I can so relate to this work of re-integrating the parts of myself that I have felt the need to separate. You describe it so well- it's scary but also fun (and it leads us to our people!).
YES! At this stage in my maturity, my Wholeness demands to be respected in all my creations and all my relations. Ive come to feel more excited about an intimate gathering of resonant folks, folks that can FEEL the threads of curiosity that I am weaving with. We all seem to have a unique blend of creative sparks, and I am so happy to hear more folks leaning INTO their novel harmony and out of the mimic silliness
I was cheering for you throughout this whole post! Seeing you embracing your unique human-ness is awesome and inspiring. (Also, did you just save us about 10 years of learning about marketing? I feel like you did.) This post offers so much validation. I am someone who loves so many different things too-cottagecore and my ugly purple sweatpants, weird humor and heart-string tugging beauty, etc, etc. Thank you for reminding us we don’t have to compartmentalize ourselves. And thank you so much for the shout out!🩵
I'm on an Insta break, but I'll look for that when I go back. I think the branding thing is especially hard for multi passionates especially when some parts of our creative identity are dormant or less visible.
I feel you! I knew when it was time to stop listening to all of the advice, all of the marketing or branding Dos and Don'ts. I am who I am, I cannot package all of my work or what I offer with a tidy bow. I think the marketing courses are useful, but at a certain point we need to look inwards and listen to ourselves. I've heard a lot about the Tress book, let us know what you think!
I finished Tress recently and missed reading it afterwards. It's hard to talk about without spoilers, but if you enjoy whimsical fantasy I would recommend. 🌊
I can so relate to this. And I work in branding? Is this why? I’ve never really felt able to merge aspects of myself and always wondered why I see them as such separate pursuits when creativity should be all encompassing.
This is just it. One of my rebrands was even "Renaissance Soul". I'm not sure if that has the same connotation in the UK, but meaning I have a wide range of creative pursuits. Somehow bits of me still ended up on the cutting room floor. 🤷
I'm nodding, a lot. How liberating to show up as all of yourself. And, to be honest, it makes so much more sense to me that we are human in a world that is becoming ever-more technological (e.g. AI in the creative space). Cheering you on!
I relate to this SO MUCH. I’ve really come to hate the idea of simplifying myself down into a “brand”. It’s just another form of people-pleasing, this time trying to make yourself easily digestible to other people as they scroll past. I don’t want to be easily digestible, I want to be a meal so rich people choke on it if they’re not careful.
Yes, this! A few years ago I realized I was making content "for" the internet and it really limited the type of things that I made. I love this metaphor of digestibility. That is a huge part of what we are being asked to do and it doesn't work for everyone!
Ms. Frizzle is a character from Magic School Bus (I love the 90's version.) Maybe that didn't make it across the pond? If that's the case you've inspired a whole new Substack post introducing her. She's my hero. 💫
I did find on google but yes your introduction would be WONDERFUL! ✨✨ in exchange maybe I should revisit my favourite raggy doll or gummy bear character?! 🪄🪄🐇🕳️
*stares uncomfortably and whispers* I have three Substacks and a blog lol They all just used to be on the blog but for some reason I wanted to write more targeted posts for each of those topics and so here I am! I love the idea of just being human and not being a brand, it is quite possibly why I have never been able to master having thousands of followers on social media.
It's so strange that we've reached the point it's a radical idea to be a human, but here we are. 😂 I've subbed to your art Substack, but were you to merge them all I'd probably love it. 😉
It's so hard isn't it? I think for years you and I have connected over this idea of not niching. I think about 6 years ago I realized I was a multi passionate, but that still didn't stop me from trying to "brand" everything into a tidy box. Most recently it's been performing "professionalism" for the fine art world which has its own pitfalls and made me feel I had to hide certain things. I feel this is one of those lessons I keep re-learning in different contexts. But it's so funny I sign up for these courses and pay lots of money only to ignore them. 😂
This is so relatable. I also spend at least a decade studying all sorts of "online marketing" and slowly starting to feel the claustrophobia of having to adhere to such manufactured and fragmented specificity online. It made me start to hate creating--something I knew couldn't continue if I was to keep my sanity. So I'm also in the process of "unlearning" all that racket.
