Where do creative ideas come from?

Last March in the Dominican Republic, I watched a craftsman build a palapa or tiki hut from wood and palms. I recorded the process in pictures and have wanted to share it ever since. But how is the construction of a tropical palapa relevant to a Toronto audience? Especially a wintry Toronto audience. That was my stumbling block.

Till now. The other day, on Inhabitat.com, I read this story about how volunteers turned 7,000 plastic pop bottles into a shingled roof. Guess what? It looks just like my palapa.

That’s the soul of creativity: making a new connection between two previously unconnected ideas.

So think about it. Where can you see new relationships between things? What 1 + 1 can you put together to invent something new? Get out your pop bottles.


  1. But that is how I build my blog posts. Some pictures, some links, a few ideas. Tumble them around at the back of my mind. Then a blog post unscrolls as the end of the tangle works free.

  2. Great slide show! I get the seed of lots of ideas from reading blogs like yours. Creativity is mysterious, but I have found this – the more ideas you have, the more ideas you will have.

  3. It's quite a feat those palm roofs! I don't think I'd have the patience. But I could most definitely spend a day playing with the palms anyways. Right about now would be good 🙂


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