What If Taylor Swift, Sabrina Carpenter, or Kendrick Lamar Ran a Jewelry Store?

These notes were originally posted, in a somewhat different form, on David Squires’s LinkedIn account. Follow David on LinkedIn.

HERE’S A CREATIVITY EXERCISE we really like.

First, imagine your store as a radio station. Not your store as it exists right now, but the ideal version — the one you’d love it to be. Would it be Top 40? Golden oldies? Classical? Indie rock? Hair metal? Avant-garde jazz?

Picked your vibe? Good. Let’s go further.

Now think of your store as a single artist. Would you be Beyoncé? Zach Bryan? Taylor Swift? Metallica? Bruce Springsteen? Sabrina Carpenter? Kendrick Lamar? Hayley Williams of Paramore? Someone else?

Selected an artist? Now get specific. Imagine yourself as that artist and, for some reason, through some stroke of fate, you’re suddenly running a jewelry store.* What products would your new store carry? What would be playing on the in-store screens? How would your advertising look? What would be your brand motifs and colors? What textures and materials would show up in your decor and fixtures? How would the salespeople dress? What goes in the bag after a purchase? What would your store smell like? What parties and events would it hold? Are there products beyond jewelry — candles, books, clothing, objects — that fit that world?

Dig as deep as you can. Think about every detail, from your front-door handle to your phone greeting to the little font on your price tags. Spare no expense. We’re in full dream mode.

Getting stuck? Try adding a second artist, and a third. (We started this exercise with musicians, but you can always add actors or other categories of artists and public figures.)

Stop when you run out of ideas. Consider what you’ve built. Is it a store that excites you? Does it feel distinct from your competitors? And finally — is it actually possible to build?

Well, now you’ve got something to work with.

(Repeat often and try different artists. It’s FUN!)

* For the purposes of this exercise, imagine your artist isn’t famous. It’s just a person with that artist’s tastes, aesthetics, inspirations/obsessions — but they have no celebrity, no fan base. They’re now just someone who happens to run a jewelry store.