As a person in my early 20s, nothing is more comforting than reading about other humans finding ways to be holistically themselves. It is such an encouragement to me to embrace the mess and multiplicity ❤️ beautiful, reassuring writing as always, Sarah ❤️
So I found you and your work through the picture book you did with Gracie and after reading this post I feel like I reconnected with a friend from a past life. This is nearly identical to my own experience of trying to have a creative career. "Niche down" everyone says, but you're SO right that just feels like another form of masking. My ADHD brain thrives on newness and I have WAY too many things that bring me joy to carve them down into just a few. I'm here for the Miss Frizzle aesthetic and energy. For me I feel a bit like a goblin in my life and creativity, I love collecting and hoarding things but I'm way too chaotic and messy about it too be a hobbit.
Your comment makes me feel the same. We are definitely creative kindreds. I raged against niching 6-7 years ago and "rebranded" as a Renaissance Soul, but I still kind of splintered off the nerdy / geeky side. Before that I blogged about everyday adventure and I actually had a hobbit hole logo. I love the goblin hoarder vibe! Let's see what kind of chaotic magic we can unleash! ✨
Huzzah to all of this! 🥳 And gold star for submitting the manuscript. 🌟
I can so relate to this work of re-integrating the parts of myself that I have felt the need to separate. You describe it so well- it's scary but also fun (and it leads us to our people!).
Yes, every time I share more of me I discover more kindred spirits. 🌾
YES! At this stage in my maturity, my Wholeness demands to be respected in all my creations and all my relations. Ive come to feel more excited about an intimate gathering of resonant folks, folks that can FEEL the threads of curiosity that I am weaving with. We all seem to have a unique blend of creative sparks, and I am so happy to hear more folks leaning INTO their novel harmony and out of the mimic silliness
I was cheering for you throughout this whole post! Seeing you embracing your unique human-ness is awesome and inspiring. (Also, did you just save us about 10 years of learning about marketing? I feel like you did.) This post offers so much validation. I am someone who loves so many different things too-cottagecore and my ugly purple sweatpants, weird humor and heart-string tugging beauty, etc, etc. Thank you for reminding us we don’t have to compartmentalize ourselves. And thank you so much for the shout out!🩵
Yes, we all contain multitudes! 💫👏✨
This is so on the money for me - I wrote a post for INstagram the other day articulating such similar feelings - thanks so much for sharing x
I'm on an Insta break, but I'll look for that when I go back. I think the branding thing is especially hard for multi passionates especially when some parts of our creative identity are dormant or less visible.
I feel you! I knew when it was time to stop listening to all of the advice, all of the marketing or branding Dos and Don'ts. I am who I am, I cannot package all of my work or what I offer with a tidy bow. I think the marketing courses are useful, but at a certain point we need to look inwards and listen to ourselves. I've heard a lot about the Tress book, let us know what you think!
I finished Tress recently and missed reading it afterwards. It's hard to talk about without spoilers, but if you enjoy whimsical fantasy I would recommend. 🌊
I can so relate to this. And I work in branding? Is this why? I’ve never really felt able to merge aspects of myself and always wondered why I see them as such separate pursuits when creativity should be all encompassing.
This is just it. One of my rebrands was even "Renaissance Soul". I'm not sure if that has the same connotation in the UK, but meaning I have a wide range of creative pursuits. Somehow bits of me still ended up on the cutting room floor. 🤷
I'm nodding, a lot. How liberating to show up as all of yourself. And, to be honest, it makes so much more sense to me that we are human in a world that is becoming ever-more technological (e.g. AI in the creative space). Cheering you on!
Thank you Charlie! Yes, it feels more important than ever to embrace our humanity in all of its mess and contradictions.
