
Jess Grove, 44’s design ace, tells us about her acts of everyday creativity that have left her feeling inspired during lockdown, and discovers where members of the 44 team have been finding their own inspiration…
With the lines between home and office becoming increasingly blurred, we’ve all had time to stare at unstarted (or unfinished) projects with increasing regularity over the last few months.
That list of jobs and projects we’d get round to if only we had more time became harder to ignore as we all found ourselves more time-rich and often free of distraction – those of us without children, anyway!
Creativity at work
Of course, a surfeit of time is not the only thing that is necessary to getting things done. Inspiration is often the missing ingredient. Everyone’s job at 44 is all about being creative. As a designer I’m always looking for different ways to be creative in my work. And the truth is, it’s the act of being creative that often creates the inspiration. That’s why all that advice that helps people struggling with writer’s block (or the artistic equivalent – designer’s block?) is often just to do more of the thing you say you can’t do.
Inspiration rarely (though not never) strikes when you’re sat on the sofa watching New Girl for the third time – it comes to you through the process of doing. That’s why I’ve tried to stay as creative as possible during lockdown – everything I’ve done will have contributed to my creativity at work, and often in ways I probably don’t even realise.
Inspiring others
So I asked my 44 colleagues to let me know what they’ve been doing creatively over the last few months to fire up their inspiration, in the hope that it might inspire me… and you!
Oh, and I should probably say what I’ve been up to: I repainted the kitchen, created new artwork to hang around my house, stitched face masks for my family, successfully kept my herb garden alive and spruced up the garden pub. Let me tell you, with the pubs in the UK closed for most of the year, the inspiration for that one was pretty obvious!
What’s been getting the 44 team inspired in lockdown?
Corin:
During lockdown I was training for the London Marathon, which was unfortunately cancelled. So I instead focused on improving my dodgy golf game! On 26 April Jonny challenged me to take part in the 2.6 Challenge, which was held on the date on what should have been the marathon. Here’s the result…
Claudia:
I’ve been putting aside 30 minutes a day to do some creative writing. It’s something I’ve been meaning to do for ages, and with the time saved on commuting by working from home now seems like the best opportunity. I use a journal that suggests a starting point for a story. It’s perfect for days when I want to write, but lack inspiration.
Larraine:
My husband Tony set himself the task of teaching me how to play bridge during lockdown. While I’m not good enough to join a club yet I’ve really enjoyed learning this new game. We’ve even invested in a new card table!
Gemma:
Alongside various arts and crafts projects we’ve been doing with the girls as part of home schooling and general interest, I dusted off my old textile skills and worked on a couple of cross stitch projects. I also tried (unsuccessfully) to learn how to felt. More recently, we’ve moved house so all of my spare time has been taken up with DIY, room planning, gardening and repairing/restoring a few old ornaments that got left behind. I’ve still not written that novel yet though…
Hannah:
I’ve been using an app called ‘One Second Everyday’ to create a movie made up of one-second clips. It’s challenging because it’s such a short time frame that you have to make the footage as interesting and dynamic as possible, and it inspires you to get creative on a daily basis as you have to come up with fresh ideas to make your montage exciting and varied. It also makes you appreciate the smaller things, and boosts your positivity as well as your creativity!
Bryan:
I’ve always been adamant we shouldn’t have pets. We have enough trouble looking after ourselves. But Sophie and I decided in a weak moment that the kids had done so well to survive lockdown with minimal amounts of blood being spilled that they perhaps deserved to be rewarded. Pups were in short supply, but we managed to find Benji online – cue much excitement among the Jones clan. Everyone made lots of strict promises before he arrived… Benji won’t be allowed on the furniture; he won’t be constantly fed treats; daddy won’t be the only one to walk him. The promises, it transpired, weren’t legally binding.
Alan:
Faced with being stuck in my house for months, I decided to find a way to force myself to do something I’ve always wanted to do – learn to fly. As soon as it was safe to do so, I booked a test flight with Take Flight Aviation in Oxford, and co-piloted a Cessna 152 airplane. We flew over the Cotswolds, Banbury, and made sure to steer clear of the Brize Norton RAF airspace. I learned about angle of attack, loft, fuel mix, rudders, ailerons and flaps. After an hour I was naturally a little lightheaded, a little dazed, and genuinely thrilled about the whole experience. I’m still thinking about whether I fully commit to getting a full licence, as there’s a lot of other things going on right now, but it was the most interesting thing I’ve done during the lockdown by far.
Imogen:
During lockdown I got out my guitar, which I haven’t played in years (and then only enough to pick out a few classics). I found an app that has the chords to pretty much any song you can think of – from old classics to kids’ TV theme tunes. I thought it would be nice to play and sing with my kids, but it turns out I enjoy it a lot more than they do! There’s lots I’ve forgotten since I played regularly, but I was pleasantly surprised by how much I’ve remembered. It’s great to be able to make a sound that half-resembles a song you know. And a few minutes of singing makes me feel happy too!
How have you been inspired in lockdown?
Been inspired by what we’ve been up to, or want to hear from more of our team? Give us a call or drop us an email and we can talk about how we can channel our creativity towards your project.
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