From Altona Beach to the Baltic Coast: An Idea Takes Shape

Have you ever had an idea waiting to take shape, but somehow it kept getting stuck?

That has been my experience for the past week. The idea has been circling around in my mind, but constantly sitting just slightly out of reach.

Today was beautifully warm and sunny, so I took myself to a place that is becoming more and more one of my happy places.

Altona Beach . . . 🌊☀️

I had arranged a coffee catch-up to chat about ideas for an upcoming GABWA (German Australian Business Women’s Alliance)informal event in a couple of weeks. Having arrived at Altona Beach earlier than planned, I sat on the sand, soaking up the warmth of the sun and watching the gentle movement of the water as the tide began to roll back in.

And just like that, while watching the water, I had my first AHA moment. 💡

I have been working on a new resource, but I could not get my head around the format.

A bookmark? I liked the idea of it being small, but there would be too much text. It would need to be reduced to ant-sized writing to make it fit. A DL-sized card? No, that felt too large and cumbersome to carry around. Then, as I sat enjoying the view, the answer suddenly arrived.

What about a postcard? The postcards I created last year for Fuddle on the Rhine were well received, so why not create this resource as a postcard too?

Then came my second AHA moment . . . What if I used one of my photographs of a Strandkorb for the front?

I had been wanting to use photographs I took at Timmendorfer Strand in Germany in September 2023, but I had never quite found the right project for them. Timmendorfer Strand is a delightful coastal town on Germany’s Baltic coast, near Lübeck, which I visited as a day trip during my first stay in Hamburg.

Sitting at Altona Beach today, with its early connections to Hamburg, and suddenly thinking about Strandkörbe seemed to make so much sense, especially as I want to share this resource with women living in Australia who have a connection with Germany. I do love those quintessentially German beach chairs and would love one in my backyard to relax in!

After our coffee catch-up, feeling excited about my idea, I headed back to the beach. I jotted down some more notes and read a little more of Susie Wolff’s story in Driven.

Sometimes, getting unstuck does not come from concentrating harder or trying to force an idea into shape. Sometimes, we need to step away, recharge our batteries and give the idea some space to find us.

Today, mine found me beside the water.

Where do your best ideas tend to find you?