Hello mental health champions, how are you doing?
I hope you are all doing so fantastic and healthy. Happy beginning of November! I don’t know about anyone else but it sure doesn't feel quite like November to me yet. I feel like it was just still so warm so late (which I didn’t hate) but at the same time it felt so weird and not Halloweeny. I was having a hard time trying to decide what I wanted to talk about today since last week I skipped posting. I really needed a break and had a lot going on with school which made completing these blog posts hard. But as I was thinking about it, I figured I could dive deeper into all of our designs and what they mean. In essence: their backstories. I plan to make this almost like a small series of blogs so that you can all truly get to know us better and how deep these designs run in their inspiration. These blog posts may be a little shorter than the usual but I think that they are so interesting and like I mentioned, get a better appreciation for the symbolism of the design. Today we are going to be talking about two designs.
The first one I want to talk about is the design, “Don’t Let Them Change You.” I would include the photo of the design but I would rather encourage you to check out our whole website and learn more about us to find it! (Wink Wink) Or you can just use the search bar and type the design name in. The idea for this design came from my personal experience with battling the idea of “fitting in”. I have always been creative with an eccentric style and so I never really did fit in growing up. I felt more confident in the things I liked and I wasn’t going to change that. When I got to high school, I also dealt with people making comments on my appearance and what I would wear but I never gave it much thought because I liked it. This was also how I felt about a lot of things in my life. I was proud of that little girl for sticking to her guns and not caving in to please the other people. However, I know there are so many people that do try to fit in when it really isn’t who they are. I wanted this design to be a reminder of that. I also never changed my mannerisms, the way I thought, or the way I acted because of the people around me. I always wanted to be a leader and not a follower and if someone didn’t like me for who I truly am, then they have no business being in my life. It can take time to learn and there are times where I find myself wanting to adapt who I am to fit into a certain situation. However, I remind myself that they will only then like that version of me and not who I really am. Sometimes I think that feeling or need to belong can become overpowering and cloud your judgement. When I start to feel shitty or left out, I remind myself that there isn’t a point. What are we all trying to fit in for? Why does it even matter? It really doesn’t and that is something I hold as a reminder when I start to feel that way. I don’t have to act to get people to like me because the real people in my life will like me for exactly who I am. That was the powerful message behind this design. I love that we chose to also show this meaning by having one flower different from the rest. So- don’t let anyone change who you are. You are enough and if someone doesn’t see that, it’s on them and not you.
The next design I wanted to dig deeper into today is the “It’s Okay to Feel” design. This design wasn’t immediately one of my favorite designs, I’ll admit it! LOL. I have designed nearly every shirt and some are just not going to be your favorite right away. I liked the saying and the meaning behind the shirt but wasn’t sure how I felt about the bright colors. When we launched Love-Brain, I had a vision for a more grungy, gender neutral, almost punk/rock style. I didn’t want it to all be frills, bright colors, and positive messages. It may sound surprising to some of you since my whole goal with this company is to bring light and love. However, I wanted to do so by exposing the struggle that we face with mental disorders. I wanted to show the darkness too and the pain. I wanted our apparel to be an outlet for those awful feelings we have felt. When it comes down to it, I wanted to demonstrate what it’s like in someone’s mind who is struggling. Now I knew that we also would need variety and don’t get me wrong, I do like pretty colors and the feminine feel but this design to me felt less authentic to my style. We launched the shirt anyway since I had gotten the opinions of a few close friends and family that loved it! This shirt actually has sold many times and I am so glad we made it a part of our brand. The meaning behind this shirt hit me deeply because I feel like a lot of people who survive trauma don’t know how to feel, don’t think they’re deserving of feeling, or shut their feelings down to protect themselves or others. I fought a combination of these feelings. In all honesty. Expressing my feelings is still something I struggle with to this day. I wanted this design to be a reminder that it is OKAY and NORMAL to have feelings, even if they aren’t pleasant. I didn’t want my feelings to upset others or burden them so I would just shut down. It has taken a lot of therapy to try and get better at sharing my feelings, but at least now I know that I deserve to have them and that they don’t make me weak. I wanted others to also get this message. I want people to wear the shirt as a reminder to themselves but then to others as well. I think the coolest thing about our apparel is that someone else can look at it and feel something. Someone walking down the street may be on the verge of a mental breakdown for stashing their feelings away for so long and then see our shirt and finally allow themselves to cry and process those feelings. I want our apparel to not only spread the message about mental health but also to change lives daily based on our messaging.
I hope that you all found this interesting and if you did, please give this blog post a comment below so I can keep doing them! If you ever have an idea for a design, please email us at lovebrainco@gmail.com . I love harboring other people’s experiences and turning them into beautiful, wearable art. <3
Talk to you soon brain battlers, Gracie <3
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The Content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.