For this edition of Sobremesa, I am talking with Madeline Odonoghue, the Auckland-based artist behind the typefaces all over our Pinterest feeds. In this conversation, we dive deep into the behind-the-scenes of her creative practice, the inspiration behind her iconic typographic styles, and how she embraces imperfection and analog processes in the era of AI and automation.

Meet the artist 🍧

I’m a multidisciplinary designer & artist currently living and working in Auckland (Tāmaki Makaurau), Aotearoa New Zealand. My work explores language, symbols, and hand-made forms, celebrating imperfection, analogue processes, and ideas that feel rooted in something bigger. I make a range of things, from icon packs and fonts to prints, ceramics, short films, and visual research projects.

Some key inspirations are Sister Corita Kent, the 1970s, Nina Simone, early Newport Folk Fest, art galleries, Los Angeles, old cars, folk music, protest language, documentaries, quilting as communication, Badlands (1973), architecture, Apartamento magazine, Georgia O’Keeffe, and peace signs. Essentially forms of visual communication that push against or question the systems around us.

For those discovering your work for the first time, could you share a bit more about the work you do?

I have a background in Fine Arts, majoring in painting, but I taught myself design tools while living in Los Angeles (when I wasn’t able to work under a strict partnership visa). Since then, my practice has become a merging of the two, bringing hand-drawn, organic, analogue processes into digital tools and systems, which I try to make available for others to use when possible.

I make quite a range of things. Drawings, songs, icon-based illustrations, downloadable art prints, but lately I’ve been in what I like to call “fontland”: a place where I make hand-drawn, hand-crafted fonts that can be used and reused by others, ideally on meaningful projects.

I came across your typefaces on Pinterest last year and was immediately inspired by them. I was struck by how familiar they felt. There’s a childlike quality to them. I’d love to know a bit more about what inspires your design work, and how you think about balancing playfulness with intention when you’re creating type.

Being in “fontland” gives me a lot of freedom to play with letters, drawing, and communication in a way that feels quite different from anything else. It’s like creating an idea or a feeling that can be used over and over again to communicate visually, so it really taps into my interest in language as visual communication.

There’s always a balance between being playful and conceptual, while also knowing how to systemise that into a usable design tool with the intention of it being used. That said, some of the best work I’ve made has come from moments that are more fluid, hand-drawn, or messy — ideas that didn’t try to fit a particular style, but ended up having the most impact and resonance.

I find that when I try to make something with too much intention, or become too aware of how things “should” work, baselines, structure, all of that, the work can lose its expressive, childlike quality. It loses its naivety, and with that, some of its feeling, so it becomes less successful for me.

It’s that idea that the more you know, the harder it can be to hold onto true naivety, and naivety is where the freedom sits. Much like naive music experimentation, rough recordings, where the beauty lies in the mistakes, the rawness, or a crack in a vocal, for me, playfulness is the starting point, and intention comes after.

In an era of AI and automation, I admire how your practice embraces handmade and slow processes. What does imperfection offer to your work that optimization doesn’t?

I struggle with anything too rigid, clean, or overly gridded. That might be because I don’t come from a traditional design background, so instead I tend to look at systems that are in place and slightly mess with them, so that artful thinking can still exist within them.

I still want things to function, a font still needs to work as a tool, but I want there to be an element of the hand, something human, embedded within it.

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In this letter: My current spring obsessions, a look into the new apartamento 710 merch, and my rejection log list, aka all the things I’m trying this new season. From career moves and creative partnerships to artistic pursuits. It’s a juicy one. 🧃

Before we dive in, A COUPLE OF HOUSEKEEPING ITEMS;

• apartamento 710 merch it’s finally here!!!!!! I’ve designed a sticker sheet inspired by sobremesa. It will be in the next batch of snail mail to paid readers. I can’t wait for you to see it in person. The color palette is just delicious. If you are a paid reader, this is the last call to sign up for snail mail club just in time for the spring batch.
  

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• I’m hosting a workshop in Vancouver tomorrow with Kado Studios at Cowdog to celebrate the beginning of spring! I’ll be guiding folks to create art around a floral installation by the Kado team. Huge shoutout to Partake for sponsoring the non-alc bevs for the night. Thrilled to meet some of my local readers this weekend!

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Dear reader,

I started this blog over two years ago when I was working a corporate job that wasn’t stimulating my creativity. I was utterly bored and needed an outlet to express myself. apartamento 710 was born out of the desire to connect with a community, specifically with other artists and creatives who also have to work a full-time job to fund their creative pursuits.

Since then, this space has become one of the most exciting parts of my creative ecosystem and has opened many doors to new projects and collabs with people I admire. But something that brings creative fulfillment can still be challenging to balance, especially having a 9–5.

