A Five Year Reflection on A Creative Cliche
So it is absolutely no secret that A Creative Cliche has officially hit its 5 year mark this month. *CUE THE SYMPHONY * And to say it feels amazing is a complete under-statement. In all honesty, it feels like a literal dream! I can remember very vividly when this was all just a concept, scribbled out thoughts on pages of a notebook I carried with me. I spent months researching, observing, conceptualizing and often times stalling (because let’s be honest perfectionism is real) before officially launching 3/8/2015.
In the time leading up to this 5 year mark my mind has been ruminating on how far the brand has come. And so I decided to take a second to share publicly how it all came together and how we arrived HERE, today. The aim is to celebrate how far A Creative Cliche has come but also to encourage those who are in the very early stages of their brand, business or vision.
In the fall of 2014, a few months after graduating from Simmons College and getting married to my best friend, I started to really look at my life. I wouldn’t say that I was un-happy really, I just realized I wasn’t using any of my natural talents or skills in my day to day life. At the time I was working in a hospital doing admin, it was an easy job in a quiet department with very little to complain about. During that time my husband was pursuing ministry and I loved seeing how excited he was coming from class so fired up about what he was doing and learning. I on the other hand would come home completely drained and un-inspired. I think he noticed, because over time he began to push me to pursue what I REALLY wanted. Here was the problem…I wasn’t completely sure. So I spent the next few months fleshing out what I really wanted.
By December of the same year my vision began to clear up. I knew that I needed to use my natural gifts in the creative realm, but that’s it, that’s all I had. And I knew it would be called A Creative Cliche. The name stemmed from the cliche surrounding creatives that we are multi-talented. Usually someone who is a painter also writes poetry, is incredible in interior decoration and can probably play the guitar! I named it that way to give myself space to grow into the name. It allowed me to stay limitless in the realms of the arts and creativity as I figured out my area of focus. My temporary contract at the hospital ended by Christmas so I spend every single day in January- February coming up with a game plan. I looked up how to make a business plan, different career paths and the like until I had written myself to death. One day my husband looked at me and asked “so when are you going to do this thing”. And I realized it was time to stop stalling, I had become so afraid of not beginning perfect that I was now hiding behind “I’m not ready”. BUT I WAS READY! So I decided the only way to make it real is to decide a date, announce it and jump into the pool of uncertainty and I did it!
I didn’t make a dime until December 2015. From there I started paying some of my friends to help, then interns, then employees. But I don’t regret a single step of the process. In the very beginning it was pretty hard to get people interested because at that point I was just talk. It wasn’t until the train was moving that I realized people were willing to help. This concept has played itself out over and over and it’s one of the biggest lessons I think someone could take from this reflection. Start moving your train, your vision, your plan and eventually others will want to hop on board something that has momentum and a direction. So often times this journey will be lonesome, it can even be discouraging, but don’t let that crush your hopes! Start where you are with what you have in your hands!
I’ve written this blog post in collaboration with Femme Luxe Refinery. I want to share how I styled some of the recent pieces I picked up from them. The first look I wore featured a Black Fishnet Mesh Puff Sleeve Top called the Cyrilla. I loved the complete sheer nature of this top and opted to play with textures. I paired this top with a black lace cami, a pair of black gauchos, black lace tights and black suede pumps. The aim was to take the all black look to the next level with texture playing.
The second look featured a Stone Long Sleeve Belted Utility Cargo Jacket called Abril that I paired with a pair of leather joggers also from Femme Luxe Refinery. I loved the sporty look thrown a slight curveball by the black stiletto. The third look was a true wildcard! I paired the grey silver strapless corset crop top called Melli with a pair of grey sweatpants and a yellow heel as a pop of color. This is probably one of my edgier looks to date, feeling over the top enough for a photoshoot.
The final look featured a khaki one shoulder puff sleeve crop top called Rihanna. This crop top was just long enough to pair well with a pair of high waisted mom jeans. I loved how the color of the top complimented the crisp white jeans as well as the dainty details in the puffy sleeve.
