On Writing a Blogletter

It’s amusing to me that I keep giving myself new projects to do though I constantly feel behind….

Hello, everyone.

Welcome to (A)Musing of a Designer, the space where I’ll be adding important updates—upcoming events, new types of products, business changes, etc.—and jotting down my thoughts on being a designer and small-business owner, from the process to the struggles to the epiphanies.

This blogletter (blog+newsletter) has been a long time coming. I’ve had the thought to start it from the get-go (hence the whole “Stay in Touch!” box on our homepage), but my to-do list has consistently been daunting, to say the least. But that’s a topic for another post.

I’m adding this writing task to my full plate partly for you and partly for me. Obviously, there is the update side of things and the need to provide another avenue for communication beyond social media (which, I know, I need to update more 😮‍💨). I also don’t want Inanna Designs to feel like another soulless, capitalistic venture. Right now, I, Joey, am Inanna Designs, and I like to think that a piece of me is in everything I create. My creations are the product of my thoughts, feelings, values, and perspectives, and I want you to understand the spirit that lies within the Inanna Designs items you’re purchasing or wearing. Relatedly, I tend to be quite honest and open about what I’m going through and the realizations I’ve had about various topics, and I’ve found that people often appreciate and feel a connection to the words I share. No pressure, Joey.

Another reason for this project: I just love writing. I love the opportunity it provides for self-expression and creativity, and I enjoy playing with language. Every writing session is like a challenge for me, a puzzle with infinite solutions. As a science writer and journalist for some 15 years and counting, I’ve completed many, many puzzles, and I’m very grateful for the experiences and successes I’ve had in that career. But in that work, my creativity was, justifiably, reeled in by various style guides, my words and phrases subject to others’ opinions and demands, significantly narrowing the possible solutions to the challenge at hand.

The words of Genie in Aladdin (my favorite animated movie from my childhood) now spring to mind: “But oh, to be free!”

I have some topics already in mind to write about (the first will be a backstory about Inanna), but I am not committing to any particular schedule or number of posts per week or month. I have enough deadlines to juggle already! They’ll come when they come. Stay tuned.

Be well,

Joey

Joey, like a tree.