Seeing yourself as a creative person will make you appreciate the importance of brainstorming. It builds a solid foundation for creative thinking. We all brainstorm from time to time in life and jewelry making. It’s simply the process of generating multiple ideas or possibilities in the hope of finding something usable.

For example, one day while preparing the final strand of a multi-strand bracelet, I ran out of medium beading wire. The beads were medium-sized but relatively heavy. I brainstormed several possibilities: I could run to the store, call a friend, make the bracelet two strands instead of three, use lighter wire and double it, use fishing line to string the beads, or even take it all apart and use memory wire. Eventually, I decided to string small beads on lighter wire for the middle strand. Brainstorming helped me find a solution.

In art, including jewelry making, brainstorming is not just about solving problems but also about developing new ideas. Here are some important rules for brainstorming:

• Generate lots of ideas: Don’t settle for the first couple of ideas, as they are often the most common. Keep thinking to push past the obvious.
• No criticism allowed: Record every idea, no matter how strange it seems. Avoid judgment to keep creativity flowing.
• Hitchhiking is okay: Build on an existing idea by modifying it to create something new.
• Wild ideas are welcome: Don’t shy away from crazy ideas; they often lead to innovation.

By following these guidelines, I came up with new ways to create headpins, which allowed me to design more original and functional jewelry pieces.