An Opportunity Called Vya
Beauty is a feeling. I’ve always felt it. I always talk about it. I want to always be immersed in it and I've created a lifestyle for myself to allow that. Of all the things I’ve done in my artistic career- weddings, flowers, interiors - the one thing that lights me up more than anything has always been visual merchandising. As a career in it started to seem impossible due to the 2008 recession, a new one in weddings began and I had to put it into the ‘one day’ category and continue on. I always thought I’d come back to it and consistently acknowledged myself as a stylist throughout multiple industries (if you understand composition, you can do it with any material, in any industry…) and as time went on, it felt even further away. I had created an identity of ‘Deziner’ (IYKYK) and felt a little trapped there. That was until last fall…when opportunities opened but I just didn’t quite see it as that yet.
Experiencing and working through a season of burnout (or shall we call it an initiation?) has lead to a very expansive, clear view of what lies ahead for me. And rather than living in a victim mentality (because who wants live in an intense emotional state for an extended period of time……….) it has lead to feeling so much gratitude my eyes well up with it as I type this.
A very valuable reflection I had in this period was recognizing my tendency for ‘workaholic-ism’ can actually be me running from facing big, sometimes old, issues I didn’t want to deal with. So last fall, as I transitioned all my interests into Jaclyn Journey Hospitality, the one thing that felt rushed was what to do about the SHOP. I wanted to live in the moment for a little and just absolutely make sure I was doing it because I really wanted to, not just to do it to avoid something else. And if it was something else, I wanted to deal with it head on. Why was the idea of a shop bringing up so much fear? I never make decisions out of fear. So I spent time with it. Could I actually fund the shop I’ve envisioned for YEARS? But what about the designer identity? I don’t want to be a shopkeeper! Honestly, all I really wanted was to work less and this seemed like I’d need to work more! And then, all of a sudden, I was flooded with ‘Wait, is this an opportunity to do visual merchandising? No, wait, is it really ‘one day’ already?’ I have the space, I found the money, I had the resources, the vision was solid. IT. IS. TIME?!
Yea, it’s time. On October 5th, Vya opens. It is a light for me and I pray one for you too, if you need it. I hope you feel beauty (Vya - or via - literally means ‘by way of’) the second you walk in and as you leave you take it with you, through product or just within. My hope is this new season is full of inspiration for all of us. For once, I’m letting expectations go and just allowing the shop be what it needs to be. I see it as something Louisville needs but if not, honestly, I needed it most.
