The Colorful Bug that Bit Me

“I’ve been bitten by the _______ bug” is what a person might exclaim when a new and exciting form of creative expression enters their life and they become smitten. Last Wednesday it became clear that the fabric bug had bitten me.

That morning I got to work and read my “daily good stuff” Daily Candy New York and DailyOM. Daily Candy’s feature was a group of sample sales and one of them caught my eye. It was for Lulu Dk on September 17-18. Lulu DK is a textile designer with playful graphics and color choices that I like. I stored the information in my head and thought, “Today and tomorrow are hectic. There is no way I’ll make it to the sale”. Lunch came and went and I kept working, still wondering, and telling myself that I was too busy. As the day progressed, I thought about the sale from time to time.

By 3:00p I could not contain myself any longer. I had to go. I checked HopStop.com and became aware that the bus was the most effective way for me to travel. I headed to Madison Avenue for the short ride uptown. I arrived at the location. A stylish woman greeted me and instructed me that the sale was in the back, and there it was, one box of fabric leaning next to a bookshelf. I thought, “You’ve got to be kidding me”. There were other products to purchase that Lulu DK produced, from the fabrics, but only a small amount of fabric to buy and it was $29 per yard. A few minutes later I returned to the street and headed back downtown on a very slow bus.

Somehow I retuned to work in a chipper mood about my decision to attend the sale. Shouldn’t I have been bitter? I purchased nothing and my little jaunt would cost me an extra hour in the office. I sat in front of my computer and pondered the question: Where do creative urges come from? Why and when do they happen? What is the best way to harness this energy into something special?

If you’ve been bitten, I’d love to hear about it…