We were lucky to catch up with Chelsea Danburg recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Chelsea, thanks for joining us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

Designing the Expand System was an incredibly personal & meaningful project. Yet at the same time it fills a major need for countless other artists and neurodivergent people just like me.

For my entire life, I banged my head against the wall “what is wrong with me? Why can’t I get my shit together?” I simply could not stick with an exercise routine, reduce the foggy brain feeling or lower my overwhelm, until I started using a productivity planner. It changed my life! I started running, took care of my health, and became sober.

However, overtime I wanted more, an even better tool. The standard productivity planner had limitations. The planner I was using was ‘one day at a time view’ so I couldn’t see how all the puzzle pieces of my week fit together. Conversely, when I used ‘week view’ planners, I quickly became overwhelmed looking at all the meetings, appointments and tasks for the whole week.

I realized I needed both- week view and day view together in one! But how could this possibly be achieved? I reached for a roll of brown packaging paper, it had perforated lines every 5 inches. I wrote ‘Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday’, etc. at the top of each sheet. Immediately, I was able to fold the length up along the perforated lines to see one day at a time or unfold to see the whole week. Boom!!! The Expand System was born.

Accordion folded paper/books better echo how our human brains work. Our thoughts aren’t compartmentalized into one page at a time, with a clear break between each thought. Our ideas ramble, connect, loop and flow from one to another. Writing on accordion folded paper works with our brains beautiful chaos instead of fighting against us. Physically folding the paper to see just one day/one thought focuses us. Being able to unfold it all allows you to see everything without having to ‘carry’ any of the information in your brain (as you have to in a standard notebook). Accordion folding paper simulates our continuous thought process.

Over the year of development for this project, I realized nothing was wrong with me all those years, I had just been using bad, rigid tools. My dream is to give this gift to other people struggling just like I was.

Chelsea, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My biggest ( wildest ) dream is for us all to unleash our creativity and find peace within ourselves. Imagine if the world was full of thriving artists, inventors, entrepreneurs, writers and creatives of every variety? You see, I believe it’s our stuck, jumbled up thoughts and emotions that hold us back, stopping the free flow of our creativity. The BluJoyWrks mission is to create tools with just enough fluid and intuitive structure to support the wonderful chaos of our lives and unleash our creativity.

After graduating from Rhode Island School of Design in 1996 I followed many passions and careers- from textile designer, to fiber arts teacher and personal chef. The one thread that carried through it all was feeling the freedom to create within the parameters of a fluid structure.

The Expand System was created to offer this similar intuitive structure for life’s chaos. It is a 13 week planner with a revolutionary folding design that allows you to see the whole week in one glance or fold it all up to view just one day at a time. The principle of “parking your thoughts” is at the core of the Expand System. By putting our thoughts down on paper, we free up brain space to pursue our dreams.

I don’t honestly understand all the psychology of journaling and organizing in this way. But what I do know, deep to my core- it’s a super useful tool to unstick our thoughts and emotions, allowing creativity to flow freely and find peace within ourselves.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

The overarching mission of BluJoyWrks is create peace within- for my clients and myself. The tools I design open space and reduce overwhelm, creating enough calm within to unleash our creativity. Letting our stuck thoughts and emotions out through our creative pursuits allows peace to flow through us.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

I believe, it’s human nature to make stuff. We have this deep, primal need to create and make things with our hands. When I hold this impulse back, when I stifle this innate desire to create, I become like a full bucket all jammed up and can not take in the beauty of the world surrounding. When I let creativity flow through me like a river, beauty and peace also flow through me. Making things fills this deep need within my heart, soul and intellect, just as essential as the need for air, water & food.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.blujoywrks.com/
• Instagram: @BluJoyWrks