Three years ago, I had the crazy idea to put my favorite photographs from my travels onto a website, to see whether they might inspire someone.

Someone other than me.

I had a vision that was not perfectly formed, and no sense of entrepreneurship whatsoever. My goal was simply to share the snapshots that I had collected with the world, to hopefully evoke feeling through my photographic perspective, and to connect with people who loved what I loved -  places, color, details and the simple beauty of daily life.
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I launched my online shop and my blog simultaneously, taking a deep breath and a great big leap, putting myself and my photography out there for the world to see. 

In blog posts, I started to share the moments and feelings behind my images, conveying what stopped me in my tracks, what I felt was a beautiful moment and a beautiful place.
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I have always said that when I first launched my website and shop, I did not have a clue that what I was launching was (also) a business. I was a full-time PhD candidate in neurolinguistics; my head was immersed in science – theories, hypotheses, brain waves, syntax, statistics… But I’d always had a creative counterpart to this scientific soul – I had always been a writer, filling notebooks without the constraints of margins or lines, blogging for my university, dreaming up jobs that were unconventional for a tenure-track scientist. I had also always been a traveler, and even more so thanks to my scientific career. 

So, it seemed only natural that Veni Etiam existed on the side, coaxing me now and then to pay more attention to it, to help it grow beyond that initial circle of friends, colleagues and acquaintances who excitedly supported this inspiring endeavor.

I remember the first connections I made with strangers who discovered Veni Etiam. I carefully watched their reactions, carefully listened to the words they used to describe what they saw and what it made them feel. To me, it was my perspective, my experiences, my story. I knew my images by heart. I had given them each a title that meant something to me. To them, it was fresh, different, beautiful, colorful, inspiring. I remember feeling disbelief and belief all at once, that I could reach people in this way, that they saw value in what I created. They found themselves in the images, the perspective, the titles and the captions. They chose what represented them. They shared their own travel stories and bucket-list aspirations with me.

​Unexpectedly, the Etsy Montreal community took me under their wing. I don’t even remember how I first discovered the team, but the artisan community blew me away. There was so much to learn, and so much know-how to pass onto others. I volunteered my time for a year and eventually was recruited as one of the team leaders.

After graduating with my PhD, I devoted more time to Veni Etiam. The more time I spent on it, the more I fell in love with the journey.
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I fell in love with creating something that comes from me but resonates with you, and am so touched when you say I helped you find something that inspires you daily or solves a hurdle in your decor. 

I fell in love with the ins and outs of entrepreneurship and all the different hats we wear – design, production, shop manager, marketing manager, sales rep, customer service rep, events rep, accountant, photographer… tasks with which to easily fill a 60-hour week!

I fell in love with the feeling that running my business gives me – the daily ingenuity, flexibility, connection, learning, decision-making, experimenting, risk-taking and re-assessing that comes with the territory, often pushing me outside of my comfort zone and sometimes causing me a heck of a ton of stress, but also allowing me to carve a life that is centered on creativity, connection and balance.  

This year, I have lofty goals for Veni Etiam and I know that there will also be many unexpected twists and turns along the way to make the story all the more interesting!

To all of you who have been on this journey since day one, I’m so grateful to have had you by my side! To those of you I met along the way – thank you so much for making a little room for me in your lives.

​To those of you who have just stumbled upon Veni Etiam, there’s so much to discover, so please stick around. You can follow this blog, and my daily posts on Instagram and Facebook. Heck, you can even become a VIP and be privy to newsletters and coupons!

To my fellow artists and entrepreneurs: I’m so honored to be among you, to learn along with you – often through you.

To anyone with big dreams and multiple passions that can seem (to others or to yourself) as irreconcilable: don’t doubt, just do.
​Only then can you really find yourself. ​

Photography is a way of experiencing life; it is above all an exercise in searching, seeing, pausing, feeling and remembering.

​Something I have loved to do from my earliest (and most awkward) days with a camera in hand is to look for reflections. They fascinate me not only because of the laws of physics, but because it's like another world - another reality - lives in that realm. 

Do you pause to look for reflections? Do you photograph them? Leave me a comment below, I'd love to connect with you.

​Have a wonderful week!

Some places linger in my mind as a color and a sound, before any actual sights or anecdotes are called up from memory. Maybe it's an extension of my synesthesia, or it's just what happens if a place made an impact on your senses while you were there. 

When I hear the word "Wales", I immediately think of that special hue of green that's actually hard to accurately describe - a fresh hue that becomes even more vibrant in the maritime mist and fog. I think of light and dark blues that touch but don't mix. I think of seagulls - ridiculously chatty seagulls who would circle my windows and wake me up way before my alarm. I think of the sounds of the Welsh language, which was present alongside English everywhere, even up and down elevators that announced the floors. 

Now and then, a color or light or sound triggers your nostalgia for a place, and can make you feel close to it, even though you're a vast ocean away.

Bring a sense of Wales and England home to your walls.

From my heart to yours.

Behind every photo is a desire to document a moment, capture a feeling and perhaps dig a little deeper to see something differently than you might at first pass. But, in some special instances, you are faced with a scene that causes an extra bit of wonder.

