It's All Messy
“It’s all messy: the hair, the bed, the words, the heart. Life.”
Mess is something I rarely embrace. I'm usually cleaning up before it's dirty (washing dishes are the exception). One of the things I like about blogging is it appears everything is in order and that I have my life figured out, a direct opposite of how I truly feel as I navigate chaotic waters, the endless uncertainty from one wave to the next.
But messy is what we can all connect on. Because life is a mess.
I think the one's who embrace this are the one's living fully, soaking up one moment to the next with little desire to control the outcome. The feeling of control is just a safety net anyways, isn't it?
The hair rarely goes to plan, all tangles & wildness.
The bed, well, I like what a messy bed is the result of.
The words, always trying to find the right one's.
The heart, by nature is a ball of emotions being set free.
And Life, when you think about it, would you want it any other way?
Making Space
I had a professor in college who told me no matter what season of life I'm in, I must always make space for my art.
As a freshman design student, I thought this was a given. I was my art, & my art was me, so that would be something very easy to make happen. A desk & a closet was something I always made a priority with each of my moves. Pencils were easily accessible, laptop always had enough room to be docked for charging, and any other tools and past projects tucked away in a drawer, cupboard, closet for when I was ready to use at a moment's notice.
Always make space for your art.
Then my studio slowly became filled with a bed, a chair, and a nightstand for guests. We needed a room for family when they came to town, a place for friends to crash late at night. I became more happy to host our loved ones than I did to take up space with my art. Something to do someday but not today. An idea would chime in my head and leave before I could find my sketchbook. Pencils were never within arms reach. Tools tucked away in boxes in the basement made an easy excuse to let the idea slide by.
But, always make space for your art.
I now see what my professor meant. Life happens and other things take priority. It's easier to rationalize budgeting your financials than it is taking off an afternoon from work to sketch without a goal in mind. It's a helluva lot easier to sketch when you get home from work though when you have a designated area to do so.
Joel mounted a 5-ft. desk to the guest room wall last night on a whim (Sundays are relaxing in different ways for everyone, ha!) and I fell in love with him all over again. He made room for ideas to get jotted down, for creating to happen. Even though I wasn't making it a priority, he did, and I took it as a sign to honor this new space. Grateful for it, and grateful for him to remind me when I couldn't remind myself.
Always make space for your art.
Creativity
“Creating one thing at a certain point in the river feeds those who come to the river, feeds creatures far downstream, yet others in the deep. Creativity is not a solitary movement. That is its power. Whatever is touched by it, whoever hears it, sees it, senses it, knows it, is fed. That is why beholding someone else’s creative word, image, idea, fills us up, inspires us to our own creative work. A single creative act has the potential to feed a continent. One creative act can cause a torrent to break through stone.”
I always disagree when people say, "Oh, I'm not creative". Yes, yes you are.
It's your idea of what creativity means that is a little skewed. Creativity is not just for the painters and the illustrators and the poets. That is one outlet, yes, but it's also in the way you care for your child, the way you solve business problems, that thank you letter you sent, how you braided your hair. To name a very few.
That is what lights me up about creativity. There is no chosen few. There are so many things in this world that feel limiting, negative, and impossible to improve, but creativity is for everyone.
It's limitless. It's a natural talent. It's your birthright.
It's Río Abajo Río, the river beneath the river, in you that will change the very forces in this world that feel limiting, negative, and impossible to improve.
What is your creativity? There are no wrong answers (except "I don't know" & "nothing").
Fall Style: Moon Lodge Edition
Since we moved to the Moon Lodge 2 years ago, I've slowly been adding touches to our little home by the lake and slowly discovering my style along the way. This season it's been fun adding some items to make our home cozy, moody, and a little spooky!
Last week I started filling out the mantle in our living room with some leftover tchotchkes from our wedding, a book from our honeymoon, and a birch tree branch for a natural element. But something was missing.
Thanks to you guys, I added a candle (black birch scent, perfect!), a skull to complement the taller height of its crow counterpart, moss to fill in the empty spaces, and a black garland for an added layer above the buffalo plaid. Oh & a "B" tin letter to honor our new family name.
I think it's a million times better, what do you think?!
