In most things we do, we often notice something that could be "better". We hit simple challenges, find a way around them - or not - and move on. Sometimes we hit that same challenge many times and get frustrated enough to think about how we might solve the problem more seriously. Sometimes we hit larger challenges - might even call them roadblocks - and absolutely need a solution to move on. When these things happen in important areas of our life - when they get in the way of seeing family, or doing our work, or impact health - we seek solutions immediately. When these challenges impact just a hobby or fun activity, they can be more easily ignored - and it might take a while before we think about how we might solve it... but when we do, it can be fun, rewarding and inspiring to take on larger solutions.
I've realized that I relish that second type of "problem" - the ones which don't impact the course of our life, but just get in the way of a fun activity or hobby. I enjoy inventing simple solutions to simple problems. Maybe that's just to make up for all the REAL problems that we encounter in life and work ;)
I'd even go so far as to say that I take on new hobbies looking for these problems - so that I can come up with solutions that make things better...
My newest old hobby (it's really a very old hobby that I picked back up again in the past 6 months) is electronic music composition. I love the electronic gadgets and making new sounds and beats and songs. One common problem that I've encountered is finding just the right stand for the gadgets I use. I seem to always want my devices raised up a bit and angled toward me a bit. So - I got to work inventing a few.
These Home Music Studio Stands worked so well for me, I thought I should offer them to other people too! And people really like them!
So far, I've made a stand for specific devices...
like the Ableton Push,
and Pocket Operators,
and the Akai MPK 225 and other smaller midi keyboard controllers.
These are all made using Adobe Illustrator in the design phase and the Glowforge Laser cutter. Above is just a sample of some pictures of these "solutions" - these products - and I'll soon try to post more in-depth views of how I design and make them.