Reclaiming Our Creativity, with Melanie Falick

Melanie Falick is an independent writer, editor, and creative director--and a lifelong maker. She is the author, most recently, of Making a Life: Working by Hand and Discovering the Life You Are Meant to Live, named one of the best books of 2019 by Publishers Weekly. She is also the host of Making a Life: The Conversation, a new online series designed to generate lively and inspiring discourse about making by hand—and creative expression more generally—and their vital impact on our well-being in the 21st century. She is the former publishing director of STC Craft/Melanie Falick Books, an imprint of Abrams, where she published works by many of the DIY world’s most esteemed authors. She lives with her family in New York's Hudson River Valley.

A Message From Melanie: 

“If we write down the whispers in our head about the different things (big and small) we really want to do, then we can refer back to that to remind ourselves what we really want. But what if we went further? What if we marketed and advertised those ideas to ourselves? We can make signs and post them around the house or on a sticky note adhered to our phone. What else?

Right now we are so responsive to the marketing of others telling us what we want/need (from coffee to cars to Netflix series to watch). We can counter that by marketing to ourselves. This idea fits into a new book idea I’m working on but I figured I’d share it with you because it seems like something that might resonate with you personally as you try to slow down and take a break.”

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

• Melanie outlines how early lessons from her family impacted her views on marketing, handmade items and crafts, and creativity
• How Melanie made the important realization that the need to feel connected to her own survival by doing things for herself and making things by hand was key
• How Melanie researched and wrote her book Making a Life: Working by Hand and Discovering the Life You Are Meant to Live
• Why our modern expectation that we work at the pace of machines has had a major impact on our lifestyles and wellbeing
• Melanie highlights the sense of community the African American Quilt Guild of Oakland has developed between its member makers
• Why expressing your creativity by creating something is a crucial way to feel connected and give yourself a creative outlet
• Why we too often internalize stories about our lack of skill and talent when the enjoyment of our own creativity is the important thing
• What advice Melanie has for marketers and business professionals about reclaiming their creativity and rebalancing themselves

Additional resources:  

• Making a Life by Melanie Falick: https://amzn.to/3fUzkMX 
• Website: https://melaniefalick.com/ 
• LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/melanie-falick-7011a36/ 
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/melaniefalick/ 
• Mailing List: https://bit.ly/3hmHWwa