We’re thrilled to welcome the incredible Joe Loman, a true renaissance man, to our Brewside Chat. Joe’s unique vision and hands-on experience with Makers Spaces and fostering innovation ecosystems are not to be missed. He’ll share his insights on Napkins to Prototype, an approach that takes raw ideas from brainstorming sessions to tangible startups in the ecosystem.
As a key figure in the Greenville entrepreneurial scene, Joe has been pivotal in shaping our idea community. His work with TEDxGVL and his founding of SynergyMill, a creative haven for innovators, tinkerers, and budding entrepreneurs, have made him a local champion of collaborative spaces. Now, in partnership with Beer and Napkins, Joe is pushing boundaries, taking ideas from the “third places” (pubs, cafes, community spaces) and transforming them into prototypes. Through this Napkins to Prototype initiative, he’s lighting the path from casual conversation to startup creation.
Get ready to dive into Joe’s journey of building connections and empowering creativity across the Upstate! Whether you’re an entrepreneur, creative, or simply curious, this is a chance to connect, learn, and be inspired.
About the Idea Forger Community We are part of the Beer and Napkins Communities of Growth, where we unite people from all walks of life to generate, nurture, and share groundbreaking ideas. Our Meetups provide a collaborative space for brainstorming and grassroots innovation, from early-stage concepts to cutting-edge technologies. Plus, we offer access to a supportive network of creatives, thinkers, and entrepreneurs.
Don’t miss this opportunity to spark your next big idea! Join us at Fireforge Crafted Beer for an inspiring night of conversation, connection, and creativity. We can’t wait to see you there!
Welcome to the Idea Forger Community! We are a part of the Beer and Napkins Communities of Growth. We aim to bring together individuals from diverse backgrounds to generate innovative and exceptional ideas that benefit everyone. Whether it’s a startup concept or an application of new technologies, our Meetups encourage informal brainstorming sessions and support grassroots innovation. Additionally, we provide access to a network of talented individuals and the startup ecosystem.
We invite you to join our Monthly Meetup at Fireforge Crafted Beer. This event is a fantastic opportunity to connect with like-minded creatives and engage in supportive conversations to help you thrive and grow as an innovator.
DESPINA joined us from her sister Antonia’s Chicago kitchen on February 21. She advocated shucking the rules so that we can all RE- learn to play with our food. She believes that, beyond feeding our hunger, a kitchen is also a place where different challenges give us opportunities to express our creativity. “The kitchen is where I support my friends,” she said. “It’s where I show my stepchildren that I love them and where I honor my family’s cultural traditions. Yes, my creative space is my kitchen!”
This took place a few years ago. My husband, Dewey, and I are preparing dinner for our granddaughters. The oldest, Corley, is about 7 or 8. We have soup ready to go, and we’re getting everything ready for grilled cheese sandwiches. Counting out the bread slices, we had just enough plus one slice, but upon close inspection, we realized that three of our slices had big holes in them. GASP! Just a gas bubble that had built up during the proofing and baking of the bread, but how to make grilled cheese sandwiches with a big hole in the bread? The cheese would melt and ooze out!
Dewey and I were ready for one of us to run to the store for more bread. After a full day at work, dinner should be easy. We were programmed for fun and relaxation, not problem-solving.
Enter Corley. She was still young enough to be truly open-minded. She is still young enough to apply skills learned in one area of her young life to another. “Why don’t you just tear up the extra slice to fill in the holes,” she said, “just like we do with Play-Doh.”
How Playing with Food Inspires Creativity
At a very early age, we are encouraged to play with our food in our high chairs! Studies indicate that playing with food encourages sensory development. As we begin to use a fork and spoon, the expectations change. We must now learn new rules. Don’t put your fingers in the food. Eat with your spoon. Wipe your mouth. Don’t play with your food.
Rules. Restrictions. Lots of don’ts. This stuff kills creativity!
The workplace can kill creativity too. Yes, even in a restaurant kitchen. Especially in a restaurant kitchen! In a professional kitchen, we have to produce the menu items consistently. There’s no room for “how about this” or “what if we tried it this way.” The customer wants the same dish, prepared the same way, garnished the same way, and with the same flavor! It’s a very stressful setting, and unless you’re working for a high-end restaurant with lots of kitchen staff, keeping things the same is critical. The only person who is allowed any creative growth is the chef.
That was me 29 years ago. I made it for one year and a few days. I’m happy not to have that kind of stress anymore! It beat the creativity out of me. It can happen in any work setting.
Once I had recovered, I realized I was happier sharing recipes than banking and cooking them. I started a food blog–a creative outlet I have maintained since 2006. I started out slowly, and increased to bi-monthly and monthly posts. Later I managed to post every other week. Now I try (I do have other demands) TRY to post weekly with time off for holidays. Currently, there are over 61,000 views of my blog.
