History repeats itself
Not everything but enough.
I want to paint a picture for you.
Imagine lil’ old me, late teens and very early 20s, wanting nothing more than to be in the fashion and beauty industries.
Then getting to be in them in a PR role with a lingerie brand, as a freelance makeup artist, an intern for fashion week with an agency, and as an editor for a small magazine that was growing.
Can I quickly talk about magazines?
I was knee-deep-obsessed. Had to buy and read as many as I could get my hands on.
A magazine collector of sorts in the same way I collected beanie babies when I was younger. The ones I would devour most though?
Ones with long editorial pieces, the cover stories, the ones that had depth in words. Especially **pieces about fashion houses, brands, pop culture, and entertainers I love(d).
I mean I’m a millennial after all. Didn’t we all love doing this?
Loving the longer pieces though is very on brand for me.
I like knowing the depth of a story. The POVs from brilliant minds, how that’s shaped their lives, and the choices they’ve made.
(if you see the books I read and the work I do today you’ll understand this even more)
Longer editorial pieces always give so much more than what a blurb would. Which is probably why, when I began my Substack it was a breath of fresh air.
I could finalllllly breathe through my writing.
Not much from those industries has made its way into any of the work I’ve grown into.
I’m not in the fashion or beauty industry anymore.
I won’t ever go near a makeup brush for money again.
I don’t go to events to write about them like my early 20-year-old self did.
The specificities from that season are long gone. The editorial influence though, lives deep inside me in a way I forgot existed.
I thought it started in this conversation, but I can track it back when I started thinking about a shake up strategy for here at The Cornerstone.
(shake up strategy = reviving content in a space that’s needing more umph or life)
Then again reflecting on astrological prompts about the significance of the very years I was in these industries with where I was at the moment I was reflecting on them.
The influence is seriously uncanny, but of course it would be. I haven’t stopped thinking about it.
Then here’s a kicker. Back then, I was also prone to devouring creativity-focused awards or event coverages. I loved the advertising ones the most and lo and behold, I stumbled upon this piece called Beyond Cannes from the co-founder of Substack.
This would’ve been something I would’ve diedddd to go to back then. It still something that’ll definitely be cool to go to now, but not in a bucket list kind of way like it used to be.
Reading this piece though made me realize, I love this editorial-esque writing so damn much.
My shake up strategy was finally taking tangible form with everything I just mentioned.
I started researching, ideating, thinking, and wondering “How can I bring this element into my own writing? What would be in it? What POVs did I want to share consistently through it?”.
And the answer finally came.
I want an anchor piece to exist outside of Musings and my weekly essay (I’m reviving it too). To not only be editorial but also share hindsight about broader topics.
That’s where Tactile Room is coming in.
A nod to my editorial days that never quite left — sparking the very thing Tactile Room stands for. A monthly report as an anchor for the month ahead by dissecting the one before it, clearing space for what’s next.
The sections for this monthly piece has me giddy.
HERE’S THE MENU
+ The Energetic Pulse — A reflection about last month’s energy, what I noticed because of it, and what’s coming next
+ What I'm Hearing + Sensing — Themes from my orbit and what I feel like it’s stirring
+ The Collective Zoom Out — What everything leading up to this section says about the creative life, on a bigger scale
+ Integration Through Reflection — Personal learnings about myself, work, and leadership in real-time
+ What's Coming Next — Energetically for all of us, what I’m being pulled towards, and what’s in the works
+ Pieces in Progress - Creative Report — Any content I’m shaping or wanting to explore and ideas trickling in
+ Final Notes — A soft landing to close it out and tie it all together
As I was sifting the pieces of this menu and finalizing the deets, my intention was to have the first one out in September.
The flow of my creativity has other plans though, so Tactile Room #1 will be for August instead.
If I’m honest, I feel a teensy bit unprepared but I know whatever version of prepared exists is enough for me to start this.
See you there.
Adored this backstory and makes sooo much sense for how you show up!! Also the Tactile Room name is👌