So long, summer

Softening into autumn + its unhurried rhythm

Hi, I'm Sarah, and I craft brands that feel like home. Join me as I explore the seasons in our businesses and take a gentle, nurturing and playful approach to strategy, styling and storytelling. Enjoy my writing? Support me by subscribing to my cosy corner of Substack.

“No need to hurry. No need to sparkle. No need to be anybody but oneself.”

— Virginia Woolf

Does September hold a "New Year" kind of energy for you?

I liken this month to a second January, a transitional time that offers a revived sense of possibility.

While I don't subscribe to resolutions, September has a certain charm, a magical pull towards dreaming and planning, perhaps because it's the gateway to a new season?

As these last days of summer unfurl, the sun lowers, day by day, and the trees undress, leaf by leaf. One chapter unfolds lovingly into the next and, for me, brings alignment and intention.

These early days of caring for a tiny human again have been strangely vitalising for me. This has looked like playing with my Brand Seasons® project, piecing together the surrounding activities and resources, and pinpointing collaborators to join me along the way.

A Season of Sowing #01: brave little seeds

This has helped me retain my sense of self. But in recent days, I’ve noticed the overwhelm creeping in amidst this tangle of activity and motherhood. So, is it any wonder I now feel drawn to autumn with its naturally unhurried rhythm? I long for softness. To quietly recharge before easing back into all things branding and business over the winter months.

If the comments on my Notelets on Nurture are anything to go by, you also savour a slower pace. And, as I look around Substack, I see themes of a similar nature.

Kathryn Vercillo

of Create Me Free wrote about honouring and supporting our creative selves, and I can see that maternity leave has wrapped me up in something of a cocoon this time. Compared with my experience of being a first-time mum, I've found it easier to bolster myself and tend to the whole of me. The maker, as well as the mama.

Claire Venus

of

Sparkle on Substack

also published a helpful piece where she asked about our ‘why’ and prompted me to reflect on my vision and values, especially around business. In the comments, she touched on the idea of 'self-seeding wildflowers', capturing the dandelion clock of thoughts circling my mind, which can quickly blossom into a garden of to-dos. And while I enjoy exploring new ideas and am excited for my return to the studio, something tells me this is a time for stillness and deepening what already exists.

I believe in revisiting our vision and values at transitional times, and if you feel the same, you might like to join me for Shape Your Brand Story, a free challenge designed to help build those storytelling foundations. The first email landed this week, but since I’ve automated the process, you can sign up anytime.

Expect three emails - over three weeks - covering Vision, Values and Voice. This week we’re exploring where we’ve been, where we are and where we’re going through a series of journaling prompts, and I’ve included the bonus task of making a vision board. The perfect “New Year” activity!

Since we're on the topic, I’ll leave you with part of my origin story. Do you know why I named my studio "These Are The Days"?

It's borrowed from a Van Morrison song, and its opening lines capture something meaningful for me:

These are the days of the endless summer
These are the days, the time is now
There is no past, there's only future
There's only here, there's only now

— Van Morrison

A reminder to ground myself in the present, to let go of what has been and what could be, as the next seasonal page turns.

How are you feeling as we shift from summer into autumn?

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