In this letter, I’m sharing with you what has worked for me in the past 2+ years running my newsletter: how I’ve taken it from 0 to 5,500+ readers, the details of my writing process, the tools I use to manage the world of apartamento 710, and more. Let’s dive in!

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Paid readers: Don’t forget to opt in for snail mail club by filling out this form. First batch of mail goes out next week!

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1. Stop waiting for the opportunities and go create them yourself. Nobody is going to give you a seat at the table, you have to grab that chair.

2. You are never going to be 100% ready. Go for it, learn as you go, make it good later.

3. Disconnect often. Going offline is not a luxury, it’s a basic need in our times.

4. Say no more often. Resist the urge to over explain yourself.

5. Keep a diary.

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In celebration of my birthday this week, I am running the biggest sale of the year to celebrate! From today through March 19th, upgrade to a paid subscription for 60% off the usual price. That is $2/month (less than your morning matcha) or $24 for the whole year. Best birthday gift you can give me!

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For this edition of Sobremesa, I am talking with Fernanda Navarro, the creative force behind some of my favorite hospitality projects in Mexico. To know her is to be inspired by her taste, sensibility, and magnetism. Today, she shares with us the behind-the-scenes of her creative process and some of the tools that have enabled her to build unique and successful brands in the past decade.

Meet the artist 🦪

My name is Fernanda Navarro. I’m a multidisciplinary designer from Ciudad Obregón, Sonora, Mexico. I work across creative direction, branding, interior design, and art curation, shaping brands and complete spaces from concept to experience.

My work is genuinely inspired by the desert where I grew up and by everyday life — from cloudy skies to people who are unapologetically themselves. My process is intuitive and very mood-driven (I’m a Gemini). Lately, I’ve been intentionally returning to how I started: working through analog processes like photography, painting, and collage, as well as taking ceramic and sewing classes — letting ideas take shape physically before anything becomes digital.

For those discovering your work for the first time, how do you describe what you do, and how your roles as creative director, interior designer, and graphic designer inform one another?

I don’t experience my roles as separate disciplines. Graphic design, interior design, and creative direction are simply different languages to tell the same story.

I think in systems rather than outputs. A brand identity informs how a space feels; a space influences how people move, eat, and interact; and all of that feeds back into visual language.

Designing across disciplines allows me to create coherence — where nothing feels added on, and everything belongs to the same emotional world.

When designing a new space, where does the story usually begin for you: with the space, the food, the brand identity, or something else entirely?

I start by listening to the place, the city, the climate, the people involved, and the food, especially if it’s a restaurant project. I’m interested in spaces that feel inevitable, as if they could only exist there and nowhere else.

I do use private Pinterest mood boards as part of that early phase, not to define an aesthetic too quickly, but as a way of gathering references, textures, and atmospheres while I’m still observing and listening. The brand identity usually emerges from that process rather than being imposed.

What parts of the creative process energize you the most, and what aspects have challenged you or forced you to grow the most in the past decade, bringing ambitious projects like Humo&Sal and Salón Apache to life?

What energizes me the most is the early phase of the creative process, when things are still undefined and fragile — that moment when intuition leads before clarity appears.

I love sitting down to choose color palettes and textures, thinking about how a space or a brand should feel rather than how it should look. When working with interiors, art curation is one of my favorite parts of the process — selecting and placing pieces in a way that makes a space feel lived-in, personal, and unique. It’s where emotion and intention really come together for me.

The biggest challenge has been learning to balance sensitivity with leadership. Bringing projects like Humo&Sal and Salón Apache to life meant stepping into roles beyond design: making decisions, taking responsibility, and trusting my own criteria even when it felt uncomfortable. Growth, for me, has come from understanding that creativity also requires structure, patience, and care — that intuition needs a framework in order to fully exist in the real world.

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When you hit a creative block, what practices or rituals help you reset?

I pause work almost entirely and focus on taking care of my body — exercising, eating well, and returning to a slower rhythm. Rest, for me, isn’t something I earn after being productive; it’s what allows ideas to come back naturally.

This interview is part of Sobremesa, my series of intimate conversations with artists. Paid readers get full access to this interview and more than 60 pieces in the archive.

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Dear reader,

In celebration of my birthday next week, I am running the biggest sale of the year to celebrate! From today through March 19th, upgrade to a paid subscription for 60% off the usual price. That is $2/month (less than your morning matcha) or $24 for the whole year. Best birthday gift you can give me!

