THE ART OF PIVOTING
Welcome to another episode of my rambling about my journey. I was aiming for every week but in a ll reality my brain does not work that way. I write when I write so here we are… 3 weeks later.
The dictionary defines pivoting as (especially in a business context) completely change the way in which one does something. (Oxford Dictionary)
Me with one of my brain child creations taken in April 2023 by LCS Studio
I recently pivoted after years of focusing on Rorin and trying to be a luxury handbag brand. I realized Rorin is my art. It is a passion. I was miserable trying to make it into something mainstream. I pivoted a lot within Rorin alone. I went from a production team in Louisiana, to a smaller team in NJ that failed miserably, to making everything myself. Every time I pivoted I learned something new about ME.
I had been freelancing my brand and web design skills since 2020 and previously had worked as a brand manager honing those skills for a multi-hyphenate creative. I realized that I loved my visual design projects as work, as a way to make money, my career path. This would be my next journey, to help build visual identities for small brands and businesses. In May of 2023, I pivoted. I created a website for my freelance work, I added ETC as a dba to my LLC, and I started sharing with people that I was taking on more clients.
However I felt like I took a complete and drastic pivot of focusing on my visual branding business and putting Rorin back into the category of art. I worried that people would think I am crazy and all over the place or worse, that people would think I needed to stay in my lane. Guess what? Creative direction is my lane. I just discovered this path through Rorin.
a glance at a brand I worked on in 2023 - A Fine Fête Events based in Washington D.C. I developed the creative direction, the brand & website design
I learned more about this and myself later on through the year when doing The Artist’s Way workbook and book with a small group of creatives. I realized that I want to do more fashion and editorial photography and creating concepts for campaigns photoshoots as part of my business model. So I started working with a photography mentor. I wanted to enhance my web design skills especially in the e-commerce field so I took a class on Shopify learning liquid (which really was like learning an alternate version of html if I am being honest haha).
My ‘Artist’s Way’ creative group - Yusuf, me, Lucy, and Jasmine.
I am focusing on learning more and more in my 3 fields of work - branding, web and photography. They give me creative challenge and exploration while working with people. I work with other freelancers as needed if the skill is beyond me or my work load is too heavy or if I want a partner with a project. I can do anything but not everything. However this all encompasses my main objective and what I love doing - creative direction. I love creating a mood board and direction surrounding a campaign shoot, drafting an idea for a brand’s packaging, or laying out the website design of a small business in Figma so we can discuss the impact it will have on their brand. And I still enjoy making handbags where each piece is a creative brain child.
These are the things that spark joy and the reason why I pivoted. Is there an art to pivoting? Probably not. I know I just leaped and went for it despite the imposter syndrome (which I still get!) but I am happy and excited and ready for my next client. I can’t wait to share more.
