I’m gonna say nothing. This is also known as a fact as you will read case after case; but my creativity comes doing a few things. Walking, driving and in the shower.

There is phenominon about this because the conscious mind eases during these sort of “involuntary” activities where you don’t have to think much to do and the subconscious mind can have the opportunity to jump into play spitting out that idea out of nowhere which we refer to the light bulb suddenly going on over one’s head.

You will find many documented statements of conception of ideas happening during a walk, drive or shower, one not more common than the other.

Einstein, when he got stuck trying to figure an idea he would go to play the piano and all the time jump up and say “I got it” He did this on purpose, it worked for him. He was shutting down or slowing the conscious mind for the subconscious mind’s deep thinking ability to shine through with the answer.

Dreams are another time the subconscious mind spits out answers if you can catch them. Many creative thinkers keep notebooks bedside. I have had great ideas come to me in dreams.

If you do get stuck figuring….try this; drop all and just go for a walk thinking about NOTHING. Your subconscious mind will take over if you do and the light bulb may light up for you.

This is not crazy or horse shit talk. I studied this phenominon in quite depth. Most intriguing

Ron Komorowski
Inventor of Handi-Straps
www.handi-straps.com

I also am a very low tech inventor, so my supplies are simple…
I have a large cutting pad (quilters use them) with a roller cutter. I also have a bunch of little letters with adhesive backing, and an exacto knive. I like to put the name of the invention on my visual prototypes if possible. My sewing machine has been abused so much in the last year, it’s now on it’s last leg. And of course my trusty glue gun, with unlimted sticks of glue.
I’m using alot of Velcro lately too.

My basic tools start with MS Word & Photoshop…
then wherever that my lead me.

All of the above plus a welder, hack saws, jig saw, circular saw, soldering iron, auto CAD software, large pile of scrap metal, wood, plastic. Lots of scrap wire, old broken stereos, VCRs and other electronics to canabalize, sewing machine, etc…..

My inventors toolbox contains:

Electric Sander, Drill Press, Router, Shop Vac, Wood Glue, Paint, Paint Brushes, Spray Paint, Painting Booth (my shed), upholstery stapler gun, air tank, fabric, ribbon, fabric glue, hot glue gun, adhesive letters, embellishments, labels, bubble wrap, custom shipping boxes, packaging tape, and a permanent marker.

My toolbox will produce an Ultimate Hair Accessory Organizer, $35.00 + shipping :)

Joyce Gomez
Inventor of Ultimate Hair Accessory Organizer
www.DesignsByJoyG.com

I use the KISS method. Keep it simple stupid. I carry a small notepad in my back pocket and a pen. Because I kept getting ideas when I didn’t have anything to write them down. I got tired of writng them on my t-shirt so i wouldn’t forget.
I have to agree that I will sometimes get my best ideas when my mind is occupied on another topic.
I also like to wander various stores to see if anything new is out or if something strikes my mind that I had not considered as a topic to go after. the only problem I have found with wandering the stores picking up items and writng down contact info is that store security will become very interested in what you are doing. You would not believe the times I have been followed by them as they watch me to see if I am stealing. I have explained to the managers of stores I frequent what I am doing so they can stop following me.

That is funny Roger! I guess people would start to wonder why you were taking notes in the store.

In one store I had to get the manager to go online and look at my website to show him I was serious. After he saw my toys he asked about carrying them, so that worked out nicely.

I do that too Roger…a little common by serious inventors as the shelves spur creativity as you figure your idea to nestle in between.

My next invention I am betting to change shapes of all writing/scribing/art instuments away from stick-like. Research doctors, artists and handicapped are with me 100%, the rest about 90% approval.

I got this idea from searching Staples shelves for 30 minutes trying to spur ideas. It works!

Ron Komorowski
Inventor of Handi-Straps
www.handi-straps.com

Will,
Your Skate Scepter looks like a load of fun!
What stage of marketing are you on?
Are they now available in stores?

Joy
I just watched your demo of The Ultimate Hair
Accessory Organizer. Great design.
I bet if you made one for babies it would be a
big hit. Example – comb,brush,pacifiers,wet ones,
bows,ribbons,bibs,baby lotion,etc.
Just a thought.