I filled in the rest of the mantle with pumpkins, gourds, and my favorite candlesticks that I use every season in different ways. I kept the tallest candlestick to the right of everything because Joel hates when they block the TV, especially on Sundays. I have no idea why, ha!
One of the biggest things I've learned about my style is how much I love texture and mixing them in unlikely combinations. It needs to be soft, durable, and usually has a natural-looking aspect to it. Buffalo plaid has become my favorite secondary texture, instantly making any space feel like a cottage. I added muted oranges with notes of moss green and black to have that moody and cozy fall feel.
In preparation for Halloween weekend, I added paper bats on a blank wall in our kitchen and put a fun bat curtain up in our living room. I'm not much of a fake insects kind of girl so skulls, bats, and pumpkins are as spooky as I get. I freshened up our doors with some moss-like wreaths and surprise, more buffalo plaid!
We're celebrating Halloween with my family this weekend which was a great excuse to have our house ready for a laidback celebration with cider, costumes, and hopefully a bonfire in the backyard! I have a fun DIY napkin idea for the stew/chili cookoff my parents have challenged each other to (score for being the host, woo!). I'll be sure to share if they turn out!
I think what I'm happiest about with the fall style at our Moon Lodge is that it's decorated for a holiday and can span the entire season with the textures and hues by simply removing the bats and skulls and replacing them with more browns and golds and softer textures as we near Thanksgiving and the winter holidays. I'm excited to reuse and rearrange for the winter.
The temperatures are getting cooler and I want the Moon Lodge to be the warm place we can come home and unwind in. Happy Friday, friends! May your weekend be wonderfully spooky, Em
You can see more day-to-day style vignettes throughout our Moon Lodge at #bravegirlstyles
Time & Empathy
Last Sunday I was dead set on cleaning our yard for fall. With the past year being everything about our wedding, it was refreshing to focus on the leaf piles, trimming the bushes, picking up soggy pumpkins.
Soggy pumpkins: compost pile.
Leaf piles: fire pit.
Branches from spring, a lone leaf bag that hasn't moved for months, and beer boxes from summer nights also went into the fire. Like a period at the end of the sentence that makes room for the next thought to solidify, this Sunday bonfire was releasing the past to make room for us and our new dreams.
It was clarity, and it was cleansing.
Then Monday rolled around. Joel and I came home to our birch tree in the front yard cut into tiny pieces, detached from the stump that used to hold it all together. Its branches protected this little Moon Lodge for the last two years, always welcoming us back home after a long day. Now the spot where it stood tall is barren. Empty. Exposed.
I look out the back window and see some of the remnants from our poor birch in a huge pile near our fire pit and think, how funny life is. You cleanse, you find clarity, and the next moment you're wondering how to save your world from destruction. How to clean up the mess without being wasteful. How to get rid of your piles in a conscious way. The only constant I have found in this cycle of clarity and chaos?
Time. Empathy.
Fortunately, you all responded to save our fallen birch after I sent out this PSA.
Some of the uses so far:
decor for a first-born's nursery
fireplace decoration
centerpieces for a work holiday party
Woohoo! Thank you for saving our birch and letting her live on for your special events and homes.
Find Your Here
Truth is, I don't have a life like the ones I see on my Instagram feed and aspire to have.
I'm not a #ladyboss. I don't run my own anything (dishwasher, yes. company, no.). I'm not at home writing in the morning and cuddling my adorable baby in the afternoon (my wish, yes). We're not building our dream home with a wraparound porch and view of the water (soon Joel, soon). Or traveling to beautiful places to attend beautiful events in beautiful clothes.
It's taken me a very long time to hear this truth of mine. To really acknowledge I'm not exactly where I want to be and I can't exactly get there tomorrow. I guess I thought if I admitted this to myself I would feel I had a very long way to go and do something drastic like quit my job or chop all my hair off.
Then I realized I've already tried that.
All the quitting and chopping doesn't actually make the uncertainty of what's next go away. It lasts for a fleeting moment – when I've put in my 2 weeks or when I look in the mirror with my new hairstyle – but that nagging feeling always comes back. Listen to this song and you will be 5 steps ahead of me in this lesson. I will not go anywhere if I'm not at first, here. Maybe some of you are here too?
My here currently looks like:
Wanting my aspirations so impatiently that I frantically email, post, and text my closest network (sometimes strangers) to PICK. ME. Choose me because I follow you and know all about you on-screen, so why would we not be a perfect fit to collab on something together?! (Admittedly, this is creepy and weird. I need to stop doing this.)
