Photo by Meagan Abell
i love the words people use to describe me now.
sassy. independent. free spirited. strong. wild.
people who’ve known me for years and people who’ve just met me.
their words are the same.
i think that’s when you know you’re you. you’re consistent. you’re just as you were meant to be. when people you knew before and people you know now use the same words to describe you.
learn to let a little more green into your life.
speak only good and kind things about yourself. because subconsciously, whether you realize it or not, good-or-bad you will step into and become whatever you speak over yourself.
so speak positively.
share what is vulnerable, not what is intimate.
sometimes it comes down to books or groceries.
it’s okay for books to win.
the value in having your own space, really and truly a space all your own will be a part of your life you didn’t know you were missing and will only help you embrace and become more of who you were meant to be.
few people will understand this.
be okay with that.
journeys are, above all, a way of getting closer to yourself.
you chose this.
if you didn’t, choose something different because you have the freedom to choose.
keep only the things that speak to your heart and spark joy.
discard the rest.
this includes thoughts.
innovation happens at the intersections.
it is incredibly dangerous to assume.
you will miss out on so much if you get into the habit of doing this.
there’s a scarcity and sacredness to living slow.
when you’re able to, hold onto it, don’t let anything come along and speed it up.
the people.
it’s all about the people.
do not lose sight in the dark, of what you came to know to be true in the light.
you’re exactly where you need to be to get to where you want to go.
Brittanny sent me with some of her lovely jewels earlier this year for me to photograph during my trip to Iceland.
Her Naked Bangles pretty much haven’t left my arm since then, with the exception of when I have to take them off for airport security (which has been a frequent occurance these days…#thetravelingphotographer). They are definitely my favorite to say the least.
Her work is so beautiful so if you’re in the market for some timeless pieces to add to your jewelry wardrobe you should definitely check her out.
Pictured here:
The Naked Bangle
Selene
The Naked Midi
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This post was sponsored by Brittanny Chanel Jewelry.
You can shop through her online store as well as connect with her on Instagram and Facebook.
If you're interested in sponsoring a post or collaborating, shoot me an email: agirlnamedleney@gmail.com
This video is just absolutely everything.
This is why I take photos.
This is why I find photographs so incredibly moving and sacred.
Oh how I absolutely love everything that Artifact Uprising stands for.
Inspired by the disappearing beauty of the tangible.
***Warning: You may or may not shed tears while watching this.
Grab some tissues.
there’s a lot i’ve not forgotten.
about those star crossed days.
heat rising from asphalt we dance-sat-ran on.
to and away from each other.
beautiful, close and young.
it’s a fine line between remembering and being stuck. recalling and wallowing. recollection and depression.
it’s a line i feel as though i’ve almost-all-the-way mastered the walking of.
almost.
i wonder if it’s even possible to all the way master a line like that.
a line like that with a person like you.
everyone looks like someone i know from far away.
The black sand beaches of Iceland are what inspired this cowl.
The varying shades of dark to light of the sand as the tide went out.
A place unlike any other.
As soon as I came home and found this yarn, I knew exactly what I was going to make with it.
Yarn origin: Richmond, VA
If you'd like to invest in this piece and be the owner of it's unique story you can do so by heading to the shop listing for it below
You can also see other OOAK Knits and there stories here.
Why one-of-a-kind?
These pieces are inspired by...
the places i’ve been,
the people i’ve met,
the words i’ve read,
the images i’ve created.
All of which are unique, to themselves, their own, one-of-a-kind.
Much like you are.
I believe that your clothing, what you wear, says a lot about you.
It adds to your story, your make-up, who you are as an individual.
And so, shouldn’t those pieces in and of themselves hold a story all their own?
I think so.
That’s why my knitwear is one-of-a-kind.
Each design is a piece of art.
Each piece tells a story.
Of a person. A place. An experience. An idea.
When you own one of these pieces you are the only one to own it.
Aside from me, the creator, you hold it’s story.
You are now the caretaker of it’s story.
And it, in turn, becomes a part of yours.
The Stories The Things We Own Tell.
