THE HOURGLASS TIMES

Your Weekly Dose Of Trends, Inspiration  And Good News About The Future ✨

Learning from the past. Anchored in the present. Reaching for the stars. ✨

Historical analysis and recent trends both indicate a promising future brimming with inventiveness and creativity. In this issue, we'll analyze why our post-pandemic world could be heading for a period of exploration and self-expression on a global scale -- and what that could mean for you, your work, and your community.

In today’s email:

• WE JUST LAUNCHED!: More in the Editor's Letter below 🚀
• Care Bears: And why they might be the next Barbie.
• Resilient Housing: Construction lessons from the Maui "Miracle House". 
• EVs and Corn: Yes, they are related, we promise.
• Economic Outlook: How the Fed is navigating the waters of inflation
• Post-Pandemic Parallels: Are we entering a new Renaissance age?

 LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

A Warm Welcome to You, the FIRST-EVER Readers of The Hourglass Times! ✨

Greetings, fellow visionaries and dreamers-- 

It's with a heart full of anticipation and excitement that I invite you to dive into this special first-edition issue of The Hourglass Times, a BRAND NEW weekly dispatch from Hourglass Collaborative that aims to explore, dissect, and present the worlds of creativity, innovation, and the ever-evolving future. 

If I were you, I would be asking: "Well, what the heck is The Hourglass Times anyways, and why should I read it? I'm a busy person with many priorities. Who has time for another newsletter?!? In THIS economy?!"

A completely fair question! And it's funny that you brought up the economy, because that's exactly what's on our minds.

We're living through a period of ongoing economic uncertainty and groundbreaking, unprecedented, exponential change. And there's a lot of doom and gloom and bad news about the future. We thought it was time to create a space like The Hourglass Times, where we can explore and celebrate the good things about the future while equipping ourselves for stormy days ahead.

We're not just observers in this era of change – we're participants, creators, contributors. This newsletter, dear readers, is about us looking at the future with curiosity, creativity, and courage.

The Hourglass Times is a weekly digest of news and analysis on current trends, major innovations, and the wild, wonderful universe of creativity. ✨

Every week, we'll delve deep into a myriad of topics to stimulate your curiosity and inspire your innovator's spirit. Here's what you can expect: 

1. NEW + NOW: First and foremost, The Hourglass Times is a celebration of creativity, a beacon for those who see the world not as it is, but as it could be. We will be exploring the frontiers of human imagination, where the lines between art and technology blur, where inventors dream and visionaries build. We'll examine the latest trends and developments, the breakthroughs and the game-changers that are shaping the future before our very eyes. 
   
   
2. TIMELESS STRATEGIES: But it's not just about what's new—it's also about looking back, about understanding the past to better navigate the future. The Hourglass Times will revisit the great milestones of innovation, the daring leaps of faith and the bold experiments that have led us to where we are now, offering us a unique perspective into the journey of human progress. 
   
   
3. CREATIVE COMMUNITY: Finally, The Hourglass Times is a community resource. It's about sharing tools and tips, sparking meaningful conversations, building deeper connections, and learning from each other. We believe that everyone has their own one-of-a-kind genius to offer, a unique insight, a fresh perspective. We look forward to hearing from you, to being inspired by you, and to sharing this extraordinary journey together. 

So, whether you're an artist or an engineer, a philosopher or a programmer, a dreamer or a doer, pull up a chair and join us. Welcome to The Hourglass Times, where the past, present, and future come together to inspire the extraordinary in all of us. ✨

Until next time,

Nicole Fichera

Editor, The Hourglass Times

🧸 You may want to dust off your old Care Bears...

...because they could become valuable in the near future. Yes, the intellectual property rights to this cuddly franchise have been acquired by marketing and licensing expert George Jones. You've probably never heard of him.

But you definitely have encountered his work--he was the architect of Warner Bros' 1997 deal to acquire exclusive licensing rights to everything Harry Potter.  So if you've ever seen one of the movies, or bought a Hogwarts-House-themed-scarf, then you have seen firsthand how effective Jones' marketing instincts can be. 

This is part of a larger trend of recent revivals of throwback brands (Barbie, anyone?)--there has been growing interest in character-based intellectual properties for a while. We're predicting Care Bears movies, merch, apparel, digital experiences, and more (maybe even theme parks!) in the not-so-distant future.

If you (like me) occasionally miss those golden days of word processing with the guidance of a helpful cartoon paperclip, you may enjoy this website solely dedicated to Clippy, Merlin, and the entire crew of Microsoft Office Assistants (complete with the original animations and sound effects!). 

🔍 IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Could we be entering a new creative Renaissance?

Picture this: a world emerging from a global pandemic that's transformed the way we live and work, forcing us to challenge everything we knew.

Sounds familiar, right? We could be talking about 2023--or we could be talking about 1523. Yes, that's right folks, the Renaissance, of Mona Lisa and Michelangelo fame, was also a period of recovery and discovery that followed a pandemic--the Plague, to be exact.

