Why we all need more
hands-on creativity
JULY 2023
Just 45 minutes a day of creative activity can:
Increase happiness
Reduce stress and anxiety
Leave you feeling more connected to yourself and others afterward
Help you see the world in a new way, or express something you couldn’t before
What will you create today?
If you’re curious to learn more, this is a great read:
Your Brain on Art: How the Arts Transform Us
By Susan Magsamen and Ivy Ross
It reveals many interesting studies that prove the power of the arts and creativity and the need for just 45 minutes a day.
Top 5 Reasons Personalizing Fashion is the Future
JULY 2023
Fashion has always been a means of self-expression, allowing individuals to showcase their personality, preferences, and unique sense of style.
Over the past decades, the world became saturated with fast trends generated and worn by thousands if not millions of people. The universal styles began to mask the unique identities hidden within each person wearing the clothing.
In recent years, the fashion industry has witnessed a significant shift towards personalization. From customizable accessories to made-to-measure garments, the trend of personalized fashion is rapidly gaining momentum.
We’ve been leading programs to pilot our Fashion Creativity Lab concepts with tweens and teens, and their adults. From these, we’ve seen five key reasons why personalizing fashion is undeniably the future of the industry.
Unleashing Individuality
One of the most compelling reasons for the rise of personalized fashion is its ability to unleash individuality. People now seek to break away from conformity and embrace fashion that aligns with their specific tastes, identities, and needs. By personalizing their garments, individuals are empowered to express their creativity and uniqueness, fostering a sense of confidence in their personal style and sense of self.
2. Perfect Fit & Comfort
Off-the-rack clothing often fails to fit perfectly, as people come in various body shapes and sizes. Personalized fashion addresses this issue by focusing more on made-to-measure clothing, tailored precisely to each individual's measurements. As a result, such ill-fitting attire can become more complementary to one’s form and comfort. The fashion industry can gradually recognize the importance of inclusive sizing and body diversity, and personalization plays a vital role in catering to these needs.
3. Sustainability & Waste Reduction
Personalized fashion goes hand in hand with sustainability, a pressing concern in today's world. Fast fashion's mass production model has led to an alarming increase in textile waste and environmental degradation. By shifting towards personalized fashion, individuals and brands can significantly reduce overproduction and waste. By designing to specific needs, and by learning to upcycle and redesign existing clothing, there is less surplus inventory and less need to discard old items so quickly. Additionally, individuals tend to cherish personalized pieces, leading to longer garment lifespans and reduced overall consumption.
4. Enhanced Skills & Creative Fulfillment
Personalization fosters a unique bond between one’s sense of self and one’s skills. Learning to personalize our own styles allows for more hands-on creative thinking, skill-based making, artistic visioning, problem-solving, and clever engineering. By being more involved in the design process, fashion can build a deeper emotional connection and sense of satisfaction beyond just fitting in with the trends. Whether it's choosing the fabric, color, or embellishments, individuals feel a sense of ownership and pride in their personalized creations.
5. Tools & Advanced Technology
There are a range of tools, from simple and accessible like a needle and thread, to more complex sewing machines, to recent advancements in technology, such as 3D printing and wearable technology. All can be used to revolutionize the way personalized fashion can be created and experienced. These technologies enable more experimentation. We, as the public, can also begin to work with the fashion industry to innovate its procedures, its approaches, its sustainability endeavors, and its ability to keep inspiring us to express who we are. As technology continues to evolve, the future of personalized fashion is set to become even more exciting and accessible.
Conclusion:
Personalized fashion is more than just a trend; it represents a paradigm shift in the way we approach ourselves, our styles, and our awareness of consumerism. By embracing individuality, catering to diverse body types, promoting sustainability, fostering hands-on engagement, and leveraging cutting-edge technology, personalized fashion paves the way for a more inclusive, community-centric, and environmentally responsible fashion industry.
As we become increasingly conscious of our choices, and the fulfillment we can get from our own hands-on creativity, it is more important than ever to offer spaces that can equip individuals with access to tools, materials, and programs that advance their skills so they can embrace their own identities and skills to personalize their looks. So, whether you're designing your own unique piece or collaborating with a brand to customize your attire, personalized fashion is undoubtedly the future we can all look forward to.
