The idea for Gracious Minds came about at a cross roads in my life. I had just sold my photography studio after ten years of working in the industry and employing over 15 staff.

I had gone from working in a loud, stressful studio environment to being alone at home. I soon found myself questioning who I was at 30 years of age. 

I felt incredibly lost in my identity and had no idea how to move forward in life. This is where I went downhill pretty fast. Most nights after work in my 20s id drink heavily to switch off and block out the stress of work. However now at home in my early 30s with no stress, I still found myself drinking heavily, this time to manage depression.

I discovered a pattern of drinking alcohol whenever hardships arose. I had never been taught how to manage my feelings or how to cope with them. I just masked them with alcohol.

So on my downward spiral of self-loathing and feeling as if I was just existing, I decided it was time to start from scratch.

I remember someone saying to me, be the person your younger self needed. So I bought a large A3 piece of paper, stuck it up on my wall and started writing. I wrote everything from self-love mantras, brands I loved, to values that I admired such as living sustainably. 

Soon Gracious Minds was born – a daily reminder to be kind to ourselves through the art of ritual self-care.  My dream is to inspire other woman to look within and to find their deeper sense of self and belonging.

We highly recommend following along Gracious Minds on Instagram here and also checking out her beautiful products here.