It's that you've never seen something quite like it before, or just that the light, the mood and the feeling of the place suddenly affects you deeply.

That winter morning when the lagoon swelled and the tide poured into Venice like spilled ink swallows up a page. That morning when there was no clear line between land and sea. That morning when I trudged through knee-deep waters feeling impossibly damp and impossibly giddy. 

That stroll in the Jordaan on a quiet August morning in Amsterdam when I peered into the canal and saw a whole world reflected in it. Although I always chase reflections, sometimes their perfection catches me off-guard, and I feel like magic must exist. 

I had never been that far north. I had never sailed fjords and witnessed waterfalls stemming from the sky. But, most wondrous of all, I had never squinted from the sun at midnight or felt, as I did then, that the practice of telling time was suddenly obsolete. 

Among my favorite of days, my time at the Masseria near Ostuni is etched into my memory. The feelings of tranquility, discovery, significance and insignificance brought up by an old estate and ancient lands. The complete overload felt by all my senses in a paradise of dry heat, crunching earth, deafening crickets, fragrant wines and savory ingredients. The desire to feel connected to others, to oneself and to nature. 

Arriving at Sintra was like travelling to another time altogether. It took time to go through every part of it and really take it all in - all its details, its architectural uniqueness, its fantastical feel. There are a few places in the world that have this effect, but Sintra was my first such experience and one that I cherish.

Tell me: What's one place or time where you've felt struck by wonder? Leave me a comment, I'd love to know. 

Have a wonderful (!) week!

From my heart to yours.

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One of my favorite aspects of life so far is that my scientific work has always enabled me to travel, sometimes to faraway places. 

Whenever possible, I always tag on some extra days to discover and "feel" a place before the work schedule kicks in, not to mention to take some photographs at my own pace while I'm alone in a city. 

The time my work took me to Hiroshima, I had never been to Japan. I had never felt so 
acutely aware of how much our eyes read, in a day, until I couldn't read most of what my eyes landed on. I had never felt, right upon arrival, that the light of a place was so different from the light I knew. I had never visited so many beautiful and tranquil temples, had never truly enjoyed sake or tasted such delicious sushi. I learned more about the atomic bomb and its devastation than reading about it could ever show you. I had never experienced such awe at local markets or department stores, especially right when they open, when you are greeted almost ceremoniously. All the locals I met were so gracious, kind and classy individuals - I struggled to remember another place I had felt so comfortable visiting while travelling on my own. 

The first few hours in a place are always special - that fleeting feeling of novelty, excitement, maybe even mild anxiety when your surroundings are very different than what you are accustomed to - for me, those first impressions get crystallized in photographs and journal entries. Even once I get to know a city well, it suffices to look back on those first hours to feel all those butterflies that come with landing at a new destination. ​

The more I explored, the more I appreciated the culture, the architecture and local life. 

I was in Hiroshima and surroundings only briefly. I know that I would love to return to Japan and truly devote time to discover many more of its places and cultural experiences. 

Until I return again...

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I'm not one to complain (that much) about the winter, but HOLY COW have we gotten subzero temperatures and a lot of snow in Montreal this month! I appreciate the way shoveling knee-deep snow gets the heart going, and the way waddling in heavy winter gear on slippery streets forces us to take our time in an otherwise hurried daily routine. (There's nothing to be said about minus 40 celsius temperatures, though. Those are just unnecessary in this universe).

But...I miss the scorching sun, the sound of birds, the long hours of daylight, the saturated color palette of summer and walking in and out of the house barefoot. 

This Monday's photo inspiration is a throwback to warm places. 

Staring at these photographs makes me feel the heat on my skin for a moment or two. 

Have a great week! For all those of you in cold places: keep warm!

From my heart to yours.

When 2018 started, I decided to carve out 20 minutes on Fridays for a weekly assessment of how I'm doing -- how am I meeting my goals, how do I feel and where is my mindset? I have learned over the course of last year that where my mindset is REALLY impacts my creativity, productivity and balance, which is why I have made more room for these practices in my routine schedule and in the content I post for you. 

Today was the first #fridaycheckin. I sat quietly, without writing anything down or over-analyzing. I thought of my week as a whole, and thought of its effect on my well-being and creativity.

I also looked back on this week's pages in the  "Don't Sweat the Small Stuff"  365-day desk calendar I bought for 2018. I pulled out the 5 tips that resonated most with me so far. Each of them is a gentle "food for thought", a small step towards a more balanced and peaceful way of living. 

Here is an abridged, paraphrased version of my 5 favorite calendar days so far:
 
1. Know your own value, feel secure in how you are unique and important.

2. Let go of the idea that in order to achieve great things, you need to treat life as a giant hurried emergency that is driven by competition and fear.

3. Approach a day without expectations so that you won't be bothered if things don't go as expected. You'll meet less resistance that way.

4. Your time and energy are your most important assets. Think about who and what nourishes you most and choose to focus more time and energy on those.