Ron,
I too wake up in the middle of the night with ideas and I grab my pen and pad and write them
down. When I wake up in the morning 5 out of 10
ideas are pretty good. The other five I say to
myself – what was I thinking.
I too use photoshop to make designs for my other
website and all of the above tools that everyone
else uses combined with a lot of vinyl-plexglass-
neoprene which I bought on ebay for one of my
other inventions.
If someone is looking for a good business to go
into on ebay it is selling neoprene. I had to
spend $500. in face masks to get enough neoprene
to make one of my inventions.

Hey Gary,

Yes the skate scepter is a blast. You wana try one?….seriously. I think we live pretty close, I’m in the SF bay area. As for the stage of marketing I need to leave that up to the show to be revealed but the Everyday Edisons have done an excellent job with where they have taken my invention.

No need to ask twice.
I thought I saw one of your videos of you using it on the beach? I take it, it can go on multiple terrains. I wish you the best of luck with it.
If there’s a way to meet up, that would be great.

Ron’s post is excellent, that’s exactly what I do when I reach “inventor’s block”. I do something else. I work on something that doesn’t take too much thought. I built the bicycle on my profile from scratch over the winter. I’m currently learning about sourdough bread baking in order to make a delicious pizza dough through researching live yeast cultures and flour types, etc… It keeps my inquisitive and experimental side satisfied and kind of shuts off thought of any invention. When I go back and dedicate thought to the invention, I’m looking at it after having taken a break from it, so it’s a slightly new or different perspective. It is a definitely refreshing approach. Writers also use walks, and the other aproaches Ron mentioned to deal with writer’s block. It’s a mental creativity thing. You have to move away to get closer, see things clearer/differently. As for tools, all of those mentioned above and a Router. Routers are so cool. They can create such beatiful moldings, and many other things perfectly, but can also be such an ornery and dangerous tool. You have to make templates for them to follow and to keep them from wandering and destroying your work. I know CNC machines address this, but learning to work manually with a router puts hairs on your chest! Roger’s “automatic writing” suggestion is true too. If you can dream it, you better capture it as you think it, because it’ll fade like a dream if you don’t!

I used to do a little stand up comedy as a hobby. It was alot of fun and very similiar to inventing. Like an inventor, as a comedian you look at the world through a different set of eyes.

I used to carry a notebook and pen like Roger, and its a great tool. Something that I found even better was one of those small digital voice recorders. For comedy it was great because you could use your natural voice (which differed from written word) to capture your true voice. A digital recorder also allows you to get it from your mind, to “paper” faster. You can whip off details at the birth of an idea. Plus, you can use it easily while driving and in public (ok, I looked like a secret agent sometimes).

There are nights when I can’t sleep, especially when I’m on call for work. I often get home in the middle of the night and lie in bed for a half hour to an hour. Its a great time to think about stuff.

I like to go through my day and try to think of any problems that I encountered, or things that I didn’t enjoy doing, or took longer than I’d like to take. I take a mental “walk” through my day, remember as much as I can about the day and see if I can come up with something I can improve upon.

Another tool used for comedy writing is to sit at a table with a blank piece of paper and force yourself to write without stopping for a certain amount of time. Often you sit writing things like “I don’t know what I’m writing”, or “this is stupid”, but sometimes your mind will spit out something useful. Its kind of like opening the flood gates to your unconcious.

Great stuff Raf.

Jason

Very stimulating thread.
One thing I enjoy about inventing is having that “a-ha” moment, and having the tools (mental or physical)in place to help capture/create and take advantage of that moment, as above, are definitely tools in themselves.

Gary, Yes it can be used on multiple terrains. I just got back form a dirt biking trip in the Sierras and I brought the “Dirt” skate scepter along. Good times. I have used it on the beach(including Pismo in So-Cal and everyone stares as my dad and I go zooming by), up hills, in the Nevada desert / hills, and big parking lots are especially fun. I’m hoping the skate scepter will attract older(than 12-17) people to get back on some type of skate or mountain board.

Sounds awesome. The “Scepter” name couldn’t be a better choice. I look forward to seeing it on the market.

