It was Friday afternoon about 4pm. A man in his thirties walked in and instead of looking around, walked up to me and asked, “Do you sell pirates?”

“No, no I do not. I sell no charms.”

He stood there. I felt compelled to ask as a nice female, “What kind of pirates did you want?” I was thinking what size, shape, color.

“I don’t know.”

In talking to him, I found out that he was not creative. He did not know how to make anything, nor how he wanted to make his pirates. He was not currently making anything. He had never worked with any artistic mediums such as wood, clay, silver, plastic, or even paper mache. What he did know was this, “I am going to make a lot of money selling pirates.”

“Well, what are you going to make them out of?”

“I don’t know. What do you suggest?”

We had a discussion about clays, silver and plaster mold making. It was more me informing him and he looking like he was listening. I am not sure that he was listening but I am sure that he could hear money falling in the background. He could see dollar signs as we talked. I had started to tell him that it is not so easy to make money unless you have economy of scale in production but I did not waste my time. He did not yet make anything himself. If he wanted to get rich selling pirates, he could figure things out for himself.

In three years of selling other people’s art on consignment, I have never met a woman with such a focus on the dollar. This man was sure he could get rich making things and that is why he wanted to make things. Most of the women I meet like to make things and then wind up donating them or giving them away.

“What would you make pirates out of?”

“I don’t know. I have no idea because I have no interest in pirates.”

“What’s that got to do with it.” It was a statement, not a question.

“Well, I am interested in making other things, and of them, pirates are no where on the list.”

“Like what?”

“Well, 3 D butterflies in silver clay.”

“How are you going to make money off of them?”

Creatively, I want to make them. The problem of how has been working in my mind for a while. My first one was a disaster as I tried the silver clay paper- which has none of the useful qualities I associated with paper. The creative process evolves down a creative (and not so creative) spectrum. Our interest fuels motivation to work and try things (create), aided by creative problem solving which helps us innovate, as long as it is our creative desire to accomplish something.

“You should make pirates.”

Now I was starting to get annoyed. He was not listening. He had stopped thinking about making anything himself so he had no more questions. “I do not have any interest in making a pirate or pirates.”

“So.”

He kept talking. He had heard what I said, decided it sounded like a lot of work that he was not willing to do and wa-la!! He was going to get me to make pirates for him. I assume he was developing a plan where he could make money off of me! That is how he would get rich. I wondered how much I would make in that scenario in his head. Apparently, fools think no one else is as smart as them.

He has no talent, no drive and not enough motivation to even make a prototype but he was sure that he could get rich. I marveled at his thinking. Why don’t more women think like that? I know more women with better ideas, better work ethic and talent.