Today, I play with food all the time!
HOW CAN I PLAY WITH MY FOOD?
Remove the phrases I don’t know and I can’t.
Forget the fear. Let it go. It’s like doing a crossword with a pen! Move forward boldly. What can go wrong? Really?
Plan ahead. Measure everything and group the ingredients that will be combined. Typically things like dry ingredients are mixed, sugar and butter are combined first for a cake, oil and onions/peppers/garlic (aromatics), and so on.
You don’t need a recipe. SO true, but people are afraid of this more than anything else. You know that you can make a salad without a recipe, right? Of course. Well, it’s the same concept as cookery. You must know a few basic things: Heat the pan first before adding oil, dry meat, fish, or shrimp with a paper towel before adding to a hot pan. (Cold pan or moist protein will cause sticking like the devil!) Add herbs at the end for a fresh flavor pop; dry herbs and spices at the beginning. You almost always begin with onions. Don’t add the garlic until the onions are almost done. (Garlic can burn and turn bitter, so don’t give it too much time in a hot pan before adding liquids.) After browning the meat, you can deglaze the pan by adding any of the following: wine, stock, broth, tomatoes with juice, and onions.
A recipe can be good (it’s a formula for success), BUT you don’t always need one. If you’re baking a cake, you need a recipe. It’s crucial. Surprisingly, if you have the essential knowledge (ratio of baking powder to flour, number of eggs and sugar in a typical recipe), then you can create your OWN recipe from that. You decide on flavors. You decide if it will be a layered cake or if you’ll cut it into squares, pour chocolate over each square and serve it on individual plates with whipped cream and toasted almonds. Adding salt and pepper to the pot is the same as adding them to your plate. You add what seems appropriate, taste, and adjust. It’s as easy as that.
Your imagination and experience in tasting food combinations all of your life have prepared you for creativity in the kitchen.
HAVE YOU NOTICED?
Many creative people have their finger in several projects:
TONY BENNET: Singer & artist. He built a new following by collaborating with younger singers like Lady Gaga.
JACQUES PEPIN: Chef, cookbook author, artist. Jacques sees beyond the kitchen to the front of his restaurants. Every menu is hand-drawn by Jacques, as are many illustrations in his books.
I believe that we learn in one creative endeavor we can apply to another. Creative problem-solving in the kitchen prepares us for the office, for backpacking on a remote trail, for planning a big event–for just about anything.
REMEMBER:
Forget the Fear
Plan Ahead
You don’t need a Recipe
A Recipe Can be Good (it’s a formula for success), BUT you can create your OWN.
FOLLOW UP READING
Babette’s Feast by Isak Dinesen (one of the stories in her book Seven Gothic Tales)
Also, a movie. In Danish with subtitles. Available on Amazon Prime Video.
The Creative Act: A Way of Being by Rick Rubin I recommend the audio version, which is like being led in meditation. A very Zen-like experience. I’m listening to it currently, just letting wash over me for now.
Experiencing collective in-person events has always been the catalyst of the Beer and Napkins Community. One of our last live events was in January 2020, presciently titled The VUCA Sessions: Navigating and Embracing Chaos; little did we know of the things we were to experience in the last few years. Of course, we pivoted and adapted to technology like many other communities. Our intimate VUCA group discussions help us thrive amidst such an isolating dynamic. This adaption and evolution of the use of emerging approaches to enhance our experiences will be ongoing. However, the spirit of camaraderie, the clinking of mugs, the tactile exercise of scribbling on a napkin will not be forgotten and permeates everything we do. AI is an exciting metaphor for using technology to support the creative spirit. Artificial Intelligence will continue to infuse in all we do. For example, a friend of mine, Dave Gray, introduced me to MidJourney AI, where AI-generated art is produced with descriptive words and phrases. As an artist, we can either adopt or reject creatively. I have adopted and used this to support my artistic endeavors (See AI art produced with sketching in pubs as some keywords). The same thought can be applied to Beer and Napkins, using technology to enhance the community experience. We are excited about the possibilities.
As we move onward, the Beer and Napkins community will continue to brew ideas for the Future, virtually or in person. We will leverage our third places, technology, and talent network to support idea development within our community and beyond.
I was going to write about the reboot of Beer and Napkins but I feel it is more important to address the zeitgeist that has zombified all of us into snap judgments and digitally driven antagonism.
From emerging technology changes to hyper-connected politically driven blah-blahs, we are living in harsher times. Hack journalists are spreading fake news and pushy marketers are overly sensationalizing their products for the sake of social metrics. This ubiquitous platform push of information is causing us to be over stimulated, intensely connected to events and situations. Paradoxically, we are unconnected emotionally to each other more than ever. We lash out in anger, quickly without checking our emotions, but then it is too late. How do we address this Molotov cocktail that’s fueling an acrimonious wedge in our society? Continue reading →
