I happen to believe two things about style: 1. It's so much more than what you wear and 2. You can't teach it, you can only layout the framework so people can discover their style. I have been running workshops at the shop now for about eight months and one of the major components of them is how to develop style. I find women spend so much time making sure everyone else is taken care of and out the door with matching shoes that by the time they get around to themselves, they're too tired, or wouldn't know where to start. We give them the space to be with other women, have permission to focus on the self and discover what they like. Knowledge is power, so when you know what you like, you are empowered. So see, i don't really teach anything, but rather provide a space and some guidelines for women to discover it all on their own.
What's this style in a tray business all about? It's something i'm sharing with you today so that you too may hone in on what you like and why. A couple of months ago i discovered a book (again at my favourite bookstore Millpond Records & Books) called Style Statement and it intrigued me most because of it's tagline "live by your own design", which is precisely what we encourage through our workshops. Rather than simply being another 'how-to' book, it explored different lives of both men and women, what was important to them, and what they liked. The part i loved most about the book was each person's collections. Being a natural collector, this intrigued me. So, i thought i would share with you my rendition by sharing a style tray with you today. This is something i hope to incorporate into future workshops, so i figured i better do a few myself.
This particular tray has helped me streamline both the latest design for the blog and also the future look of my new shop. Since i am a treasure-hunter, i always thought my style was cluttered, but once i sat down and started to take a real hard look at my interests, they turned out to be a lot more streamlined than i thought. Without further ado:
1. Photo of my mom when she was younger - this photo is probably one of my most cherished; it lives in my studio and i look at it almost daily. My mom gave this to me on a particularly difficult birthday. 2. Jewellery dishes from both Africa and Turkey - i collect a small bowl from each new country i visit, 3. A white beach rock and a piece of citrine a neighbour gave me - i love having rocks, stones and gems around me, 4. A picture of Alex when he was younger that i keep in our dressing room - it lives inside the glass door of a beautiful jewellery box/cabinet Ry gave me, 5. My favourite piece jewellery my mom has ever given me and an electroformed gold leaf.
What did this tell me about my style? I love nostalgia, especially when it is personal and tells of my past or my families past. I am a collector of memories and enjoy having small tokens of experiences around me for daily use, family is important, i feel energized by symbols of nature and feel most rooted when surrounded by natural elements and, i love black and gold! whew - that's a lot from a tray.
Now it's your turn. It's a nice and easy exercise; simply gather tokens that mean something to you or that you are drawn in by and place them on a tray. Maybe even leave it for a couple of days and add things. At some point you can sit and look at each item and challenge yourself to why you put that item on the tray and what it might reveal about yourself. Please link back if you try this, I would love to see what you come up with!
