Winter is quickly turning to spring in the Bay Area, one of my favorite times of year. The Magnolia Tree flowers start in late January, Plum and Cherry blossoms close behind. By the time we reach early April, and the Jasmine is in full bloom filling the air with sweetness, I always feel lucky to experience what I fondly call the eternal spring."
This spring, I moved my son to Chicago to begin his next chapter, a fellowship through the University of Chicago. Empty nesting is layered and this feels, in many ways, like the final one… bringing with it all sorts of reflection, tenderness, and contemplation about what’s next.
“What is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”
– Mary Oliver
As it relates to these pages and this work, I feel lucky to be in a period of inspiration and growth, engaged in new projects with wonderful clients and brilliant collaborators. As I’m embracing these new opportunities, I’m exploring how we move from a period of reflection into action? How do we nurture our work environment in a way that encourages communication, shared optimism, and vision? And how do we promote a culture of generosity and abundance that will inspire us to work together to take care of our shared home – the land we love and depend on so much?
Below are a few practices I’m renewing my commitment to as this no-longer-quite-new year blossoms.
Lean into relationships
It really is all about relationships. Long-standing or new, internal or external, relationships matter most. While we cherish all our partnerships, I’m excited to diligently invest in ones with similar mindsets… those who hold wellbeing, quality, timelessness, craft, and a client-first mentality at the core of their practice. By leaning into these kinds of aligned relationships, we can turn our ideals into actions, our values into work we are proud of. Our next Haven interview will be with Backen & Backen, whom I recently met. I was so impressed with how they have put wellness front and center in their architectural practice and can’t wait to dive deeper with them as well as share their brilliance with you.
Trust the strength of our values
There is a clear delineation between building for longevity and building for quick turn-around. Often, we know from the beginning if a project will be one or the other. If we trust our instincts and stand firm on the quality of projects that we choose to invest our time in, it sometimes means letting opportunities that don’t align pass by to make space for ones that do, as well as give our attention and devotion to our existing clients.
Invest in well-being
As a business owner, I’ve learned that personal action begets firm-wide action. If I’m not well-rested and well-resourced, then it trickles down to my team 100 percent of the time. This realization is a strong motivator for me to take care of myself. As a business leader I keep an eye out for energy leaks (than you Rita Hovakimian) – people, projects or practices that draw more energy than they give. Coaching is invaluable and I work with several – from my business development coach to spiritual retreats – who give me insight and fortitude every day. I do a lot of work off-line to stay connected and true to myself so that I can bring the best of myself to our clients, our partners, and my extraordinary team.
Building a culture of abundance
Forming a personal and studio-wide culture of abundance requires fostering a mindset and environment where there is belief in enough… that there will be enough time, enough resources, enough opportunity for everyone. As we lean into this, trust forms. Things that are meant for us, find us. Things that are meant to fall away, do. I don’t have this mastered, and I won’t pretend it’s easy at first. It’s a practice… a coming back, time and again, to trusting that everything will work out even when it’s challenging, even when you can’t see how it will all turn out.
All for now…
Thank you for being a part of my community as we keep evolving. I’m grateful.