Using this method to lessen my student loans so Joel & I can get on with it already. Wraparound porch, remember?
Trying to find the balance between my full-time job and my passion projects while still making time for part of me who loves nothing more than a walk in nature.
Desperately needing to know how to wear a professional outfit without losing my very hard-won, completely mismatched, style.
I'm stepping out of the arena of perfectly curated pictures and the endless wishing I was somewhere other than where I am.
Maybe you are here or right down the road from here? I want to meet you where you are because maybe we can get through it together. Maybe we can figure out how to keep working full-time without losing our spirit at 5 o'clock. Maybe we can look at all the lady bosses, mamas, writers, homemakers, and jet setters and cheer them on for living their hard-fought dreams and for showing us how to.
Let's raise a glass to each of them.
The women. Our aspirations. Both. Knowing damn well they deserve it all and have been grinding for years to get to their here. Let's not let their moments discourage us from continuing the path to ours. Let's also know mine will look different from yours will look different from hers and we all deserve them for our own reasons.
Oh, and let's also remember we can encourage each other at the same time as staying on our own path. No need for a choice between one or the other. (Funny, this is also kind of how I pray. "Oh and", "Oh and this too".) Finally, let each of us begin. I'll meet you here.
Always love. Usually tough, Em
Connected. Supported. Held. Do you need this too? Join The Yellow Collective with me, a tribe of women dedicated to their creative life while celebrating yours.
My Bachelorette Celebration
A bachelorette party is similar to what you'd say about Las Vegas, Mexico, or anywhere else you're doing something you don't want others to know about...What happens there stays there. You want to keep people thinking you're a classy lady with strong morals and are definitely not dancing on a trolley pole to "Back Dat Ass Up". I'll continue with that tradition because it's one of the best parts of being a bachelorette. I wouldn't want to be the girl in the wig who ruins that for you. I was completely surprised with a trolley ride around town! We were definitely turning a few heads at the local bars and "on the strip" of Grand Haven, such a fun time!
One thing I will share is how absolutely amazing it was to celebrate with some of the most hilarious and down-to-earth women I know. Admittedly, I was very nervous about a bachelorette party and strongly considered not having one. I was uncomfortable with an entire day dedicated to me but I was rest-assured to "lighten up and enjoy this season of your life"!
So, yoga & beach day & wigs & sparkles, it was.
I was so honored with my friends who came to celebrate and my MOH who hosted the entire weekend (thanks Kate!). Knowing the travel, the planning, and the preparation it took for each one of them to arrive made me emotional the entire time. One of the things I wanted during our engagement was to celebrate this next phase of my life with women who are a huge influence in my life. Their advice, stories, and spirit have guided me through many moments in my life and here they were, doing it again, this time in neon wigs and bright dresses as #EmsBrideTribe2016.
There are moments in your life you are meant to celebrate. They are not given to you to worry away or to anticipate sadness. There isn't a hidden agenda or a strategy or a need to read between the lines. It is all play and laughter and silliness and fun. No need to over-analyze or ask why this is.
It is because you are here.
And they are here.
And we are all here celebrating love that was, love that is, and love that is about to be.
Here's to love and the one's who celebrate it with you, Em
Moodboard: Becoming the Bodes
Let's acknowledge Joel & I are 26 days away from Becoming the Bodes by sharing our wedding moodboard! Now's not the time to admit I stewed over this longer than I did my dress because the challenge today is only having 20-min. to talk about the moldboard.
This is a good limit to discuss wedding details at this point. I can only do it in 20-minute increments and with a glass of wine in my right hand. I think I'll put this on the weekend schedule. Something like, "if questions, bring wine for the answer".
Anyways, we'll be having an outdoor wedding on a bluff near a lake (rain or shine) so I wanted the overall mood to be very light, natural, and complimenting to our surroundings (trees, lake, sand).
Nude / blush / blues / lavender / fog / a bit of mint
It felt right for us, for the location, and for what I'm interested in right now – a lot of soft tones and textures. I'm really enjoying this season of soft I'm in.
It's ok to let your guard down.
It's ok to trust the good.
It's ok to be happy with a calm life.