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Four years ago, I moved from the desert to the Pacific Northwest. Living here has forced taught me to move with the seasons. After four winters on this land, the darkest, coldest months have become the time when I replenish my energy, truly rest, and allow myself to slow down. Because of that, I’ve stopped thinking of January as the beginning of my new year. For me, spring, the astrological new year, marks the true start of the year.

This time of the year, late winter, also coincides with Pisces season: a liminal space where we are invited to reflect on what we lived in previous months, to dream, soften, and tend to our emotional and spiritual worlds as we prepare for renewal.

Across many northern Indigenous communities, late winter has long been understood as a season of spiritual preparation for the coming spring. Among Inuit communities, this time has traditionally centered on gathering what is essential, strengthening communal bonds, and turning inward.

I recently borrowed Inuit Women Artists from the library—a collection of drawings that documents life in the North through the eyes of women. It was enlightening to learn through these illustrations how these communities have existed and resisted in close relationship with the land for centuries, guided by a profound reverence and respect for nature. Highly recommend you take a peek at the book if you can.

To-dos before the snow melts:

1. Take inventory of your energy drainers: Late-night scrolling? Making impulsive purchases after indulging on TikTok? Make a list of what is no longer serving you as you move into a new season.

2. Finish (or drop) a project: Close a creative loop before starting something new. You don’t have to stick with things just because you said you would. It’s okay to change your mind!

3. Declutter one drawer or corner: I’m doing a big spring cleaning in my closet, taking some stuff to the thrift store, and selling another portion. If it’s been in my closet for more than 4-6 months and I didn’t wear it, it’s out.

4. Mend or repair something: Sit down with a cup of tea and lots of patience, and mend that sweater that’s been missing a few buttons since last fall! I did this a couple of weeks ago, and it was very satisfying. There’s beauty in repairing what you own instead of running to order something new online.

5. Get involved in your community: Book that volunteer session, or email someone new to have a coffee chat. Remember that spending time in community is important as we come out of hibernation.

6. Spend time outside in the cold: Later in the year, we will miss the breeze of a nice winter morning walk. Go outside, even for 10 minutes, and witness how nature transitions to spring.

7. Create something with your hands: We love crafts here, of course. Something I love to do at the beginning of each year is to make a photo album that includes photos of my previous seasons. I love to decorate it with stickers and memorabilia, scrapbook vibes. Don’t let your photos get lost in the cloud! Print them and make a cute photo album for your future self and family. Here’s some inspiration to get you started.

I’m sharing some of my favorite early spring flowers for you to update the folder icons on your desktop and make it even cuter this spring. 📁 Updating the icons is very simple, I’ll add a step-by-step below! Paid readers, scroll down to download the flowers and a bonus surprise 🥀

Upgrade to a paid subscription for 60% off the usual price. That is $2/month (less than your morning matcha) or $24 for the whole year.

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Sobremesa is the interview series of this newsletter, where I feature creators and artists across different industries. I chose this name because I wanted the space to feel less like a formal interview and more like an intimate conversation with a friend. The kind that happens after a good meal and maybe a couple of drinks. Sobremesa is about curiosity, honesty, and letting conversations wander.

In the first season, I featured some of my favorite illustrators, designers, prop stylists, animators, and a baker! The second season comes out later this month, and I can’t wait to share the conversations I’ve been having recently with painters, children’s book writers, florists, and even my favorite YouTuber of all time. Can you guess who?

You know how much I value going back to previous work and looking for patterns. There were many valuable insights worth revisiting from the first round of conversations. If you have been following this series, you may know that I always ask folks about their favorite ways to search for inspiration outside the internet. Below you’ll find a compilation of all the places these artists turn to for creative inspiration, beyond scrolling online. Here is a recap of the first batch of Sobremesa interviews. Enjoy!

A year of Sobremesa: conversations with the most creative people I know

Hiller Goodspeed, artist and illustrator based in Vancouver

Advice on creating things:

I used to think I had to wait for things to happen for other things to happen—that everything required a mountain of prerequisites. I’ve learned that none of that is true. No one knows what they’re doing initially, but they do it anyway. And then they do it again, because why not?

When I’m working, I try not to think about anything other than the task at hand. If you enjoy what you’re doing and do it for yourself, it will be imbued with an unmistakable you-ness. The people you love will listen to your EP, taste your bruschetta, or look over your garden and know that no one else could have done it that way.

Ideas come and go, seemingly from the ether. I’ve learned I have to direct my consciousness to a certain mental space—like finding a good fishing spot—and wait. If I hang out there long enough, something might happen.

Where Hiller likes to search for inspiration outside the internet:

• I like to ride my bike, and walk around my neighbourhood. I assign myself missions that encourage exploration of unknown spaces. I love going to the Denman Place Mall to be inspired. I love spending time in grocery stores and wandering through alleys looking for weird, discarded stuff.

