HIKARI/AKARUI (光/明るい)

(The Japanese word for visible light / bright or luminous light i.e. natural light)

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KARUI (軽い)

(The Japanese word for lightweight)

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HIKARUI (ひかるい)

This concept is based on the above and how we can integrate it into our own lifestyles and work ethic. Not to bore you, (and I tried to simplify this - as it is a concept built on simplicity but... since this is the introduction, I had to fully explain the reasoning behind it) but basically I needed a new way of surviving life. I needed a calm mind and a decluttered home. I needed a way to battle my anxiety, fears, overthinking and misinterpretation of things. I needed a way out of being so overcome with stress that it affected my health, my friendships, relationships and me. I knew I couldn't change my personality and despite my flaws shouldn't change who I was. I just needed to take a step back, reassess and figure out if I was going about life in a way that was best suited to me, not for others.

And so "Hikarui" was born.

This is something that can be applied differently to each person. Everyone is different and the simplicity of this concept was intended to create a simple yet strong foundation, where you would be able to grow, adapt and learn accordingly. Find out more.

HIKARUI / AKARUI (光/明るい)

authenticity

raw human emotion

nostalgia

timeless

imperfect

in the moment

KARUI (軽い)

uncluttered

stress-free

subtle

unpredictable

organic growth

intentional

Inspiration #1:

Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli. The Japanese film director, producer and animator best known for his work for Studio Ghibli, a Japanese animation studio. His most well-known films include Spirited Away (my favourite film of all time), My Neighbour Totoro (a film I grew up with and reminds me of my childhood), Princess Mononoke and Kiki's Delivery Service to name but a few. I plan on doing a more in depth blog post about why he inspires me so much, but it only hit me recently that subconsciously, his films and he himself had been the base inspiration for everything that I do and create and I finally understood why. I just always thought I loved the artwork, and the storylines, but it goes way beyond that, and that is to do with authenticity, relatable characters, human emotion and nostalgia he evokes through his artistry. I'm an incredibly empathic person, some may say too much so. So this was something I wanted to learn how to channel so it didn't take over my emotional state.

Inspiration #2:

I have been greatly inspired by Marie Kondo and her simple yet effective method of decluttering and sparking joy. It really started with this and how I did this within my own home. I wrote a blog post about the way it has changed my life here. I decluttered and began to dispose of, donate or sell things that no longer brought me joy. It was a difficult thing to do at the start and in all honestly I chickened out the first time round and didn't get rid of as much as I could have done. So a year later, i did the exact same thing and was so much more confident and brutally honest with myself about everything in my life and home that didn't spark joy. It was revolutionary. I've been a hoarder all my life, and someone that held onto hope and "what ifs", and without realising, it took over my mental state, and my productivity. So this was the first thing I changed.

Inspiration #3:

Muji. For those of you that know me or are starting to get to know me will know my love for Muji. A home store selling good quality simple, effective, practical things we all need in our day to day lives. 無印良品 (Mujirushi Ryōhin), literally means No Brand Quality Goods as also stated on the European website. I love the neutral colour palette they use for everything, the quality of their products for an incredibly affordable price and how, not so much in Europe but in Japan, I can think of something totally random that I need and the likelihood is that they will have it and it will literally slot into my life and streamline it. My dream is to work with them one day.

Of course so many people, places, objects, environments, travels etc have inspired me along the way, but I looked back and thought about what has stayed consistent in my life and what has caused me so much stress and anxiety that I needed a change. These were the main three things that floated to the top of the list of what caused a huge impact on me and propelled both subtle and immediate & large-scale change.

I needed a way to deal with life in the moment of now, but I also needed the ability to escape every now and then. In the same way that fantasy worlds are brought to life through literature, film and music, I wanted to do the same through my visual storytelling and photography but wanted to create a world that was approachable, realistic and authentic, with flaws, but equally beautiful in both real life and on camera and a way for you or the viewer to escape momentarily, but doing it in a way that was attainable for them to achieve also. Hayao Miyazaki does this so incredibly well, which is why I was so attracted and touched by his films.

You are raised a certain way being told you have to approach work and life in a certain manner and people questioning your methods, and I really struggled with that. Why couldn't I be completely authentic and perform to the best of my ability being wholeheartedly just me? One of the reasons I knew I couldn't work for someone forever was because I knew I was too stubborn to not be able to execute things on my own or come up with my own ideas, or make my own mistakes. It still took me 3 - 4 years to finally let go of misconceptions and other people's perceptions of the working world or how we "should" be and I'm still figuring it out but I'm a lot more sure of myself now. One huge misconception is that we figure things out and that's that, but no, we will spend the rest of our lives figuring things out and learning and changing, and we need to accept this and roll with it and use it to our advantage not shy away from it or think we constantly have to reach perfection cuz that ain't ever gonna happen my friend.