Episode 16 - The Idea Vault - How to Collect Store and Revisit Your Hack Concepts
Episode Air Date: July 16, 2025
Runtime: 15:49
✨ Episode Summary
Those quick ideas you get while walking the dog or making dinner? They're not random. They're the beginnings of your next great design. In this episode, we talk about how to build your “idea vault”—a low-pressure system to collect, revisit, and grow your design thinking over time. Whether you're hacking patterns or sketching originals, this is how to turn sparks into something solid.
🕒 Episode Highlights
Here are a few key moments from this episode:
00:00 – The Ideas We Forget
How creative sparks often show up while walking or cleaning—and disappear just as fast.
01:54 – Why You Feel Blocked (It’s Not What You Think)
It’s not a lack of ideas—it’s the overload and the absence of a system to catch them.
03:16 – Design Thinking Starts Before You Sew
Those casual tweaks you think of—like Scout hating things over her head—are part of the design process.
04:09 – What to Put in Your Vault
A breakdown of the types of ideas worth capturing: sparks, twists, function, fabric, and failed hacks.
06:23 – Examples from Your Own Process
Sketching a fabric moment that reminds you of a raincoat, or revisiting a failed hack with new tweaks.
08:44 – How to Use the Hack Pack
Tips for filling it in, adding notes, and making it a pressure-free space for loose ideas.
10:17 – Capturing Ideas on the Go
Voice memos, quick phone notes, or saying the idea out loud—ways to catch sparks when you’re not near your sketch.
11:43 – How This Builds Real Confidence
The vault gives you options—and proof that you are thinking like a designer.
13:26 – This Week’s Assignment
Print your Hack Pack, keep extras where ideas hit, and start sketching one-page concepts.
14:33 – Final Insight: Why the Vault Matters
Revisiting your idea vault helps clarify what’s next—and shows you how far you’ve already come.
🧵 What You’ll Learn
- Why capturing your ideas matters more than perfect sketches
- 5 types of ideas to watch for (sparks, twists, problems, fails, and fabrics)
- Easy ways to store your hacks and sketches, even if you’re on the go
- How reviewing your idea vault builds creative momentum
- What it actually means to grow design confidence over time
📥 Ready to Take the Next Step?
If you want a simple way to sketch, track, and revisit your design ideas, the Hack Pack is your go-to resource. It’s a free printable tool designed to help you record rough sketches, fabric notes, and functional tweaks—without pressure to be perfect.
📥Download the Hack Pack (Free)
🎓 Coming Soon: Hack Your Pattern Course
Want help learning to sketch your own designs, prompt AI tools, and think like a pattern hacker? The Hack Your Pattern course is built to guide you from blank page to original dog wear design—no fashion school required.
💬 Got Questions or Feedback?
If something in today’s episode resonated with you—or brought up a question you’ve been holding—I’d love to hear from you.
DM me anytime over on Instagram @thankdogwemadeit, or come join the conversation inside the Creative Circle. This is exactly the kind of stuff we talk about together.
You can also comment, rate, or follow the podcast here:
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You don’t have to do this alone—and you’re definitely not the only one feeling it.
