Reclaim Your Creative Rhythm

How much time is baked into your calendar to tinker, trial, and tease out ideas? We are so quick to dampen our creativity with weighty questions of business models, strategy, and pricing before a kernel even takes root. Trying to solve these questions at the discovery stage dims any hope of hearing our own voice, allowing the vision to grow, and following our gut instinct. Here’s a lighter, more playful path.

This month, we kick things off by loosening our grip and opening the door to wild creativity. Not the hectic, frenzied kind, the open and freeing kind.

Grant yourself flexibility to see where ideas take you.

• Let go of control. (Practice spontaneity, flexibility).

• Make time to pause and ponder. (Avoid the urge to be “productive.”)

• Be open to ideas that aren’t complete. (Trust you’ll handle that later.)

exploring my wild creative on the streets of brooklyn, New york

What I’ve learned is that a conscious disconnect from control comes from ease, not effort. Ease means trusting yourself to know what’s genuine and calling for your attention. (For those of us who like control, this is a rough one. It takes practice.)

Ease can look like:

• Sketching, strolling

• Playing, prompting

• Journaling, jogging

• Tinkering, testing

On my journey, I’ve imagined creating beautiful, fun print pieces that inspire and elevate women. I pondered all kinds of options in the beginning and summoned the courage to talk about it. A decision came next, choosing a path and defining first steps: taking pictures, writing, and learning new tools. Creating photo postcards for friends and family followed. Then, in November 2025, I launched my first Visions of Possibility Collection here at Red & Rugged. I put my work out there. Now, I’m planning my next Sensational Summer Series. And so it goes.

It all starts with allowing your wild creativity. Ask yourself:

1. "What if it’s possible?”

2. “What would that look like for me?”

Reclaiming creativity isn’t about pushing yourself to get lost in a dreamy, mystical place. It’s about awakening your imagination, seeing where it takes you.

As we move through the summer season, I invite you to draw upon your ideas and passions, to explore, design, and choose your path.

Stepping into your next best version doesn’t happen by sitting still and letting your passions and skills stay silent. It happens when you open yourself to wild creativity and stay in motion. What next step will you take?

Magazine Picks for a Pop of Inspiration

I’ve been cutting out pictures and pages from magazines since grade school, long before vision boards and journaling were a thing. There’s nothing like an inspiring magazine in your hands to spark creativity. The texture of the paper, the eye-catching photographs, and the content expand our thinking. Beyond the beauty of destinations and lifestyle, we look at content for a fresh take on color combinations, unique locations, outdoor scenes, trends and entertainment settings. It’s like buying a new home; every time you drive by a house, you look at something different. In magazines, every time you flip through the pages, you see something new.

In addition to social media and your industry publications, pick up a magazine that’s beyond the scope of your immediate business to explore a different perspective on what clients are doing, where they are going, and how they’re living. For us, travel, outdoor, cooking and entertainment are all slices of life that our customers enjoy. Unique artisan cups, whiskey tumblers, handwoven linens, and hand-crafted cutting boards are preferred entertainment elements for those who host lively celebrations and give distinct gifts; both are meant to be memorable. Reading the stories and profiles of people and places where your clients and colleagues live, rest, vacation, and work can enhance your content, especially now that our work and personal lives have become so intertwined.

Here are six of our go-to magazine choices to help inspire creative thinking:

Sweet Paul – While the recipe-lovers will surely enjoy this, so will the artists and creatives. The photographs are spectacular; everything from floral designs, custom crafts, upscale flea markets, outdoor chef barbeques and beautiful artisan elements appear on the pages. It’s is a unique publication offering far more than dinner and dessert options.

Afar – A global travel publication written to guide you to your best journeys. These storytellers make you feel like you’re experiencing the flavors and local culture right along with them. Articles range from the backroads of tribal lands in remote territories to the glitz of big-city destinations.

Where Women Create – Advice, lessons-learned, and tips, these pages are chock full of ideas and inspiration from women business owners in their glorious and colorful maker spaces.

Outside – The adventure seekers and explorers will enjoy the trails, tips, and dispatches from the wild. Find stories of those who love to roll up their sleeves for a weekend road trip, aren’t afraid of a little cold weather or rain to reach uncharted waters, or prefer a long mountain trek to the comfort of a beach towel.

Aspire Design and Home – The bright, eye-catching color combinations and distinct design concepts, along with unique editor picks, are as aspirational as the name implies.

Departures – This one is all about luxury travel destinations around the world. The magazine itself is a member benefit of American Express; however, it includes extensive articles on beautiful European getaways, domestic mountain and ski resorts, secluded properties, and upscale lifestyle tips and trends. Despite the obvious commercial connection, it is worth reading.

If you were here to look around my office, you would find pages from these magazines torn out and saved for years in our filing cabinet. You’d also see a metal bucket full of magazines and calendars of all shapes and sizes, along with pages of scenery, design, and inspirational pictures tacked to the corkboard or posted behind magnets. Online may be informative, easy, and even beautiful; however, print speaks to us and stays with us in ways that digital cannot.