“I want to do to you what spring does with the cherry trees.” —Pablo Neruda

I took an IG break this week. I basically had to take a mental health break. When I get overwhelmed my immediate instinct is to hustle through it… or to shut down. And this weekend I shut down. I was so in my head about creating a dress that EVERYONE would like even though I know you can’t please everyone. I had to remind myself that my drive to create my own clothing line was because I didn’t see enough of what *I* wanted. So after a weekend of introspection I realized that we all gotta start somewhere. And today I wanted to remind myself of where I started…

How I started blogging

One of the number one questions I get asked is “How did you start your IG/blog?” and the answer to that isn’t that complicated. I started over 10 years ago with this blog. Back then I only joined Facebook and Instagram to PROMOTE my blog. I really didn’t like social media… and still have a complicated relationship with it. I only used it for promotion and then later to connect with you all!

Why did you start?

When I started I was looking for an artistic outlet during a difficult time. My content was vague and MUCH less transparent than I am now. My photographs were more about storytelling (which is something I miss.) And as the industry grew, so did I. A lot of it is about timing and that’s not lost on me. I was in the right place at the right time.

Although it wasn’t without a huge amount of work. Most nights I was on 5 hours of sleep and for around 4 years I worked an 8 to 5 job AND did a social media job on the side… AND blogged. (I DON’T advise doing that haha.) But I learned so much about motivation, drive, and the simple act of never giving up.

So what does this have to do with spring…

Currently as I look back, I look forward to what AiW is evolving into which hopefully is designing pieces that people enjoy. I know there will be mistakes along the way and that I’ll have to give myself the grace to grow from them, just as I did before. The spirit is to never give up, just as I didn’t before.

This spring take a journey with me just as the flowers do. Let’s grow and change together… and if all fails, fall is pretty magically too.

xo