Enjoy this beautiful day

Over the years we’ve been bringing in books from our personal libraries out to the studio shelves. Some are for reference, filled with font specimens, old style illustrations or swatches of color—other nooks contain the nerdy stuff: manuals for software or tomes on screen printing. But a few shelves are reserved for pure inspiration, where we keep our favorite authors that have helped shape the way we think.

One such person is Gordon MacKenzie. He worked for Hallmark greeting cards for 30 years and his role was simply to “create.” His path was not without challenge though, for when you work within a large company it’s easy to get wrapped up in all the layers of bureaucracy and whatnot. Gordon called this unintentional mess “The Giant Hairball” and it was in short, an “entangled pattern of behavior.”

After his tenure at the greeting card company he collected his thoughts on keeping creative and nourishing ideas into the book Orbiting the Giant Hairball. We love every bit of it. Gordon articulates his points in short chapters, generous with illustration (and whitespace!). My favorite story is called “What You See is What You Don’t Get” and it’s about the time it takes to create. I’ve included the gist below:

So when you’re pushed to create, take time to nourish the process. Step away from the output and feed yourself fresh air or a good snack. Slip away for a nap. Have lunch with someone you dig. It’s all a part of grazing in that field.

Now Wendy has another favorite, and this particular chapter fits neatly on a single spread. It reads “Orville Wright did not have a pilot’s license.”

Now you may have heard this phrase before, but this is where we were introduced to it, so it stuck. We use these words in the studio when the unknown gets overwhelming.

Another treat is the table of contents:

In 2007 Fast Company interviewed Gordon and asked, “What is the biggest obstacle to creativity?” He replied, “Attachment to outcome. As soon as you become attached to a specific outcome, you feel compelled to control and manipulate what you’re doing. And in the process you shut yourself off to other possibilities.”

Good stuff.

Gordon is no longer on this planet, but we’re glad to have a bit of his spirit orbiting our studio.