Lesson 1
Authenticity & Beauty
Over the past few years, I’ve had so many students from around the world study with me over at The Hosting Masterclass, which has been one of the greatest adventures of my life. After watching so many homes and projects take shape, from concept to completion out there in the real world, I truly know, dear student, the journey you are about to embark on.
Before we get started, I wanted to gift you three pieces of advice that, if you trust me enough to talk on, will smooth out this ride for you.
Firstly, you are doing it right. Every single person I have ever taught, which includes myself, is plagued with self-doubt, imposter syndrome, fear, anxiety and decision paralysis. Try to be gentle with yourself, and trust the process and what feels good for you without thinking too far down the track.
Secondly, come to class with an open mind and a blank slate. By the end of this class – I’ll say it now – I know you’re going to be somewhere completely different from where you started and I hope you trust me. I promise you it will be beautiful, successful and life-changing. Please be open to the process, and allow it to take you to places you haven’t yet considered.
Lastly, there are at least a billion and one stories to be told, but it’s only you that can tell yours.
Okay, all of that being said – and you having written that down somewhere so you can be reminded of it often – let’s begin.
Lesson: Influence & Sameness
Firstly, there are two terms I’d love you to become familiar with.
Authenticity: “Not false or copied; genuine; real.” And, my favourite definition, “Representing one’s true nature or beliefs; true to oneself or to the person identified.”
Beauty: “The quality or aggregate of qualities in a person or thing that gives pleasure to the senses or pleasurably exalts the mind or spirit.”
It seems the creative world we live in – no matter what our interests, our homes or our work are – is a thickly woven tapestry of sameness, influenced by others. I bet if you picked up the magazine or book closest to you or opened the social media account that popped up first on your device, you’d know what to expect, and would be able to recognise the work as ‘current’ or ‘a trend’, rather than being really true to the creator. In fact, let’s do that now.
Workbook Time. Reach for your workbook, and complete Question 1.1, now.
Lesson: The Science of Why
So, as creatives, what does that mean for you? I’d like to think the answer is twofold. Firstly, to be able to start to create work, ideas & aesthetics for yourself is true authenticity … which, I believe, is true beauty. That’s ultimately the reason we are all studying here.
Secondly, there is so much sameness around that has little to no value to us and to others, as we learnt in question 01. There are so many unconscious impressions left on us most moments of every day, it’s not until we see or hear something new that we pay attention. When people see something new, they buy our products, they engage with our aesthetics and celebrate them, they become interested in who we are. These days, something new or unique is so rare.
So, if creating truly authentic, beautiful work can be so magnetic and successful to our projects, ourselves and our businesses, why isn’t everyone creating in this fashion? The answer lies in human psychology, with a phenomenon called “positive reinforcement”.
What this means is that we all tend to follow trends, like creating similar white country cottages, or English shaker kitchens or, alternatively, we all start making similar handmade ceramic mugs – because we have seen them praised in media and online, and we want the same for ourselves. We want positive reinforcement for our work, we want it to be a success no matter what, and we are terrified as humans of the unknown, an outcome of which might be negative feedback – which we will do anything to shy away from.
Understanding this human motivation in you, I hope will give you some freedom to sidestep it. I can tell you from experience it gets easier and easier to step outside of the expected, trends and the known. It is scary at first – but as you start to get some positive reinforcement about your work and ideas, it will get much easier – exciting in fact!
To sum up what this means for you, dear student – is that if you can reach into your true authenticity, and create real beauty – sidestepping the initial need for guaranteed positive reinforcement, you will not only be able to create a world around you which is sincere and blissful, but also in a commercial and professional sense – if you are that way inclined – it will be a success.
Now – how do we do that?
Captains Rest. A space which was aesthetically created from my own life experiences living in boats on the sea, and the surrounding landscapes and culture in remote Tasmania. At the time of its launch, its visual “newness” triggered both great success as a business, and an interiors trend worldwide which most of you reading this will recognise. A key learning from this experience is visual newness, in an authentic manner, not only creates true beauty, but also success and influence.