All nestled in, Emily
26
Today is my birthday. I am 26.
I woke up to balloons on the ceiling, sunflowers on my dresser, and an inflatable flamingo on my floor. Her name is Fran, and she'll be accompanying me to my Bachelorette beach day tomorrow. Joel put them there yesterday with the best bacon card a girl could ask for before heading north for his Bachelor weekend because he is the most thoughtful person I know. I am taking none of it for granted as I walk around smiling from ear to ear today.
Here are my highlights from the past 6 months because August is my personal new year and I'm a shameless Leo (probably the same thing):
Got a promotion at work
Traveled to Aruba with Joel, my first time out of the country!
Started a zero-budget to increase my savings and lower my student loans
Paid off my first student loan in 4 months (thanks Dave Ramsey!)
Had my brother live with us which brought more happiness than challenges (& love that he's now living closer!)
Discovered a lot of family history as a wedding gift from one of my Grandma's (we're Irish!)
Helped Joel build our kitchen table*
Celebrated our upcoming marriage at 2 bridal showers with women who love me
Marriage counseling with our officiant initiated great conversations for us
*By helping, I mean watching sparks fly across the yard nervously as Joel trimmed the metal legs down.
It's important to recognize all the beautiful things that happen to you, for you, because of you. It's important to acknowledge our celebrations more than brood over what is not. Seeing my highlights gives the heavy stuff less power over me. It changes my perspective and ultimately becomes the dialogue to my life.
I try to see the world through rose-colored glasses. Most times that is what saves me. If you want to witness the ultimate example of faith in humanity, read The Girl You Left Behind by Jojo Moyes.
I'm off to celebrate being closer to my 30's than my 20's & my last month as a single lady with my best girlfriends, flamingos, and wigs.
Much to celebrate! Happy weekend, my friends. –Em
Washed Away
We had a slow Sunday. Slept in, eventually found the coffee.
We took up the same space but held it differently. It was midday when we discovered a few inches of water covering our basement floor. Clothes and cardboard drowned in last night's storms. In a moment, we held a different space in the same way; strained, frustrated, action-mode. This wasn't the "getting on the water as soon as we can" we had planned for today. But the Universe showed up – or rather demanded we pay attention – forcing us to look at our life. All that we have, how easily it can be swept away in the darkness of night while we sleep.
We made the best of the clean-up, smiled at each other in between dragging wet piles of carpet up the stairs and drying cement floors.
This is our mess, let's tackle it together.
As the fan whirred and the last of the carpet sat in a defeated pile on the lawn, I looked out from our stoop as a heap of exhaustion and thought, "Thank you for saving what we need and clearing out what we don't."
Moodboard: The Mountains Are Calling
Aghh, the hardest part about this challenge is the 20-minute limit. The poking & prodding urge to change placement or image or or or... after time's up is like a nervous tick to me. Perfectionists dissolve! It is a trick.
I will look back on this next week & think wow, this is really something & completely forget all the internal struggle of the uneven spaces between the 3 thin tree-filled boxes.
I was listening to my Bachelorette Beach Day playlist while doing this one so was really anticipating flamingos and tropical hues and bright energy. But it seems my mood is somewhere else – feeling her way to the honeymoon in the mountains (we redirected course from our original plan to Northern Michigan) where we discover new heights and relax into the mist and coziness at the beginning of fall and our first steps together in marriage.
Xo moody ones, Em
This is August
When was the last time you caught fireflies in a mason jar?
When was the last time you heard crickets sing at the edge of a dirt road?
Do you remember the last time you swung from a swing that hung from a tree?
Or the time you slept in your bathing suit to be first to the water? The boat? The raft?
Oh, and what about the time you laid in the grass, smelled its fresh-cut, looking to animals in the clouds?
Or the time you caught toads in the cattails as the sunset?
You were all muddy feet and moments you now wish you could have back again.
This is August, my love. Soak in the lazy heat and take every bit of it for the last time.
Moodboard: Namaslay
I gave myself 20 minutes to create this moodboard. I love the challenge of racing against the clock with inspiration pieces like this because it removes the temptation to second-guess. There is literally no time for it.
I also like seeing what bubbles up when you remove your sense of control. I originally started out with images of illustrated moss, a rustic toolbox, and brown medicine bottles. But apparently, my soul was feeling a little softer, delicate, feminine with a protective cactus barrier than I even realized. It just showed up.
