Remember in Jerry Maguire when he writes his 25 page mission statement (manifesto), makes copies & distributes them to everyone in the middle of the night?!? It was titled “The Things We Think and Do Not Say.” You know the one when he criticized the industry & called for “fewer clients...” 🖤 Well this isn’t exactly that, but I did at some point —perhaps quite a while ago —recognize that the #HomeDecor space of this platform is out of alignment with my values. I got into this IG with an actual remodel. I had watched a few accounts share their remodeling experiences and thought it would be fun to document mine. I started an account called “ourrusticcharmer,” sharing all progress pics. It was fun to capture ! But once my home got to a place where it was no longer changing, I would find myself scrambling for content. I know some accounts solve that issue, by continuing to buy more & more & more stuff to style & restyle their rooms. And that’s fine if they truly feel the need to constantly change their homes, but not so fine if the driving purpose is to get the audience to follow suit, using affiliate links, to line their pockets (sorry, real talk). It feels disingenuous and inspires discontent. Truth is, most people can’t afford to do that and even if they can, there is so much more we can do with our money than to overfill our homes with stuff we don’t need. Frankly, that is not the energy I want to put out into the world. 🖤 Don’t get me wrong, I’m still passionate about designing and I want help people to create as lovely a home as they can. But I never truly felt comfortable with this fast furniture/ fast decor model. I believe in timeless design. I try to encourage my clients to spend wisely, so as to not have to replace things in a couple of years-let alone a few months. I believe in beautiful finishes and having great foundational pieces and maybe swapping out the throw pillows from time to time, but that’s it. 🖤So, lacking home decor content, I started sprinkling in family pics & an occasional selfie and speaking from the heart on various topics. You guys responded and #candidlydeena was born. I hope you’ll stick around! Candidly, Deena