Sketch Book. If I get a great idea, I’ll put it into Sketch-Up for an accurate 3d view. My prototyping toolbox is a full woodworking shop, with additional access to a machine/welding shop at work. I also consider my local hardware stores as sources for both ideas and the tools or parts needed to create them.

I am currently in the process of building a vacuum forming machine. I’ve got this one part that I need real bad…

http://www.halloweenfear.com/vacuumformintro.html

Ok, I just filled a $200 hole in my tooth—first one I’ve had (and I’m forty… well, I’m no spring chicken).

What does this have to do with the topic? The dentist used a UV-cured resin. With 30 seconds of exposure, he made a plastic part hard enough to be a tooth.

Seems to me that kind of technology would be GREAT in a bunch of situations. Anybody know if this kind of epoxy is off-the-shelf for the average consumer?

a camera is a must have … been busted by store security when taking pics of products I am researching … I’m just a little sneakier now

Wood works for alot of things. I usually carve a piece of wood and screw here and glue there.

Bradley,

You got me beat! I was 22 when I had to get my first filling….ARG!. Funny you mentioned the tooth curing epoxy. Last time I looked at my dentist bill that epoxy resin wasn’t cheap. Who knows how much a hand held UV torch would be either. I like your thinking though.

When I’m at the dentist having my teeth cleaned or drilled I make a point to ask if there are any tools the hygienist or dentist wished existed. I’m searching for inventions, things to create to make their jobs easier.

NOW swish and spit…LOL =)

The responses here seem to be addressing two different questions, so I’ll answer both!

1.) What tools do you use for prototyping?

I’m a many-year homeowner so I’ve got a pretty good collection of hand and power tools, but I’m an engineer by training, and for one year I worked as a ‘handyman’, so I’ve gone a bit beyond what the typical homeowner might have. My one ‘splurge’ specifically to help prototyping was a very nice table-top drill press.

2.) How do you get your ideas?

Mostly they come from identifying some problem when I’m working on a home repair/maintenance project, along the lines of “I wish I had a tool that…” or “Why is it so hard to…”

Wow. Great Thread. I didn’t notice it before. My best resources for prototyping are my neighbors’ trash, glue, tape, clay and various sculpting compounds, like silicon rubber and two-part self-curing plastics. With these resource I feel like the Professor on Gilligans Island. No, I can’t make a nuclear reactor out of two coconuts, but I can do a lot.

And before anyone bashes me for garbage picking, consider this. Back in the day, before plug and play, when I was about 24 (17 years ago) I wanted a computer but couldn’t afford one. Found a lot of parts in the garbage and came across some computer parts catalogs. In a few months, I figured out how to build and upgrade computers from garbage. That was lucrative until the cost of computers dropped. But it led to writing articles on how to build your own PC for Popular Electronics. That made me a little money, not much. But where those articles really paid off was as parts of my portfolio. Turns out my resourcefulness and writing skills earned me a position at my present company. That was 14 years ago. So, in essence, I owe my carreer to my insatiable habit of picking parts from the garbage! Wouldn’t have done it any other way.

For years, I have kept what I called “The Box of Creativity” which holds all sorts of found treasures. Initially, it was for random art projects and sewing. So, you can imagine the contents included: papers, markers, paints, erasers, brushes, sewing machine (it’s a big box), fabrics, junk with interesting textures, etc.

Now, I as start to pursue the “lofty trade of inventing” my box of creativity has also started to include:
-variety of black pens
-a full geometry set just like they use in junior high (useful for drawing nice circles, measuring angles, even lettering…)
-colored pencils
-tape, scissors, stapler
-calque paper (allows you to trace)
-lots of blank scrap paper
-several bound inventor journals
-a tape measure
-left over cardboard for prototypes
-and my latest acquisition …a fancy TINKER TOY set!!! Comes in handy!

For me it just depends on what I am inventing. I have used, drawings, software, sewing machine, wire cutters, hammer, and glues to name a few things. (I even used a fan cover to create the large size circle for one of my ideas)

I like putting my ideas down on a small notepad when I am out and about. Ideas come at many different times. I also try and keep a notepad by my bed at night, so if I wake up with and idea,I can jot it down and go back to sleep.