SOME GREAT WAYS TO GET IDEAS

Sit down with a big sheet of clean paper and a marker and write down everything that comes to mind. Don't dismiss anything. The stupidest of ideas often lead to brilliant ones; so just let it all pour out. (I make my living creating journals from vintage scarves. Imagine how stupid it might have sounded to someone the first time they heard: I think I'm going to make something out of old cloth that people have thrown away. But that silly thought might have led to: wow, old scarves are really beautiful, I wonder if I can figure out a way to use them for book binding?

Go shopping. Make what you don't see in stores.

Go shopping. Make a better version of what you see in stores.

Ask your friends, co-workers, strangers on the streets, anyone with eyes and a wallet what it is they'd like to spend their money on.

Go to the flea market and look for old ideas that can be reworked.

Go to the museum. Read magazines. Look at billboards. An idea can come from anywhere.

from Pamela Barsky's 'How to start a creative manufacturing business'