Creativity is a hot commodity

It’s permeating everything from gifting and wedding registries to personal enrichment and self-reinvention, so that creativity and artistic expression are accessible to everyone, not just reserved for the affluent.

In our last newsletter, we spoke of shifting gears, finding new career paths and roles that better play to strengths or that create more meaningful work. Once seen as frills, career-related self enrichment and ongoing professional development are becoming critical marketing tools for helping consumers and employers remain competitive in today’s unstable world. But this requires inspiration. We’ll see more and more products and services surfacing to meet those needs. One Vancouver café is now doubling as an art studio. Raw Canvas is a creative hybrid: bustling café and full-service art studio that encourages customers to express themselves on canvas. They can drop in at any time and just start painting in the open studio space that’s connected to the eatery. Or why not learn a new language? Hamburg-based Language Lounge combines English lessons with a coffee shop. For a monthly fee, members can drop in for conversation classes. Feeling artsy-craftsy? The Ace Hotel in Palm Springs lets guests dabble in summer camp-style crafts by hosting an “all-inclusive art-making weekend,” with proceeds benefiting Children in the Arts.

Aiming to offer a less dreary alternative to pots, pans and toasters, New York’s nAscent Art has launched a registry service. The service, dubbed ArtWish, gives couples the chance to create a registry from art works showcased by the company. Recently married themselves, co-founders James and Jennifer Wallace wondered why art wasn’t available on their own wedding registry. This formed the inspiration for the service. However, it’s not necessarily limited to couples. With the holiday season on its way, some can be spared the frenzy by an invitation to chip in for a piece of art online. Customers can choose works from over fifty emerging New York artists, with pieces ranging from silk paintings to steel sculptures. Says nAscent co-founder, James Wallace: “We really bring art back from the stratosphere to prices within the reach of ordinary people.