I have had a type of "blogging stage fright" (eeeek). It started off because I wanted to hold off until I was able to redo my blog, get my rebrand online and into the world and it resulted in an unannounced sabbatical which lasted far too long. On the to do list each week, on my mind in-between, you know the usual procrastination that comes with emotional projects.
I rebranded late last year after quite a bit of research, pondering and of course a healthy dose of self-doubt (insert eye-roll), no personal journey would be complete without it. What really sparked off my confidence in getting it done was reading Garance Dore’s book “Love Style Life”. Her antidotes for living, working and laughing at oneself was just the push I needed. She has long been a personal inspiration of mine. I recently looked through past press features and came across one of my first for Marie Clare in 2011, where I named her as one of my main inspirations (fancy that). Additionally, when I reviewed my notes sent to Fathima (friend, creative colleague and graphic designer) who was mentioned, no other, but Ms Dore herself (eureka). I found the book on an inspiring work trip in the most beautiful book shop. While I was wondering whether I should buy it a very stylish woman passed by and said to me “you should totally get that book, it is really inspiring”. Thank you, kind, fabulous stranger! I bought it and finally kick started my journey once more.
I don’t want to harp on about the woes that lead to the rebrand, the change of name and the overall sadness that surrounded the need to leap into something new (it’s a bitch and we’re all tired of it). I wrote about divorce in another post which you can read here. It was a painful journey that made me feel disassociated with my brand and my name. Two very important things to me.
The name Independency came from a word I heard in a song while listening to Monocle. The first thing I thought is… “that is exactly where I am, but is Independency even a word?” Yes, it is! After some research and some thinking I felt really comfortable about briefing Fathima about the new name and updated branding. I wanted to keep part of my identity, the trademark N that was part of my previous branding (which Fathima created too). It was also rooted in my work directly with independent businesses and the idea of an agency style service geared directly towards them. Independent + Agency = Indpendency. Hooray! As always Fathima was a dream to work with, she is tapped into what is on trend, yet will give longevity to branding.
So… a splash of French Garance style, a bit of pink (my perennial favourite) and a kick-ass friend and graphic designer to make my ideas come to life and here we are. Rebranded and embracing life. My consulting services have also had an update and I have been fortunate enough to continue to work with some wonderful local brands.