENCH 2.0) — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 21:20:00 +0000

All actions originate with a picture in your mind. In this reflective talk, Hawthorne Valley director Martin Ping — a pioneer of the sustainable farming movement — speaks about the crucial role of imagination in achieving our goals. As Ping puts it, "Having an authentic inner vision of what you want to achieve is essential to bringing it forth."
www.workbench20.com

Workbench 2.0 Receives Green America's Business Seal of Approval

noreply@blogger.com (WORKBENCH 2.0) — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 01:10:00 +0000

Madison, Wisconsin 01.14.2011 – Workbench 2.0 is happy & thrilled to announce it has been awarded the Green America Business Seal of Approval. The seal is presented to businesses that go beyond product and service quality to set the highest standards in environmental sustainability and social justice, and works to solve, rather than create, environmental and social problems.
To be considered for the Seal of Approval and earn a listing in the annual National Green Pages™, businesses complete a rigorous screening process to ensure they meet Green America’s standards for the environment, community and labor.

www.workbench20.com

Malcolm Gladwell on why Creative Types Need to Embrace Chaos

noreply@blogger.com (WORKBENCH 2.0) — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 01:00:00 +0000

Gladwell speaks about creativity, chaos and the messiness of it all.
www.workbench20.com

What is the Definition of Creativity to You?

noreply@blogger.com (WORKBENCH 2.0) — Sat, 08 Jan 2011 16:50:00 +0000

poster by Justin Poulter
www.workbench20.com

HAPPY NEW YEAR !!!

noreply@blogger.com (WORKBENCH 2.0) — Fri, 31 Dec 2010 00:46:00 +0000

Years come and go, but this year I specially wish for you good health, happiness topped with loads of good fortune.

This new year is another opportunity for a new beginning

www,workbench20.com

Do The Thing You Think You Cannot Do

noreply@blogger.com (WORKBENCH 2.0) — Sat, 25 Dec 2010 18:13:00 +0000

workbench20.com

Forest Stewardship + Sustainability

noreply@blogger.com (WORKBENCH 2.0) — Sun, 12 Dec 2010 15:07:00 +0000

A common misconception is that logging, or the harvesting of wood products is bad for a forest. The truth is, forests can benefit from proper harvesting practices that create openings in the canopy to stimulate new tree growth and produce food and cover for animals. Studies show that well-managed forests are healthier and therefore better suited to filter pollutants from entering streams and rivers. When properly managed, a forest can be harvested several times within a fifty year span. Because they are a renewable natural resource, trees can be grown, harvested and re-grown all from the same section of land for an eternity.-Catskill Craftsmen supports the efforts of the Watershed Agricultural Council

www.workbench20.com
bsauter@workbench20.com

If You Haven't Failed You Haven't Lived

noreply@blogger.com (WORKBENCH 2.0) — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 23:34:00 +0000

Pebble Mine: A Disaster Waiting to Happen

noreply@blogger.com (WORKBENCH 2.0) — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 00:11:00 +0000

Please watch Robert Redford's new video about the Pebble Mine --an environmental disaster waiting to happen. Then, send a message telling Anglo American that you won't allow them to destroy Bristol Bay's wildlife Eden. Urge the foreign mining giant to abandon its disastrous plans for the Pebble Mine.

http://bit.ly/9JBANK

Remix One Approach to Creating

noreply@blogger.com (WORKBENCH 2.0) — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 22:16:00 +0000

There are ways to approach creativity and remix is an interesting valid approach that many use. This video shows examples in the music biz where remix has been used.
Anybody can remix anything. Music, video, photos, whatever, and distribute it globally pretty much instantly. You don’t need expensive tools, you don’t need a distributor, you don’t even need skills. Remixing is a folk art — anybody can do it. Yet these techniques, collect the material, combining it and transforming it, are the same ones you use at any level of creation.

www.workbench20.com
bsauter@workbench20.com

The Immense Universe We live In

noreply@blogger.com (WORKBENCH 2.0) — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 23:53:00 +0000

Powers of Ten takes us on an adventure in magnitudes. Starting at a picnic by the lakeside in Chicago, this famous film transports us to the outer edges of the universe. Every ten seconds we view the starting point from ten times farther out until our own galaxy is visible only a s a speck of light among many others. Returning to Earth with breathtaking speed, we move inward- into the hand of the sleeping picnicker- with ten times more magnification every ten seconds. Our journey ends inside a proton of a carbon atom within a DNA molecule in a white blood cell. POWERS OF TEN © 1977 EAMES OFFICE LLC (www.eamesoffice.com)

The Power of 10 Simpson Style
http://bit.ly/csn1W3
www.workbench20.com
bsauter@workbench20.com

Improve Your Creative Potential:GET YOUR HANDS DIRTY

noreply@blogger.com (WORKBENCH 2.0) — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 16:07:00 +0000

Some time ago we had a post entitled “Get fresh Stimulating Feedback…Change your Perspective”. It was about changing your physical view to get a different image and understanding of your subject. Over the last 2 weeks we have been at the factory getting a different perspective and understanding of our products, manufacturing processes and cartons by actually hand finishing and packing the products ourselves as part of our continuous improvement + discovery activities.

