August 31, 2019
WHY WE BELIEVE IN COMMUNITY OVER COMPETITION
Every creative business wants to stand out. They want to be different and original- innovators of something brand new.
Granted, this has been us. We’ve prided ourselves in being unique and genuine- surprising the world every time with something they’ve never seen before.
But we’re learning, slowly and surely, that creativity doesn’t come from nothing.
Every creation and every idea has a myriad of influences and inspirations behind it- most of which we rarely even recognize.
We love the Parative Project’s Mission
Also, always mezmerized with Alabaster Co.
My creativity comes from my childhood: from a mom who let me paste magazine pictures in collages on my bedroom walls and a Dad who raised ostriches just because he could.
My creativity comes from my travels: Chris and I have discovered that traveling inspires us greatly. When we first visited California in 2013, we were in awe. Coming from Lancaster cornfields to rugged California coast lines was hugely inspiring for us. We now make a yearly trek to California to be with our family and spend some time gathering inspiration.
My creativity comes from the social media world: I heard someone say once “If you are at the top, you better be helping those underneath you get there too…” I’ve pondered that long and hard since… It’s not that I feel we are at the top… But how can I pull those under me up as those above me are pulling me up…
A year or two ago, Chris Loves Julia, an incredible couple that renovates and designs homes, tagged us in a post labeled “Top 10 Instagram Accounts to follow that have under 10k Followers” We didn’t know about them at the time, but found out about them that day and have been inspired by them ever since. We got so many followers from that post and it truly helped launch us to where we are now.
My creativity comes from our team: I’ll get texts from the team saying “yooo, let’s do this” or “What about this!” They are in the daily grind of what we do, so they see things I don’t see and wouldn’t think of…
And then there’s Becca. She’s been working with us *almost* from the beginning and has become quite a star. She runs with the projects and is gifted with such a creative mind. I love passing projects onto her and seeing what she dreams up…
Meraki Pottery doing creative very creatively
No one can create something out of nothing. No one, except God of course. Shucks, He was the creator of creativity itself. And we create because He did.
We’ve been evaluating so many pieces of our business, recognizing afresh the necessity of those that inspire us. The creative community has become all too focused on beating each other, without realizing that we couldn’t breathe without each other. We need other creative minds and other unique ideas to press us forward. So we have a vision– to turn competition into community:
Where we thank each other rather than disregard each other.
Where we encourage each other rather than try to beat each other.
Where we inspire each other rather than steal from each other.
Where we appreciate each other rather than degrade each other.
“The creative community has become all too focused on beating each other, without realizing that we couldn’t breathe without each other.”
Thankful for Sheri Kate Designs & their inspiring messages
Ayn Rand once said, “The creative man is motivated by the desire to achieve, not the desire to beat others.” And honestly, our creativity and our business and everything behind The Chris & Claude Co. is meant to build a community of creativity, not tear it down. I mean, we’ve all heard it said, “a rising tide lifts all boats.”
So, in our small way, we want to lift up those around us.
For that reason, we are partnering with some of our favorite small, local-ish companies (pictured in this post) to make their products more accessible to you and you as an audience more accessible to them.
Head to our collection of discount codes curated for you, our beloved audience.
And once you grab that discount code, check out the products each of these small businesses provide. We’re proud to get behind them 100%. And we’re so grateful for the part they each play in the homes we create.
“How am I lifting up those around me?”
Standing ovation for the smashing job The Fibery is doing with their decor.
And last but not least, say hello to Brit & Co.
Guys, lets continue to lift up those around us, rather than view them as our creative competition. Lets build community by asking ourselves, “how am I lifting up those around me?”
Because, in the end, where would all the creative ventures and businesses and artists be without the community behind them?
much love,
Claude