Which is really a life lesson for another time because this was just a simple challenge to compliment my coffee this morning. I'm happy with the results.
All the vibes, hard & soft. – Em
Chilly July Day on the Pier
Joel kept referencing Indiana Jones because of my hat (unless he meant I look like Harrison Ford?). As you can see, Tiger wasn't a great sidekick due to ALL THE OTHER THINGS he'd rather be doing than taking pictures.
I chose a classic blue jean / white tee combo then layered it for walking the pier on an oddly chilly day. Stolen from my mom's stylebook, she always used to tell me if all else fails put on your favorite jeans, a crisp white tee, and red lipstick. Immediate confidence booster.
I also stole from my Stylebook for my accessories. The main reason I'm trying this app is out of pure laziness – I want to feel confident & put together in what I'm wearing without the stewing, the doubt, and throwing shit everywhere around my room 5 minutes before I have to leave. Because once I leave, it's not about the clothes. It's about what I'm doing & who I'm with. I essentially don't want clothes getting in my way of being present in the moment.
Short answer – I love organization.
So anyway, I added a cardigan and scarf for warmth, moccasins for comfort, and a felt hat in a similar red clay color as shoes and scarf. Under $150 for an outfit seems pretty good, what do you think? I don't have much context as to what's cheap or expensive (just ask Joel) so definitely curious. I like laying it out like this though!
This was one of our first weekend's home since May. It was a semi-relaxing (AKA making sure Tiger didn't pee on every rock in sight) walk down the pier, taking in the beautiful view at sunset.
I remember walking the pier the night we moved here. We were in awe that we'd now be calling this place home. The hard work continues to be worth it to live here. After a long week, I was so grateful to see our home with fresh eyes.
Exactly one week later and we're looking at record high temps for July. Oh Michigan, love ya. I won't be wearing anything near as layered this weekend. Bathing suits only, clothing optional.
Happy weekend! Em
Bride Brain
I referred to myself as "the bride" for the first time during our engagement today. It was in an email to my #bridetribe (seriously, who am I?!) where I referenced Drake and told them to do their own makeup because most of them taught me how to do it, among other notes that were actually useful.
Many people have referred to me as the bride since October, of course. They've said things like, "What the bride wants, the bride gets" or "It's up to the bride to decide" or "Wow, I didn't think you'd be that type of bride."
But today, it was me calling me the bride.
Which is a minor but distinct difference. It's like when someone says you're an artist and you kind of brush it off like oh that's so kind of you to say because you don't believe you're an artist but want to keep the conversation going. Then one day you start to feel inside you that you are, in fact, an artist, and it's about damn time you began believing it for yourself.
Empowering. Intentional. An honor.
I am the bride (for now). I can't wait for how it feels when I first say, "Your wife" and "My husband" and "Our life."
Empowering. Intentional. An honor.
Weekender Bags
I'm about to order Joel's ring (eeeeek!) and I can't decide so I'm just going to focus on our mini-moon in Northern Michigan!
We've started to plan it by wish-listing a few possible places to stay but haven't figured out what we'd like to do yet. We've visited Munising in the U.P. the most and thought we'd try Sutton's Bay / Glen Arbor area but want to do more than hop around wineries. I should be researching things to do in Northern Michigan but I can't until I find the perfect weekender bag.
I've had a few in the past but they’ve always been sale items that the zipper breaks on or that the airport demolishes on the last leg home when you're extremely exhausted and just want to be in your bed. It's time to be a grown-up and invest in a solid weekender bag that will last on road trips and air travel and maybe camping if I ever attempt it again (a story for another day). The 5 I'm deciding between:
Novel Duffle by Herschel Supply, $85
I love that this has a specific compartment for shoes. I cringe every time I have to put my tennis shoes next to my white tee which is often because always white tee when traveling.
Mitsuko LG Amazon by Matt & Nat, $130
This color can be a hit or miss. It's on-trend but not sure how long it'll last. Not that it matters because I do what I want. Also, my new obsession with the Stylebook app has shown me I have way too much black, navy, and gray in my wardrobe so this deep green would be a welcomed change. I have this bag from Matt & Nat and absolutely love it for traveling so I know this would hold up for years. The entire mission and ethics of Matt & Nat are awesome too (are you seeing a pattern here?) so I love supporting their efforts.