We came up with many ideas that improved small details in our manufacturing processes, our product and cartons. This would not have happened if we had not physically done the labor on the factory floor with the craftsmen. So many enlightening moments took place where we solved issues and improved efficiency right on the spot. We came up with new ideas for new products, made processes simpler and even started to develop future plans and directions.

Something magical happens when you are focused, immersed in physical labor, collaborating and seeing things in new ways that unlocks your creative engine to see everything in a new light, with new possibilities and new visions presenting themselves. By doing this we have also developed closer relationships, better communications and have gained insight that did not exist before.

Creativity takes hard work and the more intense the involvement and collaboration the greater the feedback in ideas, continuous improvement and an improved outcome in what you do.
www.workbench20.com
bsauter@workbench20.com

Paying Attention to Details!!!

noreply@blogger.com (WORKBENCH 2.0) — Sun, 19 Sep 2010 21:10:00 +0000

Hi All, I have not been prolific in writing posts to this blog because we have been spending large amounts of time in the factory getting our hands dirty and doing all the physical undertakings that are required to produce our products. These last 2 weeks have been pushing the limits; it has also been so revealing, exciting and elevating. We were developing routines, discovering all the details and making the necessary changes to optimize the design and implementing manufacturing changes necessary to make the quality products you require. Thank you for your understanding…we want to be part of your creative passion. Please pass on our site to your network. Thank you.

www,workbench20.com

Imagination is the Foundation for Creativity

noreply@blogger.com (WORKBENCH 2.0) — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 23:35:00 +0000

Imagination is not limited only to seeing pictures in the mind. It includes all the five senses and the feelings. One can imagine a sound, taste, smell, a physical sensation or a feeling or emotion. For some people it is easier to see mental pictures, others find it easier to imagine a feeling, and some are more comfortable imagining the sensation of one of the five senses. Training of the imagination gives the ability to combine all the senses.

A developed and strong imagination does not make you a daydreamer and impractical. On the contrary, it strengthens your creative abilities, and is a great tool for recreating and remodeling your world and life.

Imagination is a creative power that is necessary for inventing an instrument, designing a dress or a building, painting a picture or writing a book. The creative power of imagination has an important role in the achievement of success in any field. What we imagine with faith and feelings comes into being. It is the power beyond creative visualization, positive thinking and affirmations. -Remez Sasson
www.workbench20.com

Need Some Motivation?

noreply@blogger.com (WORKBENCH 2.0) — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 16:50:00 +0000

Asking "What If" Can Take You to New Directions

noreply@blogger.com (WORKBENCH 2.0) — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 22:07:00 +0000

Asking "What If" followed by a change element (some are listed below) can help you in your divergent thinking to come up with hundreds of ideas that are variations and possible directions to your solution. This activity helps you gain different perspectives, ability to compare and what is really interesting is when you start combining the change elements to create even different approaches. Give yourself time limits on each one and quickly document each idea posting it in plain sight so you can see all of them helping you to play with the outcomes. Write the ideas down or quickly sketch...but document. Funny thing is after you let the ideas bake for awhile; whole new directions may surface in your thinking. Also try to see how many change elements you can come up with. You may even want to quickly mock-up the idea to get you to the next design stage faster. Amazing things surface when you get your mind, hands, eyes, tools and materials working together. Relax, Stay Lose and Let Things Flow. The more you do it the better you get and the outcomes become more creative.