I think they're terribly important, though often overlooked.
I find that the things we invest in are the things we cherish and value most. Which in turn speaks to what kind of individual we are. What we put stock in. Who we want to be.
You can also read more about why here.
// Photos by Meagan Abell //
the faded colors, the rounded corners, the symmetrical shapes that have captured in time so many moments from so long ago.
i recently spent time with some of my very favorite people and ended up discovering a drawer chocked full of these moments. photographs. creased, bent, faded, preserved, folded, saved over decades and decades of family history.
maybe the effect old photographs have on me is in part due to the fact that i’m a photographer. or maybe it’s the other way around… but regardless, there’s nothing that can get the water works going for me faster than looking at old photos.
i don’t even mean just my own family photos. i recently spent an evening looking at a dear friends old family photos and i was literally shedding tears over them (this also included touching the actual negatives from find the girls on the negatives which also gave me chills). but it’s not just limited to close friends family photos either. it includes forgotten photos of strangers collected by friends too.
i don’t know what it is, but give me a handful of images circa the 90’s or earlier and you’re going to have to hand me a few tissues as well.
there’s just something so special about old photographs.
they’re an archive.
they’re pieces of me.
really important things are not that great in number.
true friends.
sacred keep sakes.
good photographs.
— a revelation i had last friday
Inspired by the lines and symmetry of the concrete jungle.
New York City.
A place that holds the dreams and ambitions of so many.
It's certainly no stranger to housing some of my own.
Yarn origin: New York, NY
A lovely silk and extra soft merino blend makes up the body of the tank and the side panels are knit of a beautiful cotton yarn.
If you'd like to invest in this piece and be the owner of it's unique story you can do so by heading to the shop listing for it below
You can also see other OOAK Knits and there stories here.
Why one-of-a-kind?
These pieces are inspired by...
the places i’ve been,
the people i’ve met,
the words i’ve read,
the images i’ve created.
All of which are unique, to themselves, their own, one-of-a-kind.
Much like you are.
I believe that your clothing, what you wear, says a lot about you.
It adds to your story, your make-up, who you are as an individual.
And so, shouldn’t those pieces in and of themselves hold a story all their own?
I think so.
That’s why my knitwear is one-of-a-kind.
Each design is a piece of art.
Each piece tells a story.
Of a person. A place. An experience. An idea.
When you own one of these pieces you are the only one to own it.
Aside from me, the creator, you hold it’s story.
You are now the caretaker of it’s story.
And it, in turn, becomes a part of yours.
The Stories The Things We Own Tell.
I think they're terribly important, though often overlooked.
I find that the things we invest in are the things we cherish and value most. Which in turn speaks to what kind of individual we are. What we put stock in. Who we want to be.
You can also read more about why here.
// Photos by Meagan Abell //
this is the time in which you'll be split down the middle on things. in a sentence: it’s a transition from i-believe-this-because-you-do to i-believe-this-because-i-do.
this is the time in which your opinions and beliefs are traveling from the side of blind following to hard earned opened eyed searching and seeing for yourself. which will sometimes entail a fight-for-it-even-when-it’s-hard believing. this is the in-between moment of those two times.
be okay with that.
you'll end up on the other side eventually.
this is the time in which you'll curl up under your covers late at night in the dark and have a three hour transatlantic phone conversation with your best friend. a conversation about what love is.
something will shift in your understanding during that conversation.
don't let go of it.
this is the time when you'll realize it's far more important to look people in the eye and offer them your hand, than it is to be comfortable.
this is the time in which you'll understand, finally, why it is you do the things you do and how you are the way you are. but what's more than just understanding it, you'll love it. you'll love yourself. fully.
this is the time in which you'll finally realize that, really, no one else gives a damn and so you shouldn't either.
this is the time in which you'll realize there's a secret club. that you're the head of it. that everyone, in fact, has their own secret club. and what's terribly important and sacred is the people you choose to let into it.
but in the same vein: don't be close minded and overly selective about who you let in.
this is the time in which you will be told it will be okay.
this is also the time in which you will actually believe it.
