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People, Places, Things: On Storytelling

 

supra endura blog post

I remember watching a video my friends made years ago. One friend turns to another and asks: “What do you care about most?” The second thinks for a minute, smiles, and replies: “People, places, things, and in that order.” It was a short, in-the-moment style video, which was posted to Facebook. The ideas in it seemed simple, but also profound. It struck me at the time and is still something that lingers in my mind: in our modern lives what do we care about most: people, places, or things? I am a designer, so by nature, I design things. My work does deal with people and places, but my primary focus is “things”. While I love creating, I am very aware of the over-consumption in our culture, and the negative impact of the fashion industry on our world. I am aware of the fashion industry’s obsession with objects, and how that has lead to exploitation. For a long time, I have grappled with my complex relationship to objects: I love the process of creating them but feel deeply guilty about the negative effects of my industry.

Even with qualms about the fashion industry, I persist, in being a designer. I started my career as a fashion designer, and I have continued to work for other brands along starting my own collection. During my time as a designer, I have never stopped being curious about the industry I work in, and the people who work within it. I feel that as I grow deeper into my process, I become more inspired by other creative entrepreneurs. In running my own business, I became aware of how hard creative entrepreneurship is. In experiencing this hard but exhilarating journey I have begun to seek out the narratives of other creative entrepreneurs.

I started to blog last year, and while it was a very modest attempt (10 blog post total!), I felt a new passion spark inside me. I am incredibly interested in the creative makers around me and wanted a chance to tell their stories. I love hearing about how people find their way into their passion or the number of false starts it took before a creative business idea finally ignited. At the end of 2017, I felt a growing need to expand the blog. I felt the blog could give a voice to emerging brands, while also giving a new perspective on established creatives within the Philadelphia community and beyond. While I am still designing, my focus has shifted to help promote others within my creative community. With my own business my elevator pitch has always been: I am a designer who tells stories through my clothing. Since then, my interest in storytelling has grown and now I curate the stories I am most passionate about people, places, things… and in that order.

Along with covering other brands I will also share my own experience about the fashion industry. It is a complex industry that I am fascinated by and I want to share my insider insight. So please, stay tuned and keep checking in!

 

Thanks!

Gabrielle Mandel