Southwestern Weekender by Remi & Co., $100
Similar to my old one that's zipper broke. I like the Aztec pattern and colors and looks like can hold a lot. It reminds me of my trips to Arizona last year.
everlane_twill-weekender
The Twill Weekender by Everlane, $98
Probably the one out of this list with the best value. Everlane is super transparent about their manufacturing processes and this bag I got Joel last year has held up great. Lots of room to pack and great quality.
I'm leaning towards the green Matt & Nat one because I think the leather will hold up better than any other material and I like that the color is different than the majority of my wardrobe. Now if I can only be so sure on Joel's ring. He's only wearing it forever right?! No big deal.
Any recommendations on great places to visit in Northern Michigan? Would love to hear about your experience! Share in the comments.
Happy Sunday! - Em
7 Years Ago
Joel & I recently stopped for dinner in the college town we met at 7 years ago. We heard there was a new brewery in town so we had to go. We immediately recognized it as the old sandwich shop we'd go to on paycheck Friday – $8 sandwiches were a luxury back then, for real – and asked our waitress if she knew the name of it before it became a brewery.
"I don't know, I wasn't around here then."
Of course not because you were taking your first driving lesson then and damnit why can't my cutoff jeans look that great on me?! What I'm trying to say is she made us feel old. How has this much time passed? Weren't we just here with last night's gossip as a side to Reubens and turkey clubs?
We sat out on the patio and as I looked around, I was met with a feeling you can only get by going to a familiar place as a different person than you were when you first stumbled into it.
Seven years ago, I pulled up to this tiny town with whatever would fit into my mom's Jeep. I moved in with a roommate I met that day. We made a champagne toast to wherever the year would take us. We weren't concerned with making plans but riding the wave until something came our way (a good lesson still). I had an abundance of freedom I didn't know how to handle so a string of bad decisions taught me who I was and who I wasn't.
Fortunately, the champagne toast led me to a front porch where the most confident and carefree guy I ever saw sat. I had a microlens to him, no idea of the other names I was being introduced to. Butterflies fluttered throughout my entire body. I knew he would be a part of my life from that moment forward. It's such a difficult moment to describe. I've been trying to find the words ever since but they always fall short of how I really feel.
I'll try again...
It's like I discovered a secret that the Universe was waiting for me to stumble upon. Like all the moments I wondered why the hell the thing I wanted to work out wasn't working out, it responded,
“Just be patient. I promise there's something better down the path. You're just not ready for it yet.”
On that porch it hit me.
Oh, he's the "something better down the path". This is the one you meant for me to meet & now I know with everything in my body that this is who you were guiding me to.
I wanted to know everything about Joel. I wanted to be surrounded by his laugh, his goofiness, watch the way people were immediately at ease in his presence. So I followed my desire with the strongest faith I've ever had and I'm still following it. It reminds me of what can blossom with hope and faith amidst uncertainty.
We drank our crappy beers on the patio of the new brewery and relived those years when we were drinking crappy beers on the old porch at Joel's house. We were looking at our beginning with new eyes, as partners two months away from making a promise to each other that is rooted back to my first butterfly moment.
"Can you believe we're here?" he asked.
I thought back to the toast. The front porch. The way his eyes lit up because he knew it too.
"Yes, yes I can."
All the love, Em
Image c/o Tifani Lyn
My 1 Year Workaversary!
That's "one year anniversary at work" for those of you who don't like making up words.
When LinkedIn notified me earlier this month that I've been at my current job for one year, I realized this was a milestone. I've never stayed at one job longer than a year (the closest I got was 11 months)!
Most people would have the decency not to share this with their boss at their 90-day review, but I happen to have a boss who encourages transparency so I told her one of my goals was to be part of her team for longer than a year. I have others but I'm really proud of myself for having met the first one!
I started my career treating corporate environments like the plague, which led me to experiences that helped me grow as a designer in both studio and freelance settings. As I started to define what I like and what I don't, the corporate environment I'm in now has surprisingly been my favorite so far. I enjoy the structure, defining goals & expectations, and that there's an end date to every day. My absolute favorite part is the team I'm on – environment and culture are everything to me.