5. It takes courage and faith to find your calling. When you follow your heart, the universe confirms your decisions with open doors.

Pssst! Follow me on Instagram!

It's been a while since I shared some photo inspiration with you in my Monday series! But here we are, fresh and refueled at the start of 2018, ready to be inspired and to notice all the beauty around us! 

This week's theme is rugged beauty - places with strong features and the wisdom of the ages at their command.

Have a smooth and happy week!

From my heart to yours.

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Let's connect on Instagram!

The last days of the year always prompt review and reflection. What did I do this year? How did it measure up to my expectations and hopes? What do I (dare to) wish for the year ahead?

​I alternate between thinking this kind of reflection is a necessary vs. a foolish exercise. Necessary because introspection and reflection are key to feeling aligned, valued and at peace with life, but foolish because it can sometimes put a heck of a lot of pressure on you when, really, January 1st is just a continuation of life as it was last week.

If you already followed me 12 months (and some 100 blog posts) ago, you might remember that I started 2017 off with 3 keywords as a theme for the year: abundance, passion and peace.

It was the first year where "feelings" really took center-stage in the vision I created for myself. After all, how you are feeling is the best measure of how you are really doing along your path, right?

I wished to be more mindful, more peaceful with my decisions and with life's curveballs, and more confident in my words, actions and personal policies. I focused my energy on achieving growth -- for my business, my career and my personal mindset. ​

I poured my passion, time and energy into Veni Etiam like never before. I made some bold decisions and ventured outside of my comfort zone more often than I stayed sheltered within it. I traveled to new places, absorbed them and photographed them with my heart wide open, and created new collections to channel part of their character. I applied the same sense of curiosity and appreciation for my own city, planning "staycations" to carve out time to experience and photograph it with different eyes. I participated in a ton of markets and shows where Veni Etiam was not known yet, forged new collaborations that felt aligned with my ethics and my vision, created exciting new products and met some stellar clients whose words of support have honestly stayed tacked on a billboard in my mind, fueling my passion and motivating me to keep creating. 

I poured my heart out in hundreds of blog posts and social media posts on Facebook and Instagram, striving to show you a personal side of me in each post, even though I feel quite vulnerable in doing so. I gave two interviews that I even feel shy to read over, and jam-packed my calendar with pop-ups, markets and shows so I could introduce you to my world in person. (Seriously, I felt like a travelling circus this year, but it was so worth it to interact with you offline! Thank you for coming by and for your loving reactions to Veni Etiam!).

For the first time in my life so far, I prioritized self-care, mindfulness, alignment and positivity as much as I humanly could. I realized this year how incredibly hand-in-hand mindset and abundance go. There is so much truth to principles of attraction and positivity, yet it is such a challenge to implement those good habits in our everyday frenzied existence. In my choices this year, I opted to make time for myself over social activities. I spent early mornings journalling, afternoons working from environments that inspired me, and evenings cooking and eating outdoors. I opted to be present and peaceful at home, to write, to exercise, to be accepting and to let go. These practices have reduced my anxiety and boosted my creativity. Despite some recurring challenges, my body and mind feel stronger and better able to cope with uncertainty, risk, fear and loss. 

​Because of these benefits, I made it a point to share these strategies and micromoments of wisdom with you this year, in posts focused on inspiration, balance and mindfulness.

In all my activities, I strove to let kindness, generosity and transparency guide all my interactions, while also paying closer attention to any energy unbalances - if what I put in was far greater than what came out of it, such that it cost me my peace, I learned to set new boundaries. I said no to what made me feel less valued. I said no to self-deprecation and doubt. I said no to worrying too far in advance. I said no to anything that perturbed my peace.

I continued to work with my team at Etsy Montreal to empower independent local businesses, doing part of the marketing and event photography for our shows, which are growing SO fast! I am also proud to have been an advocate for women's health on the sidelines, fighting daily for awareness and early detection of endometriosis and female cancers.

This year was nothing and everything I expected. It took me on a ride of experimentation, self-discovery and growth in every realm. Of course, it was not all shiny and perfect. There were also tears, fears, deaths, frustrations, days spent in bed, rejections, difficult conversations and difficult choices. Not to mention my beloved watch broke twice and I killed more plants this year than I ever have...

But, all in all, it was a good year.

I am carrying forward so many of these lessons and feelings that I want to amplify even further in 2018, and so much gratitude for all those encounters and experiences that made my heart feel full of passion and optimism.

This year, I wish to pour even more energy and passion into making my (many) dreams and projects reality. I wish to work even harder on maintaining that delicate balance and inner peace on as many days of the year as I possibly can. At the brink of this new year, I wish for magnetism - a beautiful pulse that attracts amazing connections and experiences my way so that I can be as creative, generous, energetic, passionate and kind as I feel like I'm meant to be in this life.

My dear followers, THANK YOU for a tremendous 2017 and for keeping me motivated and excited for what 2018 has in store. 

Leave me a comment below to tell me your 3 keywords for 2018. If you could conjure up a phenomenal year for yourself, what would it look like? I'd love to hear from you.

From my heart to yours.

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