After a seven year hiatus, the Portland Creative Conference was back to business as usual this past Saturday, Sept. 6. Jen Scott and I decided to attend this event and I think I can safely say that we both had a great time, and were inspired by a few of the conference's exciting speakers.

While there were certainly highlights, including an extended pre-screening of LAIKA's upcoming big-screen film "Coraline" (which I will be seeing opening night), the creative process behind CROW Clothing's founder damali ayo (whose compostable hoodie I will soon be buying--on a sliding scale, nonetheless!) and getting to hear about one writer's entry into the world of comics at my old, awesome place of employment, Dark Horse Comics. These were all truly inspiring speeches.

But I think probably the most creative for me was Michael Curry of Michael Curry Design. If you are not familiar with his work, check it out. I wasn't until Saturday, but I am seriously in shock and awe that such an amazing workshop exists right in our own Oregon backyard. These aren't your ordinary puppets! What I really took away from Michael's speech was one thing he said he does in his creative process: he makes himself clear away all the clutter and go with his gut thoughts. By giving himself this opportunity to have a "first look" at the project, he usually comes up with more creative ideas then if he sees what other people have already done before him.

I think this is something that we as creators need to not be afraid of in marketing and public relations. Don't worry about what campaigns came before--take a fresh look at what is in front of you, more than likely it's a better idea (or at least starting point) then you may think. If it happens to come close to what someone else has already thought of, well, as Michael said, that sometimes happen, but you'll know that it came from a place of originality.

-Christina Stewart