my favorite ways to organize creative work

creating a launching pad for your dream project

It has taken years to develop a workflow in my studio. Some folks think I have a photographer or get help from the brands I work with to make videos and marketing materials. 99% of the time it’s just me in this room with a DSLR, a camera remote, and the sun. Overhead tutorials, flat lays, Reels, YouTube videos happen in this one room. I got these shelves from Ikea. The large one holds the finished products I sell at pop ups, a hand building pottery station, and shipping materials. The most functional organizational tool has been hanging my most used knitting needles off a cute brass keychain to keep them always within reach.

“Research is a ceremony to get closer to the mystery, not a strategy towards mastery.”- Olivia M. Ross, Neema Githere Siphone’s Guerrilla Theory Manifesto

First drafts of whole chapters in iNotes, section titles scribbled within notepads, personality traits to inform the character of your protagonist outlined in a personal journal. We preface our offerings on Instagram with TL;DR and call it content. Copy and paste those captions baby! Add them to the manuscript! Some people do want to read what you have to say.

Before launching this newsletter, I gathered writing from all the random places my ideas land into a Google Doc called Newsletter Manuscript. There are over 22,000 words. You can create a similar launching pad for any artifact calling on your spirit. Here’s what I did to get started:

iNotes

The iNote app is my largest basket where I drop everything from original prose, poetry, recipes, web links, photos, quotes, book recommendations, how-to videos, screenshots¹, definitions, contacts, pattern instructions etc. I began by identifying some common themes showing up in the app to organize 4,000+ entries.

This is a screen recording of my iNotes system —

My largest folder turned out to be Knitting is a Love Language with the following subfolders:

1. MANIFESTO

2. NEWSLETTER

   1. Care Guide

   2. Hermit Thymes

3. RESIDENCY

   1. Storytelling

   2. Community

   3. Space

4. BOOK

   1. Patterns

   2. Proses

   3. Poems

   4. Practices

   5. Photography

   6. Prompts

   7. Partnerships

   8. Printing

For years, I felt unorganized because I refused to embrace the systems I was already using with the technology available to me. I would try to replicate other people’s workflows and implement their suggestions frustrated when every new innovation promising efficiency left me feeling frustrated with new applications to learn and new processes to create. This iNotes filing system actually works for me. I can drop new entries into the appropriate folder and reorder them with one finger.

It’s a massive project to file thousands of entries all at once and I realized that wasn’t necessary. Just skim to find info relevant to your project. You will get distracted at some point and that’s okay. During short idle moments like waiting for the train, I delete old notes and file.

I love how iNotes syncs automatically across devices. Some of the notes are ending up in places like my book manuscript, photography shot list, and Notion workspace. Notion wasn’t helpful for streamlining my writing process, but it turned out to be perfect for project managing my design work.

Notion

I talk about why paying for this subscription felt in alignment in the essay author as gardener. I have since added yardage counts, yarn weight, gauge, and fiber content to each project so I know exactly what I need to buy when shopping for materials. Last weekend I took a few trains to Philly² to source materials from Black women who dye and spin fiber. I referenced this database multiple times while in shop.

Original prose + quotes from The Science of Community Building with Ravon Ruffin of Citation Studio and Sloan Leo of FLOX Studio + Soil: The Story of a Black Mother’s Garden

Analog

This notebook says SKETCH BOOK on the cover. I keep the pages blank and write each idea, train of thought, quote etc. on its own post it. This system works for a few reasons:

1. I am allergic to dust mite so I don’t get to collect too much paper. I have a small collection of books I love, read, or reference often and others borrowed or on loan. Once I transfer whatever is on the post it to a digital place, I recycle it or post it on the wall.

2. When I cross things out in my notebooks, I end up ripping those pages out and starting over. It’s so neurotic. I feel less precious about the post its.

3. This method allows me to see connections between ideas and bring them together to feed a chapter. In the photo above I wove notes taken in different seasons to explore knitted garments as a form of community memory recording the passing of time — servers. A concept informed and supported by Black queer and trans community builders.

Your systems don’t have to look perfect or make sense to anyone else. Once you embrace your methods, they can be taught to an assistant (I need one dear god and so it is soon come soon come) and streamlined to open up more play. Someone else’s systems may discourage and overwhelm you. Outlining works for some and not for others. My 10 word chapter outline was sitting idle in Google Docs until I turned each word into a “property” in Notion to organize my pattern designs by chapter. What is useless today may level up your life next year. Some authors write their books from beginning to end without editing the first draft at all or begin with the ending and work backwards from there.

Do what works for you.

Question: Are there apps or systems that have helped you organize or streamline your workflow? Please do reply to this email or comment below? I’d love to know xo b.

1. Pro-tip for saving space and reducing duplication for iPhone users — when taking screenshots, I first crop them down to include only what I want and then tap the share icon at the top right corner to save it to the appropriate folder in iNotes. This will take you back to the screenshot, where I tap the trash icon. Otherwise, screenshots automatically save to iPhoto and becomes another place to sort. Here’s a screen share for my visual learners

2. I rose at 5am to visit Keira Wiggins at her pop up at Wild Hand and to meet Melanie of Modern Transitions. A vibe. Tender moments. I cried. Black people running and owning space. Line out the door. Gorgeous yarn snatched up with the quickness.