Happy Thursday Reader!
As I sit here writing this, I'm listening to one of my favourite sounds - wind in the trees.π I won't lie, this has been a brutal summer, so I'm actually excited for what feels like the start of Autumn. I've become a big Autumn convert the last few years, and I love that the seasons outside my window are sort of a reminder of the seasons inside a business.
Sometimes you need a season of consolidating, stepping back, thinking, ideating. Other times growth is the whole point and you're doing loads. Both are valid. You just can't stay at one pace forever.
I like to try use the change of seasons to check in with myself - decide what's next, where I think my attention needs to be, and how I'm feeling about it. So just a gentle reminder this week: seasons are as natural in your business as they are outside your window.
Right, back to jazz (I have discovered some really great new music lately!), the wind, and a cup of coffee.
It me! π
One of the things I am STILL just really not good at in my business is my own brand building - especially when it comes to actually getting my SELF out there and being seen/heard. (Which feels kinda silly to admit considering I help other people do it! π)
BUT, I do like a good chat, and I was honoured to be asked recently to guest on my friend Juls' podcast - The Honest Designer Diaries. Juls is so lovely, and boy did we chat. We talk about boundaries, and client expectations, and pricing, and AI...and needless to say - I had OPINIONS. π€£ But more than anything it actually felt really great to be able to share some of my experiences that may (hopefully) help someone avoid some of the mistakes I made.
If you'd like to check it out while you walk the dogs or tackle the treadmill...just hit the button below. I'd love to know what you think.
Small but mighty.
Canva is constantly evolving, and it's easy to scroll straight past new updates without a second thought. But five recent small ones caught my eye, not because they're flashy, but because they quietly solve problems brand and business owners run into a lot using Canva.
In this week's short tutorial I walk briefly through each one and why it's worth your time, from finally being able to add videos to your Brand Kit, to an AI tool that's more useful than it sounds. Check it out here.
Meaningful Creations
Meet Brazilian artist Gustavo Nazareno. What first made me notice his work is just the visual impact. Huge, dramatic figures wrapped in fabric, lit like something out of a Caravaggio painting. But nothing about it feels old, it's completely modern, and completely his own thing.
His paintings are actually portraits of orixΓ‘s, the deities of CandomblΓ©, an Afro-Brazilian religion that's honestly fascinating and pretty misunderstood outside Brazil (it grew out of enslaved Africans keeping their faith alive in secret, blended with Catholic imagery). Seeing that history and spirituality represented this beautifully, and with reverence, feels like exactly the kind of African diaspora representation the art world needs more of (in my humble non-artist opinion π).
Something he said stuck with me too: "Everything I search for or things that I don't know or I'm not sure of or I depend on studies of other people or oral traditions to kind of discover and to navigate. So, I think mystery is something that keeps me curious." He also talks about how colour allows him to give his figures an identity, without ever needing to give them a name.
I just think his work is so powerful. His Instagram is basically a gallery on its own, go have a look - https://www.instagram.com/gustavonazarenostudio - and tell him I sent ya. π
OK you delightful people - have a fabulous rest of your week and I'll see ya next week...same time, same place. π€
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