My education and interests have led me to design and sell handbags and accessories. I love the process that leads me from a source of inspiration to a finished product. It's immensely satisfying to see customers purchasing, wearing and using products I've designed.

I don't think I could have made this happen without my art school education. I've always been verbal about my opinions but I didn't have the same confidence about my creative work. Art school gave me the tools to use my skills as a designer and share my creative vision.

I believe there's a pervasive misconception about art school-- art students pursue flights of fancy and earn a degree that's not worth its weight in feathers. I wholeheartedly disagree.

In a traditional liberal arts college, students are graded on work that's seen only by the professor. Grades are a taboo subject. Unless there's a presentation, students are unlikely to engage with the work of their peers.

Art school students have to defend their creative decisions to a classroom of inquisitors. They present their work every day. Good luck to the liberal arts student that's subjected to a daily peer review!

My art degree is in industrial design from Rhode Island School of Design. I know not all art schools are alike, but I can attest to having had talented, inquisitive classmates that continually produced innovative work.

Innate ability does not guarantee great art and design work. An education in art school begins with a foundation year in drawing, color, proportion and form. Students are then expected to challenge what they've learned and invent new solutions to creative problems.

Creating art involves a process of decision-making that takes a concept through to a completed product. Outside of the design community the design process has been undervalued or unknown.

The business world has recently begun to embrace creative thinking. Business Week magazine has been following a trend called 'design thinking' in the corporate world. The article "How to Nurture Future Leaders" cited the inclusion of design thinking in business schools and in companies like Harley Davidson, Proctor+Gamble, Samsung and Steelcase.

While it's great that businesses are looking to incorporate design thinking, I believe there are too few individuals that are exposed to the creative thought process. It would be short-sighted to only consider design thinking relative to development, marketing and business decision making. Using a systematic creative process can solve problems at work, at home...compartmentalizing creative thinking seems counterintuitive.

I find immense pleasure in sharing my creative skills with others. My experience enables me to help people engage their creativity and incorporate creative problem solving tools. Whether your work is overtly creative or not, you can use creative problem solving tools to broaden and inform your approach to making decisions. The creative design process is a linear system of problem solving that applies to the human thought process.

I'm available as a consultant or guest speaker to engage you and your colleagues with the power of critical creative thinking.