Lesson: Think Inward, Create Outward
Think inward, create outward. I want you to write this down somewhere and remember it often during this class – and on your journey from here. I find that most people think outward. They see things they like, or are told to like via pure visual saturation in magazines, and think, ‘Oh, that is what a kitchen/bathroom/dinner set/couch/home/holiday should look like! That’s what mine should look like!’
I want you to all think about your own Pinterest/inspiration boards. How do you know that’s the bedroom you’d like for yourself (for example) or vase (for another example) that you’d like to design or buy if you haven’t explored possibilities that don’t exist? It’s YOU that needs to dream them into existence, not be inspired by someone else’s. Let’s start to exercise this muscle in you.
Workbook Time. Reach for your workbook, and complete Question 1.2, now.
I would be interested to know how you go with this exercise – in fact, I know your fellow classmates present and future would also love to know and understand you. If you are feeling brave, share your ideas in an Instagram post and tag them with #principlesofstyle and #poss01 so we can start to understand your world too.
Lesson: What Beauty Really Means
With this new perspective, let’s revisit the definition of beauty.
Beauty. “The quality or aggregate of qualities in a person or thing that gives pleasure to the senses or pleasurably exalts the mind or spirit.”
In this chapter, we’ve come to understand that we are influenced by others as to what is beautiful. And, by mass sameness, we’ve also lost our chance at making it ourselves. What I have found after teaching so many students over at The Hosting Masterclass & now, in this class, is that if you can practise your thinking inwards, and create outwards, you can truly create in a sense that is beautiful to you. That being the case, it is, more often than not, beautiful to others, too, even if it might not be to their initial aesthetic taste.
We’ve all experienced this, travelling or stumbling around the online world. You can be captivated and fascinated by a space or object that wouldn’t be somewhere you would want to live, or something you would buy, but the beauty of it stops you in its tracks. I remember eating at Le Train Bleu, the most incredible restaurant over Gare de Lyon in Paris, and thinking, ‘Gosh, I could not live every day in all this gold and splendour and saturation, but this is a space I’ll never forget a moment of.’ It felt like ice cream for my eyes, every second of it.
I want you to see if you can find a moment like this in your life.
Workbook Time. Reach for your workbook, and complete Question 1.3, now.
Lesson: The Rare Beauty In You
Now we get to start thinking inwards. Starting with very broad strokes at first. Your first exercise is to hone in on what is authentic to you. In your workbook, your first exercise is ready for you. It’s time to close this class and find some quiet space and time in your life for this one. The exercise is about what gives purpose to you and your soul.
I want you to keep your answers to one or two words at most, and try not to overthink them.
Workbook Time. Reach for your workbook, and complete Exercise 1.1, now. This exercise may take a few days for you to ponder properly. This is not an exercise to race through, rather take your time – perhaps add ideas as you move through this class if appropriate. Remember, it is a privilege of a lifetime to become who you truly are.
Once you feel your first exercise is complete, I want you to find between 3-4 themes, in terms of values to you, in your answers. For example, are your answers about beauty? Nature? Stillness? Collaboration? Community? Giving?
These are your core values — and I want you to keep these close to you as we progress through this class. They are an important tool in keeping close to your authenticity as you create around you. If you feel lost on how to complete this exercise, download your case study and have a look at my answers. They should give you some ideas of how to complete it.
“Your vision will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes.”
– Carl Jung
01. Homework
Watch: Do Schools Kill Creativity
Do: Subscribe to The Marginalian Weekly Newsletter if you are looking for more wholesome inspiration in your life outside of Pinterest and Instagram.
01. Community
Any work, or ideas you are posting related to this class, please use the hashtags #principlesofstyle and #poss01 so your fellow classmates can connect with you and continue to grow this community.