• I live close to Stanley Park and have spent a lot of time in the forest just “taking it in”. I take photos of everything I find interesting and constantly go back to reference things I have encountered.

Francesca Farris, food systems enthusiast and aspiring shepherd based in Southern Italy

Thoughts on starting from scratch in a new country:

A job, whether full-time or not, inevitably launches you into a community. It gives you a place to belong and allows people to recognize you as someone who is trying. I find that once you consistently show up, people will start to include you, and things will start to flow naturally.

When I got to Sardinia, I worked with a shepherd in the mornings, helping him shear his sheep. He used to pay me with cheese and vegetables. I also worked as a bar waitress in the evening, and this was great practice as I got to talk to strangers and completely let go of my fear and embarrassment of being wrong. I realized from the moment I opened my mouth that Italians knew I wasn’t a native speaker, but for me, this is a point of pride—that I can speak more than one language and be playful with it.

Favorite places to seek inspiration offline:

• Participating observer in small-town events. From patron saint festivals to fashion shows and talent shows, I love the energy and planning people put toward preserving tradition—and inventing tradition. All for the sake of gathering and sharing experiences as a community.

• Maximalist shops: Stores packed to the ceiling that require a ladder for the store attendant to reach the goods. In Palermo, there is an inspiring fabric store and a bookstore called La Stanza Di Carta. I love the maximalist contrast to today’s minimal, simplistic aesthetics. I find the organized chaos very exciting.
  

Sandy Sanchez, writer, brand strategist, and content creator based in Brooklyn

Sandy on creating a space that inspires you to create:

Gathering inspiration online can be a great reference. You might like how someone is styling their rug, incorporating color into their living room, or framing their art—but always think about how that would apply to your space. And when you see what others are purchasing, it’s important to ask yourself: Do I actually want that, or do I just want it because everyone has it?

Her favorite places to seek inspiration offline:

• Movies: I’m a member at Metrograph and try to see a movie every month. I also go to my neighborhood theater—it’s kind of grungy and old, but so comforting to see a movie on a random weekday.

• Historic home tours: I recently visited Donald Judd’s home in SoHo, and the guided tour was fascinating. Home tours are one of my favorite activities—nothing beats seeing these spaces in person and how artists actually lived.

Andrew Hurt, multidisciplinary artist and cook based in Vancouver

The mysterious realm of ideas and how they land in our brain:

When I get an idea for something, it usually just pops into my head out of nowhere—kind of like how David Lynch relates to creativity when he says, “An idea is like catching a big fish.” Some weeks I have no ideas at all, but I keep fishing. Then randomly I’ll get something, and when it appears, one medium usually stands out in front of the others.

I wish I could say I’m able to sit down and just come up with ideas and choose a medium at my own discretion—that would be sick. But usually, an idea just slaps me in the face out of nowhere, with the medium already in place.

Where Andy finds inspiration outside the internet:

• Exploring the city I live in: I love going to Chinatown and into the markets and seeing the old butchers behind the counter doing their thing. Food is the core of any community, and when you surround yourself with food, you surround yourself with stories—and the faces that make up a neighborhood. That always inspires me.

Lisa Cyang, art director, set designer, and photographer based in Montreal

Advice on starting a career in prop styling/photography

Don’t be scared to reach out to people whose work you like. In terms of practice, surround yourself with things you like—utensils you find interesting, rocks with nice shapes, desserts you find beautiful. Doing this might inspire you to start shooting. Exercising your imagination and putting it into practice is the best way to understand your style and strengthen your eye.

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Dear reader,

There is something about February that makes me feel very hopeful. Maybe it’s that I can almost feel spring and the longer days ahead, or that Pisces season (and my birthday) is around the corner. I’ve also realized how much I love Valentine’s Day as an excuse to show extra love to the people in my life through small acts of care, like sending voice notes telling them how much I miss them, baking for them, or one of my favorite expressions of love: writing letters.

Over the past few decades, perhaps thanks to Hollywood, writing letters has been reduced to a symbol reserved almost exclusively for romantic interests, which I think is lame. This year, I want to encourage you to write more letters casually, not only to your crush, but also to friends and even to people you don’t know.

Want to start writing letters? This is a non-comprehensive list of things you may need. You probably already have most things at home, so get writing!

Hot tip: If you are not feeling inspired, my go-to is writing down one of my favorite poems or song lyrics that remind me of the person, and sending it to them in the mail.

