Creativity is both a frame of mind and an act of expression. To be creative, I need to be open to the original in me; then I will be able to use my unique way of knowing the world to put a form to what I see, feel, and intuit. As an artist and a poet, my creativity takes shape in color and line, words and images. I make watercolors, monotypes installations, poems, and stories. In business, my creativity comes out in the form of new products, new systems, new ways of seeing the opportunities to serve customers. 

In 25 years of developing new products for Tom’s of Maine, I have never once known for sure how a new product would take shape. I found things turned out best when I suspended my belief in what could logically be predicted, and became willing to discover a new way. For example, when I was working on the first children’s toothpaste, we were struggling to find a happy medium between good taste and low abrasivity. Our old all-calcium base was too chalky for the fruit flavors we knew children liked, and more abrasive than they needed. But when we tried silica (all other children’s toothpaste used this base), it was too puckery. The solution came from discarding an either/ or approach. I experimented with a hybrid “gel/paste.” It was unique-never before used-both effective and palatable. A creative approach required me to discard what was common knowledge, and try a new way. 

You can find more of Kate’s art at katechappellartspace.com »