Inspiration | How creatives are staying inspired during this quarantine

Story Magazine knows how difficult it can be to stay creatively inspired stuck at home during this quarantine. In a bid to inspire ourselves we spoke to three creatives on how they are keeping themselves inspired whilst at home. We hope this can inspire you during this period of social distancing and confinement.

Seleen Salah – Streetstyle photographer

“For the month of Feb until the beginning of March I worked everyday covering 3 cities during fashion season and working around the clock. When I returned home I continued this hectic schedule by working my side gig as a bartender and preparing for my book launch.  

I constantly heard from a close friend that my lack of focus is not productive. That reminded me of a quote that “What you water grows.” So the Covid19 “NYC pause” was truly a blessing in disguise. I was able to stop and focus on one thing work wise besides self care and family. This has been a tremendous time of healing on many levels. I really started to get inspired on IG how creative everyone has been getting, especially the Dj’s like DNice and Questlove doing club quarantine and Medicine Music. Also Swizz Beats and his Verzuz series was really amazing! They really touched us all and it was truly a healing experience.

I started going through images in my archive some never shared and pairing them with music I thought matched them or that I loved. Since April 1st I have posted over 100 images with unique songs and artists from across the globe. You can find it in my highlights under “Vibez.” This has been a fun and creative project for me and has allowed me to promote my book. A street style book of people of color which comes out on May 1st. The great part is the artist, have been checking out my page and sometimes reposting my story. I also try to tag them so people can follow them too. So they get some traction too. It’s been fun and has grown traction. I hope to continue it as long as possible.”

Fatou Ceesay – Lead Interior Designer

“I’ve always been a fan of creating for the sake of bringing pleasure. Where the main function of the piece created is it’s beauty and the joy that it brings for anyone who comes in contact with it. As an interior designer the functionality of every item in a space that we design is thoroughly thought through so it’s nice to sometimes break free of that, and let loose. I’ve been fortunate enough to be tasked with creating finish palettes for my firms insta page and it’s a time where I get to be super creative without thinking about the use of the materials and their appropriateness. During this time of quarantine where nobody has no control over anything (like we’ve ever had anyway) thinking about fun ideas and quirky items to put together around my home has been a lovely source of inspiration. A moment to escape some of the discomfort we are all facing.”

Phyllis Sasu – Co founder of 2 Vain Girls clothing brand

“A vain girl in every sense of the word is an individual who puts herself first. It’s parallel with self care. Being a business woman, a nurse and a full time mother, I found myself at times putting many things before me. And I quickly realized I was slowly loosing myself. The covid-19 pandemic quickly brings to the forefront the importance of self care. We are all trying to build our immunity and ourselves to combat this pandemic. This highlights the importance of SELF LOVE. An individual whose love for self is so important she makes it a topmost priority to self care, self elevate, self love. I retired from bed side nursing full time prior to this pandemic. When this pandemic came around, I went back to bedside nursing to help my other fellow nurses help combat the pandemic as there was a shortage of nurses. At home, whilst quarantining, I PRAY, I REST, I READ, I STUDY, I LOVE on my family and friends through phone calls and zoom. And lastly I LIVE… by saying that, I mean, I sit still and become present and one with my mind, body and spirit . Something I stopped doing prior to the pandemic due to my busy lifestyle. In terms of Vain Girl, I find myself taking master classes and courses on how to elevate the business aspect of the brand as this is key to having a sustainable business.

My business partner and I draw our inspiration from South Korean. South Korean style is known for being expressive and reflecting a sense of individuality.

As afore mentioned whilst at home I have been reading and I am inspired currently by ‘Untamed’ an intimate memoir by Glennon Doyle which empowers mothers to be brave and to truly live. Thia is a book that is in line with the 2 Vain Girl mantra which heralds self care as not being selfish.”