I relate to this SO MUCH. I’ve really come to hate the idea of simplifying myself down into a “brand”. It’s just another form of people-pleasing, this time trying to make yourself easily digestible to other people as they scroll past. I don’t want to be easily digestible, I want to be a meal so rich people choke on it if they’re not careful.
Yes, this! A few years ago I realized I was making content "for" the internet and it really limited the type of things that I made. I love this metaphor of digestibility. That is a huge part of what we are being asked to do and it doesn't work for everyone!
Love this process share from you Sarah and I keep meaning to ask you about Frizzles - I’m off to google! ✨
Ms. Frizzle is a character from Magic School Bus (I love the 90's version.) Maybe that didn't make it across the pond? If that's the case you've inspired a whole new Substack post introducing her. She's my hero. 💫
I did find on google but yes your introduction would be WONDERFUL! ✨✨ in exchange maybe I should revisit my favourite raggy doll or gummy bear character?! 🪄🪄🐇🕳️
Yes, this would be a fun series! Childhood muses. ✨
*stares uncomfortably and whispers* I have three Substacks and a blog lol They all just used to be on the blog but for some reason I wanted to write more targeted posts for each of those topics and so here I am! I love the idea of just being human and not being a brand, it is quite possibly why I have never been able to master having thousands of followers on social media.
A very valid post, thank you!
It's so strange that we've reached the point it's a radical idea to be a human, but here we are. 😂 I've subbed to your art Substack, but were you to merge them all I'd probably love it. 😉
Thanks for sharing my post Sarah. And I agree about being a person and not a brand. I think I often fall, or fell, into that trap.
It's so hard isn't it? I think for years you and I have connected over this idea of not niching. I think about 6 years ago I realized I was a multi passionate, but that still didn't stop me from trying to "brand" everything into a tidy box. Most recently it's been performing "professionalism" for the fine art world which has its own pitfalls and made me feel I had to hide certain things. I feel this is one of those lessons I keep re-learning in different contexts. But it's so funny I sign up for these courses and pay lots of money only to ignore them. 😂
Whenever I've tried to brand myself I've ended up boxing myself into corner that I then am compelled to break out of. Great post 🙌
I feel that! The thing is I love the creative process of building a brand. But then I want to do it again. 😂😂😂
Haha, totally get that!
This was amazing and inspiring and fuck human branding. I’m subscribing right after I hit SEND.
Welcome Frederick. Who knows what's coming next?
This is so relatable. I also spend at least a decade studying all sorts of "online marketing" and slowly starting to feel the claustrophobia of having to adhere to such manufactured and fragmented specificity online. It made me start to hate creating--something I knew couldn't continue if I was to keep my sanity. So I'm also in the process of "unlearning" all that racket.
It seems this post has really struck a nerve today. Maybe we will see a cultural shift! Or maybe I attract rebels, but either way let's do it! 👏
As a person in my early 20s, nothing is more comforting than reading about other humans finding ways to be holistically themselves. It is such an encouragement to me to embrace the mess and multiplicity ❤️ beautiful, reassuring writing as always, Sarah ❤️
Thank you Isabelle. 🌿
So I found you and your work through the picture book you did with Gracie and after reading this post I feel like I reconnected with a friend from a past life. This is nearly identical to my own experience of trying to have a creative career. "Niche down" everyone says, but you're SO right that just feels like another form of masking. My ADHD brain thrives on newness and I have WAY too many things that bring me joy to carve them down into just a few. I'm here for the Miss Frizzle aesthetic and energy. For me I feel a bit like a goblin in my life and creativity, I love collecting and hoarding things but I'm way too chaotic and messy about it too be a hobbit.
Your comment makes me feel the same. We are definitely creative kindreds. I raged against niching 6-7 years ago and "rebranded" as a Renaissance Soul, but I still kind of splintered off the nerdy / geeky side. Before that I blogged about everyday adventure and I actually had a hobbit hole logo. I love the goblin hoarder vibe! Let's see what kind of chaotic magic we can unleash! ✨