Change Elements
Combine it with something else
Adapt something to it
Magnify or add to it
Minimize it
Modify it
Put it to some other use
Eliminate something
Simplify
Rearrange it
Reverse it
Changed shape
Different color
Rotated it
Flipped it
www.workbench20.com

Get Up-Close + Personal with the Materials + Processes in Your Creative Work.

noreply@blogger.com (WORKBENCH 2.0) — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 00:29:00 +0000

The people that are truly in harmony at what they do understand and experiment with the materials / ingredients / technology they use in their creations. They are constantly learning and experimenting with the materials from around the globe or they make their own for further differentiation and discovery. With finding new properties and surprises along the journey their vision and creations grow into something new and exciting. Those of you that use paper in your crafts can learn so much by visiting a local artist that makes their own paper. Do research on the internet to see how other cultures make paper and from different time periods. Get the urge to make your own and use it in your designs. Get the materials from where you live. It brings so much more personal enjoyment, inspiration, discovery, motivation and uniqueness to what you love to do.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bzedan/sets/967347/show/

http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Paper
Inspiring Paper Art

www.workbench20.com

Capture Your Ideas; They are Fleeting

noreply@blogger.com (WORKBENCH 2.0) — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 16:34:00 +0000

Look sharply after your thoughts, they come unlooked for, like a new bird seen in your trees, and if you turn to your usual task, disappear. -Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Ideas are thoughts and thoughts are fleeting. Unless you make the effort to document your ideas, you'll lose them. There's absolutely no way to predict when a great idea is likely to pop into your mind. The only way to reduce the risk of losing it is to be prepared at all times. You can't begin to imagine how many good ideas you have until you document them.

Being prepared to capture the concept of an idea for me means drawing a small sketch to get the idea across which usually ends up in several very quick ideas just to document the concept. Later on you can expand the idea on your electronic sketch pad or further pencil sketches on paper. Whatever the method you use or how crude the drawing the sketching activity is to capture the moment in a journal for further investigation later on.
The above sketches by Carl Liu and Spencer Nugent are product sketches but no matter what your creative passion quick sketches can be a very useful tool.
When I was in design school Jack Crist handed out the 10 commandments of sketching in my first freshman drawing class that I would like to share with you.

The 10 Commandments
1. Stay Loose !!! Let yourself flow
2. Lightly -- ever so lightly--"rough in a skeleton"...build your sketch on it.
3. Look for the simple solids (cubes, spheres, cylinders, cones etc.) locked in the the subject. Sketch them! Save the details for later.
4. Sketch the subject as though it is transparent. Locate key points and edges-- even though they are hidden.
5. Sketch volumes, not outlines. "Mold" form like a sculptor.
6. Do more with less. Say a lot with minimum effort.
7. Use horizontal arm stroke to advantage. Turn your sketchbook/journal!
8. Avoid hard, uniform lines. Vary the line weight.
9. Emphasize near things. Go easy on far things.
10. Sketch from general to specific.

Have some fun with this and try capturing your next idea through a rough sketch and keep the flow of ideas coming.
www.workbench20.com

Courage + Creativity

noreply@blogger.com (WORKBENCH 2.0) — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 19:41:00 +0000

I found this bit written by Jodee Bock, author of the book 100% Factor about being creative, finding yourself and the importance of collaborating with other creatives.

I believe now that the level of my own creativity was in direct proportion to my level of courage. I spent so much of my youth as a perfectionist that I had very little space to be creative. Being creative means being willing to step outside the traditional into the unknown. It means being willing to make a mistake...to take a risk...to get beyond worrying about what others think and following your heart, soul and intuition.

I believe that everyone has the ability to be creative. But in order for people to connect with their inate creativity, there has to be some semblance of courage present as well, because many of us don't have enough experience out on the limb or outside the status quo to even know how to support someone who's venturing out there. It might seem to be lonely out on the limb, but it's much less lonely when you find others in the same place than it is to be struggling alone amid other closet creatives, none of whom is yet ready or willing to venture into the unknown.

Living creatively = living courageously.

www.workbench20.com

Journaling: Document Your Journey Part2

noreply@blogger.com (WORKBENCH 2.0) — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 21:58:00 +0000

When you have an idea for something, working on a project or solving a problem it is always good to keep a journal through your research. Your mind processes information and ideas over time so what you are thinking during your research may be different or reinforce your thinking when you review the information at a later time, location and/or state of mind. The ability to go back and review the things you have found in your research in one place helps so much in distilling many rich ideas and may give you new directions in which to travel. For many years I had a 100 or so copies of the Italian design magazine Abitare that I would pour over when I had certain projects to work on to help inspire and to ignite ideas. Each time I looked at the mags I would see things differently because I had different projects I was working on, time had passed and my vision was pointed in a different direction. A journal does the same thing. Even though the journal you are keeping is for a specific activity it will still inspire new thoughts and ideas on other projects. No matter if you are doing a card design, designing a product or creating a photo keeping a journal will give you more insight and fuel to get to a more original solution. Don't forget the research phase... it will broaden your understanding and diverge your thinking.