“ Unused creativity is not benign. It metastasizes. It turns into grief, rage, judgment, sorrow, shame.”
- Brené Brown
JUNE 2023
The US National Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are reporting increasing rates of anxiety and depression in teens and adults. Due in part to many measures.
What we, at The Creativity Labs, are asking related to this staggering news is:
If many of us never have the chance to find our creative interests, skills, or passions…
If many of us don’t have time, money, space, or resources to discover our unique gifts and talents…
Then, there is a lot of human potential going to waste. So,
Shouldn’t we, the collective we, join together to make spaces that counteract this?
Especially with research proving that socializing and partaking in hands-on, creative-making types of activities not only increases the chance of our discovering our talents, but also can increase happiness, a sense of well-being, and more.
This drives us to imagine…
Can we design spaces for all to discover their creativity? …to uncover innate talents and passion?
Can we create a network where we can encounter new friends and mentors and forge new connections across people, disciplines, problems, and places?
(Outside of school, outside of work, outside of sports.)What if we could design inspiring, content-rich, in-person spaces that provide us with tools and time to experiment and engage with others?
What if more of us could be surrounded by inspiring works from humans and nature, and then have time and space to try making/doing the same ourselves, time for experimenting with our own skills and innate creativity?
By pioneering a new network of creative spaces, we might just find that our anxiety, depression, grief, rage, sorrow, and judgment can turn into happiness, strength, forgiveness, excitement, and empowerment.It’s worth trying. No…?
Empty storefronts. Empty malls.
JUNE 2023
In NYC, there are many empty stores and commercial properties. It’s similar in many other urban and rural places.
They look sad and derelict, leaving gaps along our main streets. They are almost a metaphor for the increasing loneliness being reported by people from all backgrounds and ages.
So, what if — instead of another store to buy something, we aim to reimagine the empty spaces and make them more socially invigorating — we fill them with creative challenges and forms of inspiration so we can exchange our talents, skills, and ideas with one another?
Instead of buying one more thing, we have spaces to create many new things, together.
Unleashing Creativity:
Step into a World of Action & Inspiration
May 2023
Are you tired of the mundane routine, of endlessly scrolling, typing, and staring at screens? Let's break free from the chains of passivity and embark on a journey of action and inspiration together!
Imagine a place where creativity knows no bounds, where you can turn your dreams into reality. Visualize yourself in a vibrant community of like-minded individuals, all fueled by the burning desire to design, ideate, and experiment.
Let's go beyond just being spectators of HGTV shows or Project Runway; let's dive into the heart of it all and learn HOW to DO what they do! Picture yourself learning with a community of passionate creators, ready to help you craft a diverse range of outfits or designs that leave you in awe of your own potential.
But it doesn't stop there! In our Fashion Creativity Labs, our fashion photography workshops can help you master photo editing, lighting techniques, and striking the perfect pose to capture that breathtaking shot. Our fashion designers can help you learn to mend, personalize, and create unique styles that leave you with styles never seen before. Our fashion historians invite you to explore forms and functions and offer you the chance to don a hoop skirt, an extravagant hat, or proper tutorials on traditional garments from around the world. Our costume designers can help you create looks that will compete with the best performers on stage. And, the list goes on!
We understand that you crave more than just ordinary classes. You yearn for captivating stories, connections to various cultures, and exposure to quirky tools and materials that will ignite your imagination like never before. Our spaces are designed to be your sanctuary of inspiration, led by talented mentors who will guide you toward self-expression and fearless experimentation.
In a world where digital viewing has become the norm, we are here to offer you so much more. Step into our third spaces, where the action never stops. Say goodbye to passive browsing and embrace the thrill of doing, creating, and transforming your ideas into reality.
So, are you ready to join the league of extraordinary doers? Step into the realm of self-expression, and let your creativity soar to new heights. Embrace the power of action, and together, let's paint the world with our vibrant passions!