This post first appeared on October 15, 2009 at gretchenwegner.com. Mariah and Charles continue working hard to fill holiday orders, which is why I want to show them off here. Thanks for all your hard work, you two!





The holiday season is right around the corner, and I have a goal to sell 500 sets of MuseCubes — 5 times the amount sold last year!

Problem is, I don’t have enough time, hands, or patience to make that many sets myself. I need help, and I need it soon!

Enter: Charles and Mariah. They are freshman at West County Community High School (WCCHS), a unique charter school in Richmond, CA of which I am a founder (and to whom I donate a percentage of the MuseCubes profits).

When I advertised for MuseCubes Assistants at WCCHS, Charles and Mariah were the first to send in resumes. I couldn’t be happier! They are bright, eager and thoughtful 14-year-olds. Charles is a boy scout and mows lawns; Mariah has made crafts at home with her mom. For both of them, it’s their first real job.

Yesterday we got together for our first work session. I told them that I’m depending on their creativity and problem solving to design more efficient manufacturing processes. They accepted this assignment with gusto!

As we rocked out to Green Day and Aerosmith (from Charles’ iPod), we painted Mod Podge and experimented. Forever the teacher, I talked to them about Henry Ford’s assembly line process, and we discussed whether it makes more sense to break up our tasks into parts, or have each person make an entire cube.

Here are a few things we learned:

• For training purposes, it makes sense to make the whole Cube, so each person understands the entire process.
• Charles likes making 3-at-a-time, and seems to be slightly faster than Gretchen’s 18-at-a-time process.
• The hot setting on the hairdryer works better than the cold setting.
• We’ll try the cottage industry approach, whereby each Assistant takes home a kit and gets paid for the Cube.
• As excited as they are to work at their own pace at home, we had such a good time working together! Maybe when I drop by the school to pick up finished Cubes and drop off new kits, we’ll work for two hours together.
• Charles & Mariah agree that if we had two more Assistants, we could be really efficient with an assembly line process. They’re going to encourage their friends to apply.

They’re going to see if they can drum up more assistants. In the meantime, I’m grateful to have a growing team of Assistants, so I can focus on marketing while they expand my inventory.

Get ready, folks! MuseCubes make great, inexpensive stocking stuffers at only $15 plus tax, and soon we’ll have plenty to go around.

Wowzers! I invented a new use for the MuseCubes today. Story first, then tip below:

The Story: Singing Unlocks Brilliance

My friend Annie came over to cowork with me this morning. We usually meet for 3 hours, each working separately on important projects. Nothing like a fellow warm body to get these two solo entrepreneurs focused!

Today Annie needed some help. She was trying to write an essay, but was feeling stuck. I suggested she get up, dance around my big living room, and talk while she moves. In InterPlay lingo, this is called a Big Body Story. I took notes, because I know that amazing ideas get unlocked when we move our bodies. And boy did I have to scribble hard — she was saying some great stuff!

I was surprised, though, that movement wasn’t the only trick to unlocking Annie’s creativity.

Afterwards I pointed out that Annie often uncovered a new brilliant idea whenever she would sing! More specifically, when she sang the words “I don’t know what to say!” Usualy her singing was silly, often her head was thrown back with a more full throated sound. Each time (at least 3!), she always found a fun idea right after she sang.

MuseCube Tip: Roll Just the Voice Cube

Of course I couldn’t help think of the MuseCubes.

If you own a pair of MuseCubes, try this next time you find yourself feeling stuck:

1. Roll the voice cube alone.
2. Sing some words in the manner that the cube suggests. For example, if you roll a howl, try saying “I don’t know what to say!” in a howling way. Or if you roll “whoop”, try whooping the words “What should I write next!?”
3. Roll the cubes at least three times.
4. Go back to your work and see what’s new for you.

If you don’t own a pair of MuseCubes, you can still play with making silly noises while you talk. But if you’d like to get your own set of Cubes (or if you know someone who needs them!), please visit www.MuseCubes.com.

This blog entry was first published at www.gretchenwegner.com on December 4, 2009.

Exactly a year ago, I launched the newly created MuseCubes. How fun, a year later, to read through all the buzz on the internet about the MuseCubes. Here are some of favorite MuseCubes mentions of 2009:

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“What clever, sparkling, creative simplicity.”
~ Jamie Ridler, Starshyne Productions

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“The movement certainly changed my energy, got my blood moving, shifted my perspective, and made me smile.”
~ Leah Piken Kolidas, Creative Every Day

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“Lovely and whimsical creations.”
~ Christine Valters Paintner, Abbey of the Arts

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“MuseCubes were SUCH A HIT on campus at Yale last week! SUCH A HIT! … people letting loose and feeling more ready than ever to tackle their end of year classwork!”
~ Dorothy Finnigan, InterPlay Facilitator and Juggler

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“A great way to connect back with the intuitive wisdom of your body.”
~ Jennifer Lee, Artizen Coaching.

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“If I want to have an open mind, it is helpful to start from a place of movement.  It’s the fastest way to do it. … This is one of the reasons I love Gretchen’s MuseCubes.”
~ Cynthia Winton Henry, founder of InterPlay

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“Gretchen is doing her part to help shake creative folks into new mindstates with her MuseCubes.”
~Liz Massey, Creative Liberty

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“It may sound silly, but they really do make you feel better.”
~Britt Bravo, Have Fun, Do Good

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“They’ve worked! I’ve howled and bended, sang and wiggled. It’s helped! It lets me get out of my head for a minute and then return to work again with a fresh mind. They’re one of the most thoughtful gifts I’ve gotten in a long time.”

~Kathryn Cabunoc, Composer and Taiko Drummer

Awwwww! I’ve always known that MuseCubes make great gifts. But it’s nice to hear it directly from the recipients. Here’s how composer and Taiko drummer Kathryn Cabunoc, describes how the MuseCubes helped her break through stuckness:

…writing solos is so hard. That’s one of those things that have never come easy for me. I sit down and get up and sit down again and I get one line out at a time–and very laboriously so. I suppose it will get easier someday.

A friend of mine gave me a great gift a week ago. They’re called Muse Cubes, and when you find yourself with writer’s block, you pull out these babies and give them a roll. … The instructions said that we’re more creative when we’re not standing still. And they’ve worked! I’ve howled and bended, sang and wiggled. It’s helped! It lets me get out of my head for a minute and then return to work again with a fresh mind.

They’re one of the most thoughtful gifts I’ve gotten in a long time.

Judging by the picture in Kathryn’s blog post, she got one of the original MuseCubes sets, no two designs alike.  Some day this  might be worth a lot (finger’s crossed!).

Feel free to read the rest of Kathryn’s blog entry about MuseCubes here.  To order MuseCubes, go to our Etsy store.

Every week we post a new picture of MuseCubes^TM on location. Berkeley, CA

Welcome to the MuseCubes^TM.

Research shows that people think effectively when they move their bodies.

Yet when we’re stuck, many of us hunch over and sit still.

So I designed this set of dice to get us moving again.

Imagine: people all over the world wiggling and howling to new perspectives and greater productivity.

Makes me smile.

aMusingly yours,