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In other news—after experimenting with it last year, I’ve decided to officially launch snail mail for all paid readers! Seasonal snail mail for 2026 will arrive in March, June, September, and December. If you are a paid reader, fill out this form to opt in, and be ready to receive the first mail next month!

This will be one of the many perks paid readers unlock when upgrading. If you enjoy my work and want to support it further, this is the chance to upgrade and start receiving something from me in the real world as well.

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Seasonal snail mail will include:

• Stickers of the month: I will include stickers that I collect periodically from some of my favorite artists

• Stationery: For the past couple of years, I’ve been collecting special pieces of stationery and ephemera every time I travel, and I want to share them with you!

• Original illustrations: I am excited to include a small print made by me, inspired by each season

• A handwritten letter: Obviously, a note or postcard will be inside your mail, with maybe a poem, a confession, or some other surprise hihi

Thanks for supporting my work, and for being here the past two years of apartamento 710. It truly means the world to me!

Follow along on Instagram or email me at florenciaornelas.f@gmail.com if you are interested in collaborating or hosting an event together. Manifesting fun events around the world this year!

Dear reader,

Today I bring you the fourth installment of my series: Where to find inspiration outside of the internet. I started this series last year, and it has become one of my favorite sections of the newsletter. I decided to try something different and wrote it all by hand this time, along with illustrations and journal scans. Thanks to and for sparking inspiration to create my own analog newsletter!

In case you missed it:

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Join the apartamento 710 book club! We start reading Lost Lambs on February 9th. Newsletter readers get 20% off at Massy Books. Use APT10 at checkout. Full details here ↓

Follow along on Instagram or email me at florenciaornelas.f@gmail.com if you are interested in collaborating or hosting an event together. Manifesting many fun events around the world this year!

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I’ve spent a big chunk of my 20’s reading self-help books. I always hoped I’d turn into a completely new person after reading them. An improved version of myself— optimized, without the quirky traits inherited from my dad’s side of the family. Maybe I’m just more cynical now. Or it’s the natural rhythm of life that, when you land in your late 20s, things you cared about ten years ago seem irrelevant, including the need to constantly improve yourself. So this year, the goal is to pick up more poetry, fantasy, and fiction books. I don’t want to pretend I’m an intellectual. I want to read stories that make feel things, where I may have nothing in common with the main character, and yet I can still lose myself in the plot.

I want to invite you to read more fiction with me and join the apartamento 710 book club. It’s free, it’s cool, and it will keep you accountable. For our first read, we’ll be reading Lost Lambs by Madeline Cash. Set in a small coastal town, follows the Flynn family as their carefully balanced lives begin to unravel and a mysterious shipping container pulls them into a criminal conspiracy.

To learn more about the book before committing, you can read the excerpt here. The author, Madeline, is a writer based in New York City, and Lost Lambs is her debut novel.

⭐ For all my Vancouver based readers who want to join the book club:

Massy Books is offering the apartamento 710 community a 20% discount on your book. Just make sure you order it through this link and use code APT710 at checkout. ❤️ Massy Books is 100% Indigenous owned and operated. Please remember to support your local bookstores instead of billionare corporations that don’t care about the people or the planet.

Here’s how the book club will work:

• We will start reading the book on February 9th, with the goal of reading it in a span of 4 weeks.

• We will use the apartamento 710 chat to discuss the book and our progress weekly. During the first week of March, I will be hosting a session online for us to jump on and discuss the book upon finishing.

• ⭐ Paid readers who join the book club will receive very cute, book club-themed merch. If you have been considering to upgrade, this is your time!
  

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Feel free to forward this to a friend who might want to join too. Can’t wait to read with you this month! Below is our schedule:

apartamento 710, in the real world ☁️

• Some of my illustration and photography work will be exhibited in Mexico City Art Week. This has been a dream at the very top of my bucket list, so I’m very happy and grateful that it’s happening. Thanks to Ana Sofia for inviting me to this group showcase at Safe Place. Preguntas Madre will be open to the public until February 7th. If you are in Mexico City, please stop by and check it out!

• I‘m hosting a vision board workshop with my friend Gabriel, founder of AÉSENCE at cowdog. The event sold out in 40 mins the day we announced it (pinch me). Can’t wait to meet many new members of my community and vision board together. The event is kindly sponsored by Barbet and Nonny, two of my favorite non-alcoholic brands. Poster and illustration work by me.

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Follow along on Instagram or email me at florenciaornelas.f@gmail.com if you are interested in collaborating or hosting an event together. Manifesting many fun events around the world this year!

