It’s been a while but I’m excited to share another HER WISDOM post on the blog featuring someone who truly inspires me. Sarah Robertson and I found each other on Instagram and have been share ideas, inspiration and wisdom for quite a few years now. She’s already featured in one of my previous HER WISDOM post which you can find here and she’s back to share where life and business has taken her since.
Sarah is the designer, mentor and writer behind These Are The Days and Brand Seasons. In her life and work, she draws inspiration from the rhythms of nature and the changing seasons, and helps brands uncover and express their essence.
At the time of publishing, Sarah is days away from the end of her Kickstarter campaign to fund the Brand Seasons® Playdeck, a pocket-sized card deck full of brand wisdom and guidance, featuring 48 prompts to support you with strategy, styling, and storytelling.
How do you start your day? What makes your morning flow?
Well it's been three years since I last answered this question and in that time a lot has changed. I now have a one-year-old as well as a nine-year-old and my mornings aren't my own, not until they're at nursery and school anyway, so I give myself even more grace than I used to! My hope is to begin making writing and yoga a regular practice again so I'll take this opportunity to share that for some gentle accountability.
Share your favorite piece of wisdom and why it means something to you.
"Whit's fir ye'll no go by ye." A Scotticism and something my granny would often say. It’s meaningful to me because when I was going through a particularly hard time, I would remind myself that better days lay ahead. I don't quite believe that things are "meant to happen," those are words I struggle with and I don't believe everything happens for a reason, but accepting that not everything is for me has given me back some control over my actions and my outlook.
What is your go-to thing when it all gets too much?
Walking in nature. Since I last wrote for Her Wisdom, we've relocated from my hometown of Edinburgh to the Scottish Borders. While I miss being close to the sea, moving from the city to the countryside has been good for my family and we all enjoy regular strolls. I'm still a work in progress but there's no denying it's brought a greater sense of calm to my life.
Who is a woman that inspires you and why?
Frida Kahlo’s life and work deeply inspire me. Despite the many challenges she faced, her world was full of colour. I believe that creativity has the capacity to support us through difficult times and she had this powerful ability to use creativity as a form of self-expression. She embodied this by transforming adversity into a life filled with beauty and wonder.
How do you see yourself and what impacts your sense of identity?
I see myself as a loyal and giving mother and partner. My path to having my children wasn’t easy, but the challenges have deepened my connection with nature and the seasons, and to creativity, helping me see the world through a more curious lens. I suppose you could say motherhood ignited my creativity and even influenced my work. In my role as a business owner, I see myself as a storyteller, helping others express the essence of their brand.
Tell us about a book that has changed your world - fiction or nonfiction.|
A book that has shaped my creative practice is The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron. I believe that everyone is inherently creative, and that creativity needs to be nurtured like any other part of our lives, and this book celebrates that. It helped me recover a sense of possibility and invite a sense of playfulness into my days. I've been through the 12-week process twice now and hope to begin The Artist’s Way Every Day in January.
What does confidence feel like to you - what builds yours?
Confidence feels like clarity and alignment. It’s that sense of ease when I’m in tune with my values. Confidence builds when I see ideas coming together, whether it’s helping a client or launching a project. I also find confidence in community—I’ve always been quite solitary in my creative endeavours but my first group programme launches in January, and it's stretching me in all the right ways.
What's challenging you right now?
In this season of life, it's trying to find harmony between my life and work. I don't believe there's a balance to be found, because that suggests there's an equal weight to my responsibilities, but I love the idea of being able to stay rooted while flowing through my days. There's something about the push and pull right of managing a crowdfunder that feels incredibly tasking. There’s the usual tension between creativity and logistics—ensuring the vision I have is executed smoothly while managing all the moving parts—but I also have a young family to consider so it's a constant shifting and shaping.
Tell us more about your latest or next project
My primary focus is the Brand Seasons® Playdeck, which is currently live on Kickstarter. It’s a creative tool designed to help businesses and creatives refine their strategy, style and story in an authentic way. Each card in the deck focuses on a different aspect of brand building, inspired by the seasons. But the Playdeck isn’t just about branding, it’s also about embracing curiosity, creativity, and connection. I’m excited to see how it all unfolds as I move towards the end date.
Alongside the Playdeck, I’m also working on This Creative Life ~ A Brand Seasons® Paper, which celebrates creativity and seasonality. The paper gives voice to a diverse group of artists, designers, makers, photographers, and writers, all of whom share their perspectives on creating with the seasons in mind. It’s a project close to my heart, offering a space for creatives to explore intentional living and how it shapes their work and life.
You can find Sarah and connect with her on Instagram and Substack too.
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