A Deeper Look at Slashes

Ever since I learned about the concept of slashes from Marci Alboher, I've become more attuned to finding them all around me. Slashes are individuals who can’t answer the question, “What do you do?” with a single vocation. What Marci calls the "exotic slashes," individuals who work in and move between starkly different worlds, are what I've been calling Boundary Crossers.

Three more examples of slashes:

• A friend recently found this flyer on her doorstep. Willy is a window washer/pet sitter/wildlife consultant. Love the icons that denote the different slashes.

• Nancy Donaruma, has been a professional cellist with the New York Philharmonic for 31 years. In the past few years, she’s also taken on another slash—that of paramedic.  She’ll retire from the orchestra on Sept 14 when she plays her last concert but will remain a musician in smaller groups and as a soloist.  And she’ll shift emphasis from one slash to another to be a full-time paramedic. Read the full story here.

• Timothy Harlan is a physician and a chef.  His website, www.drgourmet.com, provides healthy, tasty recipes along with a split column titled, “Chef Tim says” and “Dr. Tim says.”  Truly, this guy has found the sweet spot of being a slash—inventing something new at the intersection of two worlds.

These examples are important as they give us a deeper look at slashes—how one slash can become more prominent over time, how slashes advertise themselves, and how integrated slashes lead to something new.