Hello, my friend.

I’ve always been a maker.

Some of my earliest memories of creativity come from watching my family make things with their hands. My Lola Perla beaded wedding dresses. My mom sewed our clothes and knitted our sweaters. My dad built things, including our furniture, while my mom sewed the cushions. We didn’t have a lot, so we learned to be resourceful. My sister and I had hand-me-down Barbie dolls, and we made their clothes from scraps of fabric. Looking back, I think that’s where I first learned that creativity isn’t about having all the right things. It’s about seeing possibility in what’s already there.

My mom bought me my first sewing machine when I was 12. By 16, I had bought my own industrial sewing machine. That early love of making eventually led me to earn a Bachelor of Applied Arts in Fashion Design and Apparel Manufacturing. But my creative path was never a straight one. It took me through fashion and apparel, Hong Kong and China, building a manufacturing business, the medical world, higher education, technology, design, and teaching. For a long time, I thought I had to figure out which one of those things I was supposed to be. Over time, I began to realize that maybe I was asking the wrong question.

One of the biggest clues came while teaching children to sew. I would watch their faces when they realized, I made this. I felt their joy right along with them. That’s when I began to understand that I didn’t just love making things. I loved helping other people discover what they could create, too. Today, that curiosity has led me to explore the connection between creativity, mindfulness, learning, and how our minds and brains work.

And I’m beginning to see creativity differently. Maybe we don’t need to become creative. Maybe that part of us has simply fallen asleep under fear, expectations, responsibilities, and all the noise of life.

We don’t have to become creative. We already are.

My work now is about helping people wake up that part of themselves. To slow down, get curious, experiment, make, play, and listen to their own voice again. I’m still doing that myself.

Maybe that’s the practice.

WholeARTedly, Det