I'm one of those out-of-state college students who couldn't leave. I loved my N.C. State experiences and soon the city fascinated me as well.

Now after 20 years, I find myself in a place that struggles with some of the most mundane issues in the midst of a wonderfully creative scene of design, music and art. I have a hard time imagining living elsewhere, due in part to the area's mix of the exciting and the dull.

Our design firm is next to the old Ice House in Raleigh. The change in the skyline from that view has been monumental. The scale of change is exciting, but the results themselves are a bit dull. Household refrigerators replaced the need for the constant activity of purchasing giant blocks of ice, and air conditioning seems to have eliminated the use of porches of my other neighbors.

Looking around makes me think those who settled and developed this area must have been more inventive than those who followed. Research Triangle Park was a pioneering concept, but the resulting corporate campuses and sprawling suburbs are generic and mind-numbing. Even modern, million-dollar home developments seem unimaginative compared with the historic homes on Blount Street downtown.

But then I look at the living roof of Brown Architects on Person Street and see an innovative system applied from nature. By growing grass on their roof through an ingenious design of water management, they have lowered power bills and reduced urban heat. Pretty sharp, really.

On the other hand, I remember that the same property was once owned by a restaurateur who wanted to make an authentic taco stand. I was so excited! His plan was scuttled due in part to the arbitrary boundary of a parking ordinance. Very dull!

The duality of the opportunity to be creative vs. the ability to exhibit it in Raleigh continues to play out in our independent businesses.

Recently an owner of Sosta Cafe made a special effort to build tall flower-filled planters on wheels to create an intimate setting on the Progress Energy building's wide sidewalk. They were the only flowers on the whole block. Exciting touch! Within days, however, the city demanded their removal. In their place, city officials recommended already approved solutions such as the post-and-ribbon systems you see at airport security lines or in banks. Dull wins again.

The dichotomy is also present in music. Raleigh's own Tift Merritt has played with some of the world's top country musicians and was nominated for a Grammy for Best Country Album. That's truly exciting. Yet you can't easily find her music on the radio here. The local media are not really so local anymore and don't respond to such "market segments" as her local fans.

Many sources tell us this area is oozing with talent. But somehow it just hasn't gelled. Our technical workers are piling up patents and breakthroughs but not really connecting with the rest of the Triangle culture. On any given month, you can visit art galleries across the Triangle and see truly stunning work. But those galleries are struggling, and their artists need day jobs. Pioneering can be exhausting, and lack of support can dull enthusiasm.

But there's an upside to a place that has some dullness to it: You're not so caught up in competition that you can't take a little more time to do things. Traffic's not too bad, so you can make plans for fun after work. Real estate is not too much in demand, and so you can take some chances.

We created Designbox as a way for independent people to share ideas and share rent. It was a risk we would never have taken so lightly if we were somewhere like New York. It's an example of how Raleigh's dullness can breed creative experiments and possibilities for those who are willing to take the chance.

Ultimately, I'm not convinced we're sharp or dull: It's a double-edged issue. Knives with two sharp sides are dangerous to handle while those without a sharp blade are just not useful. To me, the Triangle is more akin to a great chef's knife. It can be honed to perform with the finest of its kind and still be comfortable enough for you to hang on and work your magic. The sharp and dull can help each other.

The real trick is to not get in our own way, and that's going to take confidence in our local talent and will require visionary leadership. It will take wisdom to know when to support creativity and when to look for limits. When to enforce local laws and when to welcome urban texture. When to be a global player and when to commit to our local gems. And it's going to take a whole lot of creativity to make it all work together.