The Five Keys to a Highly Creative Workspace

It seems like everyone has a favorite chair, or a preferred table in a restaurant, or like Jack London, a favorite place to write. For him, it was sitting under an ancient bay laurel tree, next to winery, while his horse grazed nearby.  

Every creative person knows there are some places where they are more productive, and others where no matter what you do, progress is glacially slow. Sometimes we are lucky enough to encounter that space spontaneously. More often though, we test spots out, and then we improve the best prospect, like birds feathering a nest to shape it to our unique expressive selves.

It can be a long, frustrating time to find that space and then get it right, but it doesn’t have to be. There are five keys that will open the door to your best creative space. No sledgehammers are required to get through those doors, just some self-analysis and discovery which we solve using very illuminating and entertaining quiz. 

Saturday, February 14, 2026
10:00 AM – 12:00 PM 

Where 

Napa Valley Unitarian Universalists
1625 Salvador Ave., Napa 

Open to the Public 

NVW Members: $10
Guests: $15
Students: Free with ID 

Ralph DeAmicis is the co-author and co-publisher of numerous books including series on Feng Shui and Ergonomics, Astrology, Wine Country Tourism, and Natural Health. They also author and publish the Planetary Calendar. With his wife Lahni, he has given speeches and led seminars for the past thirty years, all over the country and now online. They produce the TV show Wine Country at Work at Napa TV and Sonoma Radio KSVY, and write columns for magazines in both counties. Ralph’s background in Ergonomics and Environmental Health goes back to the early 1970’s and he has consulted on how to create effective and creative workspace for thousands of clients. www.spaceandtime.com.  

David D. Schmidt, author of the new book San Francisco Bay Area: An Environmental History, will talk about his 31-year journey of inspiration, research, writing, finding a publisher, and finally getting this book into print in 2025.  

San Francisco Bay Area: An Environmental History has 20 chapters, covering 20 aspects of the Bay Area's environmental history, including Native Tribes, Wildlife, Fisheries, Agriculture, Logging, Mining, Transportation, Water Supply, Urbanization, Parks and Land Conservation, Saving the Bay and Coast, the Environmental Movement, Earthquakes, Wildfires and more!

Saturday, March 14, 2026
10:00 AM – 12:00 PM 

Where 

Napa Valley Unitarian Universalists
1625 Salvador Ave., Napa 

Open to the Public 

NVW Members: $10
Guests: $15
Students: Free with ID 

David D. Schmidt is an environmental historian and retired writer and editor who worked in the Pacific Southwest Regional Office of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency from 1991 to 2021. He is the author of Citizen Lawmakers: The Ballot Initiative Revolution, published in 1989 after only seven years of effort.  He lived in San Francisco for more than 50 years and now lives in Santa Rosa.