Welcome to another issue of apartamento 710, a newsletter about living a creative life. If you are new here, I invite you to explore my interview series, Sobremesa, my section Reference Library, or a fan’s favorite:

Dear reader,

After a few days in Toronto, I am back in Vancouver, where it feels like Spring compared to the -25°C weather I experienced in the past few days. My visit was short but eventful. I was originally there for a work event, but managed to squeeze in a couple of extra days to get to know the city. I even hosted a mini apartamento 710 meetup, which was one of the highlights of my trip. I was reluctant and honestly a bit scared about spending time in Toronto in the middle of winter, but I truly had the best time thanks to my local friends who took the time to show me some of their favorite spots. Some of my highlights: Tusk, The Paper Place, Kensei Bar and Rooms. Can’t wait to be back.

In today’s letter, I’m sharing my experience with keeping a rejection log and how it has slowly reshaped my creative practice and how I think about failure. I was introduced to this idea by my friend, artist Valeria Bueno, when I interviewed her last year for Sobremesa.

I was curious about what might happen if I started reframing every no as an opportunity, instead of something to hide or feel ashamed of. Over time, looking back at my rejection log has made me feel proud—not because I always succeeded, but because I tried. In my world, pursuing what you want already makes you a winner.

What a rejection log is (and isn’t)

A rejection log is exactly what it sounds like: a running list of rejections that you keep somewhere accessible. It can live in your Notes app, a spreadsheet, a journal, Notion, or wherever you already tend to return to.

What it is: a record of courage ⭐ A way to track your attempts, perseverance, and your willingness to take risks in pursuit of your dreams.

What it isn’t: a list of failures, or something meant to shame or discourage you.

Writing down your entries doesn’t need to take long. Here’s what I usually include:

• Date

• What I tried (submitting an application for an exhibition or reaching out for a collab)

• What I learned or any feedback shared

• What I would do differently next time, a new approach I would like to take (like instead of sending an email, showing up in person, or trying a new cold email style)

  apartamento 710 is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider paid subscriber.

In the spirit of removing shame out of our failures, here are some of the rejections I experienced in the past year:

• I submitted my illustration work to three group exhibitions. Two rejected me, and one ghosted me.

• I reached out to one of my favorite painters for a Sobremesa interview, and they said no (but told me to reach out again in the Spring).

• I pitched a partnership collab with one of my favorite brands and had no response.

  ---

  If you are interested in starting your own rejection log, I am sharing template I use below, available for download.

This practice takes off the weight of a rejection. It doesn’t mean that rejection won’t hurt me, but keeping track of it helps me to stay grounded, focused, and honest with myself. Whenever I start feeling that nothing is happening, I ask myself: how many times have you tried? How many times did you share your work this week? Rejection is a muscle; it is an indicator that you are really betting on your dreams.

How to review your log (this is where the magic happens)

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Welcome to another issue of apartamento 710, a newsletter about living a creative life. If you are new here, I invite you to explore my interview series, Sobremesa, my section Reference Library, or a fan’s favorite:

A couple of weeks ago, I published A guide to have the most creative year of your life, and many of you loved it! I decided to create a downloadable version (find it at the bottom of this letter) so you can print it, put it on your fridge, inside your wallet, or gift it to a friend who is in need of a creative push. You can access this and more fun perks by upgrading to a paid subscription. Every upgrade means a lot and I don’t take your payment for granted! Thanks for being here.

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For the past few months, I have been testing out different ideas to give apartamento 710 visibility beyond social media. I want to share them with you in case you are interested in leveraging some of these strategies as you promote your work this year.

Below is a list of more than 50 creative ways of promoting your work offline, featuring special contributions from the apartamento 710 community chat. What else would you add to the list? Let me know in the comments : )

1. Make postcards and leave them at galleries, libraries, and community centers

2. Print one of your poems, short stories, or newsletters and put them inside of an envelop and snail mail it to friends and family

3. Host a meetup at your favorite cafe

4. Hand out business cards to people that you meet

5. Make a linocut stamp with your logo and use it on letters, postcards, etc

6. Tape a poster on community boards of laundromats, cafés, etc

7. Host weekly co-working Zoom calls

8. Add a sticker with a QR code to your notebook, laptop, water bottle, etc

9. Print bookmarks with your branding + signup link. I will add the bookmark template I used to print mine, in case you want to customize it with your own branding!

