I wanted to publish this post in the day when I celebrate the two year anniversary of Style Unsettled – which is coming up soon in November! But I just couldn’t wait until then and felt really inspired to write this now instead.
Sofi Tukker – Batshit
What inspired me to start Style Unsettled
When I started Style Unsettled, this blog wasn’t more than a fun little side project, an escape from my – at the time – soul crushing day job and increasingly decaying social life. It was an outlet for all the creativity I felt I had in me that I couldn’t express, even though I supposed to be having a creative job (I’m a multidisciplinary designer and creative director).
It was also a project that helped me polish skills I was genuinely passionate about and wanted to learn through a hands-on experience: visual storytelling, photography, styling, fashion design, culture and videography.
My intent was never to make a full time career out of it. I just wanted to create a little corner of heaven where I could be myself and where everything was all right. And beautiful. And fun. And exciting. And creative. And where all the problems were far away, even if only for a little while.
How authentic my blog really is?
I’m not going to lie, I had moments when I felt bored with it and when I felt insecure about it because I kept hearing left and right “you can’t do it“, “it’s too late to get into blogging“, “this is not a career“, “you should focus on something else“, “you shouldn’t write about this“. So all this kept me kinda small and slowly I saw my unfiltered enthusiasm towards it get eroded. I started to forget that this wasn’t why I started this blog to begin with.
I started it because it was my passion. I’m not here to promote products or to make you buy stuff you don’t need just for the sake of it. I’m not here to satisfy some void in my ego to feel like a celebrity or to gain fame. All those things are nice, but without substance they mean nothing!
I know a lot of people view fashion – and even the arts in general – as something shallow and frivolous. Like “ppfttt who really needs that?” But to me fashion has always been a way to express myself and a way to make an otherwise more dull experience, a bit more fun and joyful. It’s not about being vain or feeling superior to other people, it’s about aesthetics and an escape from the mundane.
That’s why I took a break from Style Unsettled for a little bit while I was going through all sorts of “storms” in my life and I came back to it when I felt that spark of passion was ready to be reignited. Not many of you know, because I wanted to keep my personal life private, but… in the past two years since I started Style Unsettled I moved, gone through a hurricane (anyone remember Irma?), lost my job (I wouldn’t exactly call it losing, I’d call it ‘thank freaking Geezus‘ but hey…), got divorced (the most devastating thing I’ve EVER gone through), battled depression, restarted my freelance design business and went back to Europe to visit my family for a whole month.
The silver lining here though is that – despite the initial shock and confusion – all this has helped me become more intentional and clear about what I want and what my contribution to this world is supposed to be.
I know from the depths of my core that I was put here to create and to help this world become a more beautiful and abundant place. And in the same time show others that regardless of what path they’re on and regardless of what their job is and regardless of what field they’re in – anybody, absolutely ANYBODY, can be more creative, live a creative lifestyle and invite more beauty into their lives.
I’m not talking about being artistic or having artistic abilities, I’m talking about having a creative mindset, a mindset that recognizes solutions and comes up with new ways of looking at things; a mindset that dabbles in possibilities and always searches for ways to make the world better even if in the smallest of ways; a curious and crafty mindset; a mindset that is supportive and fostering instead of destructive and judgemental. Because creativity is nothing more than making connections between things you haven’t thought of before and finding solutions to problems through various means.
When I realized that this is the bigger purpose of Style Unsettled (more than simply providing inspiration and information), my feelings towards it bounced back to excitement. Because even though it started as a personal outlet for my wishes and creativity, I truly believe that this blog can be a bona fide hymn for what #CreativeLifestyle stands for.
I want to be part of this with you, I want us all to stretch ourselves to grow and to help each other shoot for the stars, no matter what that means to you, all day every day. Because (with the risk of sounding extremely cheesy) all we really have is this moment! To be happier, brighter, more loving and more connected. To truly live a #CreativeLifestyle and refuse to settle for anything less than – regardless of how crazy you think this is!
No matter of your background, status, size, age, income level, or location, you too can live a more #CreativeLifestyle and align yourself with your passions and that fire that somewhere inside you burns quietly waiting for you to give it a voice.
Anyways… I know it’s a long post but I love to write so… That being said, thanks for reading. Are you ready to embark in the #CreativeLifestyle challenge? As always, much love
