New York

New York Portraits | The Dowdy Girls

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the kind of girls who follow their dreams, not trends.
the kind of girls you want as friends, sisters, partners, mothers. 
the kind of girls who encourage you to be more you by simply being unapologetically themselves. 
the kind of girls you will be late for buses and trains for.
the kind of girls to go dancing with under late night city lights. 
the kind of girls who have wild and relentless ambition. 
the kind of girls who listen with their hearts. 
the kind of girls you will book plane tickets with.

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New York City | PlantShed

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New York City | PlantShed

you all might remember this post from last fall involving my work with the dreamy Upper West Side plant and flower shop, PlantShed.  

i have since had the privilege of working with them again and, for the foreseeable future, will be continuing to do so! 
to say that this is a dream job is an understatement. being able to work with plants and cool people in one of my favorite cities? yep. all the makings of a dream job.

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August Showers and New York Flowers

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i had the exceptionally wonderful opportunity to travel to New York City at the end of last month to photograph some special projects with my friend Casey Godlove, Plantshed and WeWork! 

(what? you got paid to travel to New York to take photos of flowers and plants?? i know... i can hardly believe it myself. talk about a dream job. #thetravelingphotographer)

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OOAK Knits | The Bowery Tank

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The Bowery Tank
 

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.

A photo posted by Leney (@agirlnamedleney) on

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 //

 

I Dream My Painting

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I dream my painting and I paint my dream. || Vincent van Gogh

People you can dream big with.
The big-city dreamers.
Those are the kind of people I love.
The ones I get most excited about doing life with.
This girl's one of them, for the record.

Have conversations about how important it is to visualize where you're going.
Believe it's possible to get there.
Set goals to get there.
Believe those are attainable.
But also learn to be content and happy with the present, where you're at now.
It's a fine line, something that requires balance.
But that too is possible.
You just have to dream your painting.
//
Shot at Greecologies in New York City

Five Cities


 New York, Richmond, Chicago, Cleveland, Raleigh
Shot with 35mm film // Minolta x-700

I got some film developed recently.
I've said before that I don't shoot film often. Well, I do, but only one shot here and there. The allotted 24 exposures often extend across a timeline of a month or two. Containing only one moment from a certain day, or a certain week, that I deemed memorable. 
It's not always the case when shooting digital. 
The ability to capture and re-capture moments often tarnishes their beauty and sacredness. 
But film, film allows for me to be more thoughtful, more purposeful. And though often the photos themselves are not as beautiful or breathtaking as they would be if I'd shot them on less than a whim, with a better camera or with higher technology, that's often why I love them. 
Perfect in all their imperfections. 
As the cliche goes.

 These five photos are of five cities I've travelled to in the last five months. 
Five cities in five months. 
(I've technically been to more than those five... But these are the five I captured on film)
It's funny, you don't realize how often you're gone until you pause and look back from your constant going. 
Traveling is something that I will always love. And while I still have more I want to do, this year in particular, realizing I've already done a fair amount in the first half of this year calms down the travel bug in me a bit. Remembering I've already done a lot, somehow lessens my need to do.
It reminds me, yet again, to just be where I'm at. Practice contentment. New adventures will come in their proper time. 
A lesson I am ever always, always, re-learning. 


Perspective

New York From A Birds View 
| Follow me on Instagram at @agirlnamedleney | 

I feel as though things (circumstances, situations, problems etc.) are so very often larger upon their first appearance than they are later on, after you gain a little perspective on them. 
Once you let them settle, have a good nights sleep, read a good book, talk to a friend or all of the above, things slide into a more comprehensive and understandable state.
Sometimes it just takes some time.
And patience.
(Not a virtue I necessarily possess, but I'm working on it...)

So here's to not making things bigger and scarier than they really are.
Take a deep breath and just take one day at a time and you'll look back on this time at some point and be surprised by how far you've come without even realizing it.