10. Advertise your services in your local magazine or newspaper

11. Create your own club: a book club, snail mail club, a cooking club…

12. Write the name of your project URL on a chalkboard sign outside your home or studio

13. Print a small run of matchbooks or coasters with the name of your project

14. Add the details of your projects to your email signature

15. Leave flyers at art supply stores

16. Offer to help organize or volunteer at community events and casually share your work while there

17. Leave a postcard inside rented or borrowed books

18. Ask fans of your work to leave you a review and use it in promo materials

19. Attend markets or pop-ups and chat with creatives

20. Pitch yourself as a podcast guest

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I am hosting an apartamento 710 meetup in Toronto this January on Sunday, the 18th. Are you based in the city or have friends who live there? Let them know, I want to see you all there! If interested in joining us, leave a comment on this letter, reply to this email, or send me a dm to confirm your attendance. I will send you the full details and meeting place. Can’t wait to meet you there!

Dear reader,

Over the years, I’ve learned that my creativity doesn’t respond well to pressure or ambition alone. It responds to my environment. To the often invisible conditions that either invite me in to create or quietly push me away. Before I think about what I want to make in the new year, I like to take a close look at what I’m surrounded by.

Every year, usually somewhere between the limbo of the last week of December and the beginning of January, I do a reset. Not really a goal-setting exercise, but an audit of my entire creative ecosystem. A way of noticing what’s working, what feels outdated in my practice, and what needs more space to grow.

What I mean by “creative ecosystem”

When I talk about a creative ecosystem, I mean everything that shapes how and whether I make things. It’s the physical space I work in, yes, but also the information I consume, the conversations I am having, the objects I keep within reach, the commitments or collabs I’ve said yes to, and the inner state I’m moving through.

Let’s get started

Grab a notebook, your beverage of choice, and give yourself plenty of time to go through your audit →

Let’s start with your physical space: Here is where I ask myself, where do I actually like to sit and work? Not where I think I should work, but where my body naturally gravitates towards.

This past year, I got myself a nice standing desk, hoping to spend less time sitting and hopefully improve my poor posture. The truth is, I spent most of the time doing work at my kitchen table, next to the window where the light hits in a very celestial way. Knowing this, I’m planning to rearrange things a bit around my apartment to see if that motivates me to spend more time in my neglected desk.

Remember: Notice which objects make you want to touch, write, sketch, or simply begin something. Move things around. Put some things away. Your space needs to support you and your lifestyle.

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Online world: When it comes to auditing our digital worlds, decluttering your email, subscriptions, and your social media feed is a great way to start. Pay attention to what leaves you feeling sad or anxious compared to what sparks inspiration, curiosity, and makes you want to go make something of your own.

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Dear reader,

Last week, I hosted the first in-person apartamento 710 meet-up in Vancouver. We met to see Wild at Heart by David Lynch at one of my favorite independent theaters in the city. After the film, we discussed the movie over fries and chocolate milkshakes. New connections were made, Letterboxd handles were shared, and I, for one, left feeling energized and inspired to keep making space for more intentional connections. It was the best first meet-up a girl could have ever asked for. I am still in disbelief at how this community shows up. Thank you for being here!

And as adults, it gets harder to make space for play. Life gets busy, and dedicating time to making art can feel like a waste of time in a society that prioritizes 'productive' activities. This is a compilation of the things I have implemented in my life to prioritize living a creative life, particularly in the busiest seasons of life. Today’s letter is a friendly reminder that making space to cultivate creativity is not only key to our overall well-being; it is also a tool for survival.

10 strategies to add play and creativity in your day-to-day

1. Start small: This is key as you build momentum. I asked apartamento 710 readers how this looks like for them and got some great insights: “I wanted to get back into the flow of playwriting so I set a 2 hour date each week to write a 10 minute script. It helped me stay very well rounded!”. Another great tool, shared by a different reader: “I just read about the Pomodoro technique to do things 25 minutes at a time, then break for 5. I want to apply that to my novel writing”. As my girl Olivia Dean would say, ba-ba-ba-baby steps.

2. Use what you have: It’s exciting to start a new hobby or practice and get all the new supplies/equipment but trust me, you won’t regret being resourceful as you start a new hobby! Leverage the supplies you already own, borrow or thrift them.

3. Claim a physical space: I dream of having my own studio one day, but for now, I’ve claimed a lil corner of my apartment. In terms of storage, open shelving really works for me, and seeing the materials encourages me to play. Whether it’s a whole room, a small desk, or a drawer, giving your art a physical home validates your practice.

   

4. Leverage the “in-between” moments: I like to carry a mini sketchbook and use it to jot down stuff or do quick sketches while waiting for friends to arrive to dates, or during my train ride to work. This has been a game-changer for my creativity, and unintentionally reduced my time doomscrolling.

5. Find an encouraging community: Making time to go to in-person workshops and events can be a great way to get energized by new creatives and mediums. Having an accountability partner has also been so important to me. Shoutout to my friend Valeria, who always replies to my very long audios asking her about the best paper to print on, the best tips to scan illustration work at the public library, etc. Go find yourself an accountability buddy!