Over the last year, I've played a key role in redefining our brand standards which involves a lot of brainstorming, conceptualizing, and strategizing (this is seriously equivalent to frosting on cupcakes for me). I've learned about the myriad of details that goes into manufacturing even one tiny piece of a product and the ebb & flow of product cycles. Oh, and my email game's pretty tight now too.
What I love most about where I work is how it's broadening my horizons to what design means. In the furniture industry, there's a slew of interior designers, industrial designers, product designers, colorists, textile gurus, the list goes on & on. It's a daily inspiration to be surrounded by so many creative people.
I'm still in a cubicle with reminders telling me to get up and walk, in case you were thinking I have my shit together.
So to commemorate this time in my career, my top 2 projects I can share so far:
2015 Holiday Party
Art direction / Photographer / Designer
I foraged behind our house on the trail, styled my finds on our kitchen table, and turned them into fun posters and invites for our annual holiday party at The Cheney Place. I wish I had a picture of the drink menus held up by little pinecones as the centerpieces, so cute!
NeoCon Showroom Stylist
Concept / Execution / Print Materials
This was my biggest styling event so far! I spent a week in Chicago prepping for the largest national tradeshow event in the furniture industry. We chose dramatic silhouettes of greenery in clear glass vases to complement our sleek, high-end products. Oh, and here's how I looked most of the week running around the city gathering last-minute items & stuffing Whole Foods anything into my mouth. Top knots + coffee will forever make me smile.
The biggest takeaway I've had in my career so far is, don't knock it 'til you try it. I was so caught up with what I thought I wouldn't like about an office environment that I closed myself off to a lot of opportunities at first. Obviously, the Universe knew better so I wound up here anyway.
Cheers to one year!...and many more, Em
All That White Space
When I dubbed this space Brave Girl 2 years ago. When I debated between Mrs. Eaves & Liberator as my brand typeface, I didn't know it would unleash the deep dusty corners within me and put them on display. I felt exposed every time I opened up a new post.
All that white space.
As in-the-moment as words from your head to your fingers can craft.
The soul-dripping writing I do for Brave Girl stems from the type of conversations I enjoy having with other people. I like to talk about topics deeper than the weather, especially if we've just met. Ground me in your current passions, tell me of the revelation you had this morning when you saw your reflection in the mirror. If you begin our conversation by reiterating what I can see outside that window, you've lost my interest.
Dig deeper.
Desiring these types of connections is both curse & blessing. It's kept me from enjoying fun gatherings, light-hearted conversations, and from having friends in every corner of my little world. Curse.
But I have faith in my innate innocence, respond to my intuition consistently, and honor my relationships with all living creatures. Blessing.
There are endless blessings to this desire of mine but, admittedly, it's a poor framework to construct a solid personal brand from. Foundational? Yes. Seemingly flighty? Entirely.
I've laid some beautiful groundwork in this space over the last 2 years that's allowed me to blossom creatively. I'm unwavering in my discovery. I'm a curious person unapologetic for the internal pull to constantly explore all layers of my creativity. If that was the sole purpose of this space, I am gratefully fulfilled by it.
But I can't let it go. Wondering what's next for Brave Girl keeps me up at night.
What is this space calling to be evolved to?
Have a Little Help
I should not be writing this (my calendar has me slotted for client work right now & I haven't quite finished my morning admin work) but I must be writing this (I cannot keep ignoring my pulse in the name of productivity).
Do you ever notice that after you've run yourself ragged, that's when people start coming out of the woodwork to help you? & you're grateful yet curious as to why they're showing themselves to you now? It feels like magic to me. That has been my week & I keep crying, partly from exhaustion, but also in a releasing sense that I have asked for help & people have offered it to me so selflessly.
A few things they've said:
"Let it spin & admire the patterns".
"You're running. Please stop so you can build".
"You went to bed in a cocoon & woke up a butterfly."
"Those that have the most invested are the least likely to give in."
"You're the right person for this."
Why now? Because I desperately need it. I wait a little too long to ask for help. I want to do everything, be everything, see everything & have everything. The people who know me best are patient with this. I think it's good to pursue all of these things until it throws you off balance. You cannot get back into balance by yourself. It's okay to depend on others to help you realign. They may need you someday to help them realign & you will be there.
Thinking of you, Em