How many times have you had a great idea escape your mind before you got the chance to write it down? In my life, this has happened many times and always causes much frustration. I mean, I've probably had several, potentially human race-altering ideas disappear due to distractions, driving while brainstorming, or just old fashioned forgetfulness. Granted, capturing these spur-of-the-moment epiphanies has become easier in the digital age, with countless note-taking, voice recording and calendar reminder apps available for your omnipresent phone, computer &/or tablet, but in the heat of the idea-generating moment, there's really no substitute for the good old pen to paper way of recording. Especially in a workplace like ours. Enter: writing on the table. We initially covered the large table upstairs that we use as a communal desk, meeting area, and storage surface with paper for an event a few weeks ago, and as you can see below,the paper – albeit refreshed – remains.
So fresh & so clean, clean.
After the party and before we'd gotten a chance to clear the table, I had one of my first weekly Monday meetings with Betsy & Will in which we discussed all the components of betsy & iya that I would need to understand as I acclimated to my job: our jewelry, our shop, our current and potential consumer base, etc. During this time, Will enthusiastically jotted down notes and drew charts to accompany his points. Had he already picked up on the fact that I'm a visual learner, or was he on to something with this whole "write it out" approach? Probably a bit of both.
Notes surround Will as he fills in the Voyage collection color palate.The notes stayed on the table after the meeting and well into the next week, and before I knew it, they were surrounded by a similar script. To-do lists, shopping lists, "OMG I can't forget this image ratio" lists and of course, the occasional doodle, turned our paper covered table into a veritable idea canvas. At least while seated nearby, my worries about remembering this blog post idea or that product detail dissipated. A giant notebook at my fingertips- brilliant! 
Lists, doodles, arrows pointing at a square.
There's a good possibility you've seen our table tablet in action and didn't even know it; I've taken full advantage of the surface as a fun way to showcase new merch for social media photo ops. 
It might not be around forever, nor is it the most permanent way of jotting down ideas, but putting pen to paper on the table top has become one of my favorite things at work. It's the daytime equivalent of having a notepad near your bed for those middle of the night "eureka!" moments. Good ideas (and we have a lot of them flying around here) are always worth writing down. And it is comforting to know that at least during the hours from 9am-6pm the "wait, wait, hold that thought!" exclamations are kept to a minimum. xo Anna
***Song of the Moment: Roar by Katy Perry***