There are striking parallels between now and the early days of the Renaissance.

• CHANGING PHILOSOPHIES:  As the COVID-19 pandemic shook our faith and challenged our way of life, it also opened the doors to new philosophies and ways of thinking. 🧠 Just like during the Renaissance, where humanism and individualism emerged as prominent ideologies as people questioned the top-down philosophies that had governed feudal society. The pandemic has sparked a desire for personal growth and self-discovery, leading to a reevaluation of our values and priorities. ❤️ See chart below--searches for "how to have more fun in life" have been on the rise since 2020 and are still climbing.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

"We are navigating by the stars under cloudy skies." 

- Fed Chair Jerome Powell on adapting to economic shifts and working to combat inflation. 

Phew: The stock market breathed a sigh of relief following Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's speech this week in Jackson Hole. His words sent stock prices upwards and put an end to the three-week losing streaks for both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq.

💡 INSIGHTS + IDEAS

🚗 How EVs could tank the corn industry 🌽

Did you know that the rise of electric vehicles (EVs) could have a surprising impact on corn farmers and the heartland? Currently, a whopping 40% of the corn crop in the United States is used to fuel our gas tanks, because of to a federal mandate requiring 10% ethanol in gasoline.

General Motors recently announced their plans to sell only EVs by 2035, and other car manufacturers are following suit. This could potentially lead to a significant decrease in the demand for corn as a gasoline input, which may have a profound effect on the Corn Belt economy. As the shift towards electric vehicles gains momentum, this transition could reshape the corn industry and the heartland as a whole.

While the decrease in demand for corn as a gasoline input may initially seem alarming, it opens doors to explore alternative uses for this versatile crop. Excess corn could be distributed to people experiencing food insecurity, and to correct imbalances in the global corn market from major shocks like the war in Ukraine or natural disasters. And for creative thinkers in bioplastics, food industries, manufacturing, the possibilities are endless.

"Research has proven that almost anything that is made from oil can be made from corn. In lieu of petroleum, thousands of corn products are becoming more environmentally friendly, including paint, paper products, glues, toothpaste, cleaners, fireworks, chemicals and laundry dryer sheets."

- Nebraska Corn Board

We have about a decade of planning time before this economic shift is likely to occur--plenty of time to transition agricultural plans, launch startups in the corn-based materials industry, or plan major initiatives to address hunger at scale. Would it be corny to say that this could be a golden opportunity? 🌽

💡 RESILIENT FUTURES

This 100-Year Old House Survived Maui Wildfires

“It looks like it was photoshopped in,” homeowner Trip Millikin said of the house, which stands in such contrast to the surrounding ruins that images of the home have gone viral in recent days.

- via The Honolulu Civil Beat 

In a stunning turn of events, the raging Maui wildfires left one red-roofed wooden house in Lahaina almost completely untouched. The powerful photo circulated the internet this week, clearly showing the surrounding buildings completely devastated by the flames.

According to experts, It appears that meticulous yard work, having ample space around the house played a crucial role in its survival. These proactive measures have been hailed as the ultimate defense against the destructive force of wildfires.

The great news is that homeowners have the power to take the same precautions:

• maintaining a perimeter of at least five feet around their homes, completely free from dry or flammable vegetation or mulch
• ensuring the roof and gutters are clear, removing any flammable objects from underneath porches and decks
• installing non-combustible 1/8-inch mesh screening on vents to crawl spaces or attics.

According to wildfire mitigation expert Pat Durland, these were the reasons that the century-old house "didn't meet the requirements for ignition." Taking these proactive measures means that there is no fuel available for embers to ignite if they happen to drift towards your home.

The homeowners, Trip Millikin and Dora Atwater Millikin, are actively working to share the best practices that miraculously saved their home, and to help their community rebuild as quickly and safely as possible.

"I felt guilty. We still feel guilty," Trip Millikin told the Civil Beat, adding that he and his wife plan to open up the house to their neighbors who lost their homes.  "Let's rebuild this together...This house will become a base for all of us. Let's use it."

- via The Honolulu Civil Beat 

Open-source resilient building strategies are a critically important resource in an age of extreme weather events. The Maui "miracle house" stands (literally) as an example: free and open sharing of simple resilience strategies could save countless lives and homes in the future. It's time for building industry professionals, community planners, and homeowners to incorporate resilience requirements in residential construction. 

⏳ TIME FOR ACTION

What were your big wins last week? 

Did you crush a big presentation? Make your first sale? Or maybe you started a new book, or hit your goal of early bedtimes 3x per week? We want to know about your triumphs and accomplishments! Reply to this email with your big win(s) and you just may see your grand accomplishments in a future issue! ✨

That's all for this edition of The Hourglass Times. We hope you found inspiration and valuable insights to fuel your creative journey. Stay tuned for more timely content and practical strategies in the upcoming issues. 

Yours in creativity always,

Nicole + Jamila + Tyler (aka the Hourglass Collaborative team) ✨

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