Creativity in a Coffee Shop

Recently I went to a coffee shop for a political candidate meet and greet.  This coffee shop has been around for years but since I am neither a coffee or tea drinker, I never found the need to go.  I even had to look online as to where it actually was. which it turned out not far from my home.

I was intrigued with the art work on the wall, much of it for sale.  The little tables and chairs were individually painted (my favorite chair had jigsaw puzzle fabric on the seat and the back and the legs were colorfully painted to match the fabric). 

I did learn that they also sell Italian sodas which is carbonated water with flavored syrups (and I was promised had only a small amount of sugar in them)  I love Italian sodas but don’t always find them.  They remind me of the Shirley Temple drinks I would get as a kid at family weddings.

When I got home that night and thought about the sodas and artwork, I wondered if that was a place to go to when I just wanted to get out of the house.  I am the type who is more likely to try something new if I find it is good for me (It is similar to when I don’t feel good.  I am more likely to slow down if I am running a fever with my sniffly nose than if I am just sneezing.  It could just be allergies but with a fever, I am sick).

So I looked up the benefits of going to a coffee shop.  What I found was that a visit to a coffee shop can actually increase your creativity particularly if you are doing something while there.  That is why you see a lot of students finishing their term papers there.  It’s not the coffee (although I am sure the caffeine helps a bit) or the people you might be with; it is the noise.

Solitude and quiet are helpful for some things that need concentration like doing those dreaded taxes.  But the noise of a busy coffee shop (or even your TV) is just right for creativity.  On the opposite end of the noise scale having a blender running or a garbage deposal is too loud and too distracting.  It is that sweet spot in between silence and NOISE that helps bring out creativity.

Not all creativity would work in a coffee shop.  As a quilter, I couldn’t set up my cutting board and rotary cutter and sewing machine.  But as a needle felter, I could bring my wool and needle.  It would work great for writers or people who create art on their computer.  Maybe sketching out a plan for a quilt would work great at a coffee shop.  Doing something that does not take a lot of space or make a lot of mess would work.

Even just people watching could inspire a story or an art piece.  Looking at what people wear could give ideas for a sweater, a shirt or a color combination.  Listening to what others at another table are talking about could bring in new ideas.

Sometimes just getting out of the house or the studio helps refresh those brain cells to look at something a little different.  Plus if you get a coffee or an Italian soda or a pastry, you are supporting a local business (and with the pastry a baker who are also artists).

So check out a local coffee shop or meeting place and see what is happening. You might see something new, hear something interesting and increase your creativity.  And, of course, taste something wonderful.  If nothing else, your taste buds will be happy.

©2018 Cheryl Fillion