Gratitude & Dream-Makin'
I like little vignettes. One tiny piece of a story that allows the viewer to wonder what's happening outside of the calculated frame. Kind of like when you see a design portfolio or an Instagram account & you're like, "Man, this designer has her shit together!"
We don't see the chaos of her coffee-infused late-night scramble to meet a deadline, her apprehension to email a professional she admires, or even at 4am when she wakes up in a sweat, haunted by her to-do list & the nagging deeper question, "Why do I care again?".
I love these raw moments because they give refined beauty some serious street cred. It wasn't easy for you, was it? I respect the hard hustle. Moments like this are coming to Brave Girl because I'm grateful for the choice I made to be a freelance designer every day but I'd be lying if I said being your own boss is easy & tax season doesn't suck & I know exactly what I'm doing.
My little vignette this week has a lot to do with gratitude & getting started with some fresh dreams for my new studio:
Influential Objects
A calcite pink stone & a lucky penny have joined forces to transform what used to be a little girl's room with life-sized Madagascar characters into the studio of my dreams. The one where I don old painting shirts & jingly handmade jewelry all day, making art & people's dreams come true. The calcite, aka The Reiki Stone, nurtures my heart chakra & fills it with universal & self-love. It reminds me to dance & paint my walls pink. I found the penny under a baseboard when I was prepping to paint & immediately decided to infuse copper into the mix instead of the go-to gold. I wouldn't be upset if this studio made some money in the near future so I'm channeling pennies people! One-by-one if I have to.
A night of painting
Christened my new studio with a night of painting & listening to Eckhart Tolle talk about the pain body.
Applied to be a guest blogger on Unfancy
Caroline Joy uses Unfancy as her platform to share her personal style & love for minimalism. I really believe in what's she doing & made a Capsule Wardrobe myself thanks to her. I applied to be a guest on her blog in hopes I can share my experience with style as a freelance designer working from home. I don't hear much about the "what do I wear?" challenge when your commute is a 5-second walk to the studio. Do other freelancers get tempted to stay in yoga pants all day or do you dare to wear heels when no one is watching? I'll find out in a few weeks if I got the gig or not. Fingers crossed!
The chair of my dreams
One of my 2015 Business Dreams is to get a new office chair. This one, bright & beautiful as it is, has my back in all sorts of knots. Step 1 to a successful studio? A good fricken chair.
Alt Summit Gratitude Chat
Joined my first #altchat on Twitter this week where we talked gratitude. It made me grateful to be surrounded by people who support me & remind me to keep going in the direction that feels right for me. You never have to feel alone. People show up. I "met" new friends, gained new perspectives on thankfulness & got a great idea for a shirt because of it. Success!
Business Dreams thanks to The Every Girl
Getting more serious about my financial & business dreams after reading The Every Girl. It led to an eye-opening chat with a friend this week about why talking about money shouldn't be taboo. We agreed being more open about rates & salary expectations would create a more accurate value standard in the creative field as well as elevate women's perspectives on knowing their true worth professionally & otherwise. Maybe it's a touchy subject because we don't talk about it enough?
Employee of the Week
I took Thursday off from everything work-related (phone off, laptop sealed shut) & gave Tiger "Employee of the Week". His plaque should be in soon!
Happy Halloween, friends! Chose a chili cook-off & installing new lighting in our house over dressing up & going out this year. Taking my friend's idea for a costume & being an "adult". It has its perks. :) If you're local, I suggest going to AIGA West Michigan's Halloween Party tonight. I'm a total Aaron Draplin fan girl & he's the main event! xo, Em
