John V. Willshire
Who are you? What do you do?
My name is John V Willshire. I founded Smithery three years ago. It’s an innovation studio rooted in helping companies Make Things People Want, rather than Make People Want Things. I also make my own products, like Artefact Cards, which are blank playing cards for creating and shaping ideas. They help people play with their ideas in order to make them better. I’ve seen thousands of people use them to tap into creativity they never knew they had, but my favourite example was when our son James used them to draw ‘dragons’ for us to spot on a day out in nearby Ashdown Forest (the inspiration for the Hundred Aker Wood in Winnie the Pooh).