Hiya, I'm Charlie! I've known Tyler since before we both hit puberty, and amazingly we came out the other side still friends. For that reason and many others, this lady is nothing if not tenacious! (And I do love her for it.)
I'm a creative professional. I launched my own writing career earlier this year because I didn't want someone else dictating how many days I could take off or how much income I could earn. After all, why shouldn't we be able to spend a day resting whenever we need to? Why shouldn't we be able to name a certain price for our products or services, if the demand is there for them?
This post is dedicated to everyone who is learning how to prioritize the state of their health over the output of their productivity.
Give these artists a look and if you'd like to continue the convo about smashing social norms around work, play, and rest, visit me on instagram or my website.
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I've followed this lady practically since the day I joined Instagram. She makes these incredible whimsical doodles about her mundane day-to-day that just turns those moments into magic. She's one of my favorite examples of someone who shared something that was totally normal to her and impacted countless lives by doing so.
This is my friend's jewelry shop. She handmakes every single pair of earrings she sells, and a percentage of profits goes to a different nonprofit every month. Every time I think she can't possibly come up with any new ideas, BAM! She comes out with a whole collection. Her proliferance is astounding.
Puno took all the rules I thought I knew about creativity and entrepreneurship and...shattered them. I love watching her come up with an idea and then just MAKING IT HAPPEN, but always in a way that makes sense to her and is actually profitable. Her content is, to me, the perfect blend of informative, hilarious, and straight up weird.
Lisa is another artist I've followed for several years and whose creative journey I have massively enjoyed watching. Her professional work is mostly dedicated to gorgeously lush murals and hand lettering, but my favorite pieces of hers recently have been the scripted curses and lamentations.
Jamie is a professional photographer who left her high-rolling life in NYC for the idyllic fields of southern France. I have followed her since the early days of Instagram, when we used to slap a Mayfair filter on a photo and be done with it. I've loved watching her grow into an artist who pursues exactly the kind of subjects she feels most inspired by, and who shares incredible details about all of her processes. Jamie's one of my favorite embodiments of, "A rising tide lifts all boats."
If you know me, you must know that I CAN'T dance. (Yes, even with jiggle juice.) But Donte Colley's feed is a masterclass in self expression, and is also just plain fun to watch. Will I ever be able to shake my leg like that? No. Will I pull a muscle trying? Yes.
Amie's work has become a necessary daily dose while I learn to be kinder to myself. Her bio pretty much sums it up:
"I created in total isolation for a long time. I bought into the stories that Artists can’t make money, that they’re lazy, that they’re avoiding the real world. I spent years working jobs I hated, writing books and in a cycle of depression because I believed my desire to live a creative life made me less than. The work I do now, is in service to my past self. I speak, teach and write love letters to creators, reminding us that the world needs what we have to make, reminding us of our worth, and our importance in this world."
Dr. Ki has created one of my FAVORITE places on the internet. Traveling isn't just about wearing a cute dress and taking a photo of your cocktail for Instagram: she's turned it into deep dives of local customs, history, and struggles. I so appreciate how hard she works to bring education to her platform and amplify voices that the tourism industry would normally drown out. Also, I think her Patreon page is the best one I've ever seen.
Did you know you can make roller skates out of platform high heels? Well, this lady did just that. (And yes, it is just as terrifying to watch as it sounds.) I follow her work closely because I'm totally fascinated by the way she's turned her #1 passion into her job--I mean, no one told me when I was a kid that I could make a living out of traveling the world, showing people how to do cool roller skating moves! Although of course she does much more than that. For me, she's now an icon of what it looks like to truly forge your own path, regardless of who's around to help you. (She films all her own videos with a droid, by the way. What a BADASS.) Check out her instagram for recent skating snippets.
Schuyler Bailar has floored me with his leadership from the first moment I saw him addressing his internet haters. I don't know anyone else who handles criticism and bigotry with as much calm and class as he does. Schuyler has about a million and a half accolades to his name, least of which the first transgender athlete to compete in any sport on an NCAA Division 1 men’s team. Check him out any time you need a confidence boost or a dose of inspiration.