Curations, Boutiques, and Gift Guides -- thoughts.

The more I explore my initial “why” for TruerThings as a brand, the more I want to continue gift guides and product curations in the “sobriety gift” and “intentional living” arenas (and “functional fragrance" and "wellness”… can you see I’m still struggling deeply with articulation of this niche? I hope this blog will help me develop my thoughts, and I also hope my real-time honest disclosure of uncertainty will somehow be useful to others in this boat)

My focus is on creating signature TruerThings products that are both artful and thoughtful. I think this will remain primarily in the functional fragrance space. I think.

I could just use this site for that, but... there are SO many other beautiful creations in existence that I love and that I'd love to share. I am an unabashed maximalist (well, "abashed maximalist"...) and my thought was that I could leverage this, um, defect, and use it toward others' benefits? I've tried countless products. I own so much great stuff. One of several "aha" moments for this brand was that I should work with physical objects, given my, ahem, expertise in this field.

I felt embarrassed at first, and then I brushed that away and smiled and thanked God.

Then, I had this image of a spiritual-sexy apothecary boutique, where many products from many designers and creators were curated in the space, all under this blanket theme— truer things. I’m here because I’d like to tap into the mysticism and higher power planes in all of us, while connecting us more deeply to our bodies and souls. I want to aid in fostering more intentional, creative, thoughtful, and spiritually-ecstatic existences (psh, no biggie, right?)

I’ll admit, the term “affiliate marketing” makes me recoil with an “ewww” (does anyone else have this reaction?), probably because it usually feels so blatant and sleazy in its motivation as a quick cash-grab. But, considering my brand motivations, I’m going to explore ways to integrate this strategy with-- hopefully!-- some grace. The idea of curating a centralized hub for spiritual, sexy, mind-body-soul awakening and vibey-mood wellness gifts is an idea I absolutely love, and the idea of using this space as a platform for others’ work.

I’ve always loved collage and pastiche. Something about the fragmentation and layering of so many disparate parts is appealing to me. I was at a collage exhibition at the New Museum in New York some years ago, and in the show notes, it said that collage often re-popularizes in times of crisis. The fragmented self becomes the phoenix, rising to rebirth and heal in the wake of trauma… I love it.

In fashion school, I noticed how my design sensibilities and interests kept returning to a notion I can best describe as “boutique”—  disparate pieces that were not the exact same homogenous designer, collection, color, or shape, but were still specially-sourced and edited for vibe and customer.  The variety within a boutique appeals to me. Patricia Field’s boutique in NYC, back in the day, was my go-to. Now I shop online and I’ve got pages of bookmarks of favorite shops and designers, but oh how I love a good centralized hub! 

Above: Patricia Field's boutique on the Bowery in the 2000's. Every club kid's utopia at the time, including mine (image credit: https://tchaikovskydarling.wordpress.com/2013/02/05/tatty-devine-x-patricia-field-trunk-show-shopping-party/ )

I attended Parsons to study fashion and disability, specifically sensory processing disorder, or SPD (something I struggle with) and literal aversion to most textures, cuts, fabric weights, etc. The challenge, I learned, was that there wasn’t one uniting visual concept for my work as a brand. I wanted clothes that functioned for people who had SPD. I realized I could probably solve more problems with a centralized hub of curated recommendations, rather than re-inventing the wheel and creating more fashion waste with my own products. I still want to create this! What’s stopping me is 1. the fact that everyone with SPD has SUCH different sensitivities, so there’s no one-size-fits-all approach, and 2. I find it very stressful. In school, I'd research it and then my vibrant, juicy brain would veer off into passion and a flurry of color and pattern and print and beauty… and my resulting projects were often jarring in their desire to be expressive while held back by the constraints of my disorder.

Product design does not cause me nearly the same anxiety as clothing (yet?)

With TruerThings, I still-- again!-- return to “boutique” as a metaphor that encapsulates what I’d like to do, and in a very real sense, who I am. I am fragments, and I contain multitudes. I’m a curation of where I’ve been and what I’ve learned. And I get to share it with you. When I create a new product, it's driven from a desire for it to exist, because I haven’t yet seen it and I cannot get it and want it! And I aim to create with the quality and artfulness I believe we all deserve.

I think this also fits in with my ethos on sustainability. I’m not creating more waste by rehashing pre-existing material. Sharing what's already out there is a helpful way of, quite literally, re-cycling the cycle.

But my sustainability thoughts are another blog post. This one is already classically me-- wayyy too long and much too much.

Excited to be on this journey with you! Please, fill in your contact information if you'd like future updates :-)

xoxox

Melissa 

P.S. Here's the AI image from the top when I described what was in my head. So cool!