Creative Problem Solving

So I just spent the last three days holed up in a Creative Problem Solving training course. And you know what? I LOVED IT.

It was a requirement for a job that I am applying for, and the three days flew by. I learned so much about how to think creatively, linguistic devices, and things that I do day-to-day that are not conducive to creative thinking.

For example: Questions are just hidden ideas or thoughts. There's no reason to ask them. And this creates poor communication. I know! Crazy. I'm not even explaining it right - if a speaker asks a question, all the person who hears it wants to know is "why do you ask?". Try it.


What I learned about myself is that I also like facilitation. I previously didn't care for giving presentations - but this was different. I was engaging a group of people, interacting with them and we came out with some great stuff.

When I first started, I thought that I'd have a bit of an edge going to art school and everything. NAY. Because there we are CONSTANTLY trained to critique and to criticize - which is not helpful when thinking creatively. You think of the most bizarre, outlandish wishes, and instead of thinking of why it won't work, they encouraged you use the linguistic device "how to..." in regards to overcome it. So if you are dealing with an abstract idea, you can delve into the concept behind it and then discover ways to make it real. All businesses should look into this!!

I know I'm not making any sense. Thanks for reading, though. It really was an amazing experience.

What’s in a name?

Ash Tree Creations -

So I came up with this name about a year ago, and it was after much much much thought and consideration. I wanted a name that would be me - so what better way to do this than to take the literal meaning of my name, "Ashley", which means "From the Ash Tree Meadow"?

I still love the name. My work is still earthy and rustic, focusing on the natural beauty of stones, shells, sea glass, etc. I also deal with a lot of symbolism in my jewelry pieces, especially the embroidered jewelry. So Ash Tree -It's simple, grounding, and completely me.

However, now being in business for a year and looking back, the "Creations" sounds too cutesy and like I make cute little things for cute little fairs. Irritating. So I wanted to switch recently to "Design", but I think that's like a graphic design company somewhere or something. So I'm not sure - maybe I should just stick to what inspired me originally, which was "From the Ash Tree Meadow".

I think I like it.