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Creating the Createry
It’s easy to underestimate the importance of exercising your creative muscles – especially if it’s been a particularly busy work-week. But taking the time to get a little creative now and then can make coming up with great ideas quicker and easier later on (which actually ends up saving you time!). No one knows the value of this more than Stevie Hannigan, the man behind The Createry – a site to help get you inspired and thinking in new and innovative ways.
Part community platform, part editorial content, The Createry is like a one-stop-shop for tips, aids, exercises and conversation – all around the topic of fostering new ideas and being creative. “I’ve always been fascinated with what makes someone feel creative and what gets your brain moving.” Said Stevie. “Most sites that claim to help inspire really just post photos of other people’s completed work. I felt that there was a need for a site you could go to anytime to simply have fun and get your brain thinking in a different way.” The Createry was his answer!
A new way to network
The core idea behind the Createry is not only to get your own creativity flowing as Stevie details above, but also to meet and interact with others who have similar interests. A few creativity exercises aren’t just good for artistic types like writers and photographers - “If a lot of people interact, then that’s awesome!” said Stevie. “Our goal is to reach an audience that is extremely diverse in what they do – everyone can benefit from some fun and creativity in their lives.”
Stevie decided on three main categories to focus on that help spark creativity – inspiring music, collaboration projects, and solving a puzzle or some sort of random problem. These can be done completely on your own, or with a group. We especially like the idea of a whole business sitting down together and doing some of the exercises as a workshop.
Reaching a creative audience (on and offline)
Getting people talking and interacting online is one thing – but what about getting them talking in person? Then there’s the matter of getting the word out on the site itself – that can be even harder! (Especially in a city like New York, where the company was founded.)
Stevie turned to MOO Postcards as a way to bring his online project out into the offline world and recreated the categories on the cards. From stills of their latest videos to “fill in the blank” designs marketing their “Music Monday” playlists, each card shows off a unique aspect of the site, as well as works as a mini thought-provoker in itself. They then passed the cards out on the street to help get the word out.
The cards can also act as great icebreakers and exercises to help bring people together and strengthen a group. Just the kind of thing you’d want to see at a networking event or business workshop!
The Createry is still thinking up new ways to help others with their idea process, and coming up with new concepts for their cards. “The site is brand new, so we hopefully have a long future ahead of us of trying new things. We’ve already tossed some ideas around handing out some ‘blank canvas’ cards that people can draw on or write on in a creative way and mail to their friends, or more tangible puzzles.”
If you want to stay up to date on their project – and even take part in a few exercises – you can visit them at thecreatery.com