Bringing creative intention into the everyday
Why I started Adelie Creative Studio and what it’s taught me about design, community, and pace
There’s something quietly powerful about creating without a commercial agenda. No brief. No outcomes to measure. Just a simple desire to explore an idea and see where it leads.
A few years ago, I found myself craving that space. While I loved the work I was doing through Adelie Creative, I was also feeling the familiar tug of creative fatigue — the kind that creeps in when your work becomes all output, all efficiency. Client work often demands a particular pace: generous, strategic, responsive. It’s rewarding, but it can also be all-consuming. I needed something of my own. Not to scale or optimise, but to slow down and reconnect.
That’s how Adelie Creative Studio began. Not as a business. Not even as a side project, really. Just a quiet intention to make space for design-led exploration. A place to follow curiosity, without pressure or expectation. That intention eventually evolved into a side hustle.
At first, it was simply about revisiting surface pattern design — something I’ve always loved. Then it gradually took on a life of its own. I opened an Etsy shop, learnt the ropes of drop-shipping, and eventually moved to Shopify (which I’m still building btw). Each step reminded me how energising it can be to create on your own terms.
Over time, the project became an anchor. It brought me back to what I value most in design: creative freedom, meaningful process, and sustainable pace. It deepened my understanding of what slowness can offer in creative work. Slowness isn’t a lack of ambition. It’s a way of making space for deeper thinking, better decisions, and more resonant outcomes.
Of course, balancing it all wasn’t easy. There came a point where I was splitting my time between growing Adelie Creative Studio and seeking paid client work for the social media side of my business. Eventually, something had to give — and the studio stalled.
But all is not lost. That experience continues to shape how I work today. It’s why I centre accessibility and thoughtful messaging. Why I favour clarity over cleverness. Why I believe in working sustainably, with space to breathe.
You won’t find Adelie Creative Studio in my list of services, but its influence is everywhere. It’s in the way I write, plan, and collaborate. It’s part of how I stay connected to the kind of work I want to create. And the tech I’ve learnt along the way is knowledge I now bring into Adelie Creative.
If you’re feeling that pull too, toward something slower, more grounded, more aligned. I hope this encourages you to follow it. The projects that nourish us don’t always need to be public, polished, or profitable. Sometimes, they just neeI’m slowly carving out time for Adelie Creative Studio again. I’ve made some sales, so I know the work resonates. Right now, it’s about balancing what my family needs and what I need — and giving myself time to grow it gently.
If you’re curious, you can see a few pieces from the project on Etsy here. And if you’re holding onto a creative idea of your own, maybe this is your sign to begin.