6. Experiment (and be okay with being bad): Easier said than done in my case but so necessary when you are starting something new. Give yourself permission to make bad art. The only way to get to the good stuff is by doing the work dozens of times.

7. Re-share your previous work: There’s a lot of pressure to constantly come out with new stuff, which is exhausting and not always sustainable. Revisit previous projects and think of ways they can inform your current reality. How can things from your archive take novel shapes? This could look like a compilation of work that you haven’t really shared or promoted in the form of a zine, or maybe a more mature, second edition of your poetry book that can reach new audiences.

8. Collaborate with other creatives: Creating together sparks ideas you’d never find alone and helps distribute the project so it feels more approachable. Your next great collaboration is just one cold email away.

9. Keep a “running” idea list: Sometimes the best ideas land in our brains in the most random moments. At the sauna, while making a cup of tea, in downward dog pose. I try to jot them down in a journal or your Notes app as soon as I can. You might not have time to execute the ideas in the moment, but you don’t have to let them slip away!

10. Schedule time to find inspiration: Treat inspiration like any other commitment and put it on the calendar. Have a creative date once a month. Go to a museum, visit a new gallery, or take a “color walk” around your neighborhood.

Remember, the most important thing is to give yourself grace and show up as much as you can, with the best of your ability :-)

What else would you add to the list? Please let me know in the comments!!!!!!

Check out the community chat for more tips and tricks shared by other readers. Thanks to Kathy, Aiyasia, and Katy for sharing your tips with me!

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• In the spirit of sharing the love and also keeping us in track to have the moooostttt creative year of our lives, I made a printable calendar and punch card for us to print or use digitally <3 You can download these for free!
  Hanging my calendar on the wall each month, making doodles and adding stickers to it as I fill it with all my goals and to-do’s is one of my favorite ways to begin a new month 😋 I am also excited to use the punch card to gamify things as I try new stuff in the new year. Enjoy, and let me know if these are helpful!

the calendar

89MB ∙ PDF file

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the punch card

20KB ∙ PDF file

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A fun way to track your progress

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If you love apartamento 710, please share this post with a friend or loved one. If you have the means, you can also upgrade to a paid subscription and help keep the work for free for the community. For collabs email me at florenciaornelas.f@gmail.com.

Until the next one!
Florencia

More of apartamento 710:

Dear reader,

This year, I’ve been looking at ways of extending the world of apartamento 710 from being mainly an online endeavor to a more tangible, real-life pursuit. This goal has taken different shapes. I have mailed more than 40 letters to readers in different parts of the world, from Indonesia and Australia to Brazil and Lebanon. I’ve printed posters that I take with me everywhere I go. A few readers have found me through these at different coffee shops, and it is always exhilarating when I get a note from them letting me know they found me through a poster. Let’s not forget the importance of giving our work a place to live outside of the Internet.

As I look at ways for my work to occupy a space in the real world, I’ve been thinking about how much courage and vulnerability it takes to put yourself out there. We all want to be seen, but not all of us are ready for the exposure once more people start paying attention. I am still navigating this resistance in my own work and trying not to let it stop me.

After months of looking at my sketchbooks, I dragged myself to a local Risograph studio and printed one of my original illustrations. If you are a print media geek like me, you know that nothing compares to the printing quality of a Riso machine—the intensity of the colors, the softness of the page. I am very proud of how this came out.

For the next two weeks, I will be mailing my new illustration to all readers who upgrade to a paid subscription. If you have considered becoming a paid supporter of my work, this is a great time for you to do so. Thanks for all the love!

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Reference Library is an occasional compilation of all the different curiosities that inform the world of apartamento 710. All the books, films, and music that I am loving, the artwork I am paying attention to, and the practices or mediums I’m experimenting with. Sharing it all with you for your leisure.

Come on in, and enjoy your stay!

My favorite films

Early this year, I cancelled my Netflix subscription. I didn’t have a streaming alternative already lined up. Soon enough, I discovered Tubi, a free service, and my favorite, Kanopy, which curates international and independent cinema, as well as a wealth of content from the Criterion Collection. In case you didn’t know, you can access Kanopy for free with a library card.

Below is a list of almost everything I watched since September: Some of my favorite love triangle stories, my top Tarantino film, and the first David Lynch movie I’ve ever seen, Mulholland Drive. Lots of spicy French cinema, because I’m trying to learning French, and of course, Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein, which I saw on the big screen at VIFF. A couple of great documentaries on the list, too. It’s been a remarkable, cinematic year for me. If you are looking for great stories to immerse yourself in this winter, this list is solid.

• The Third Lover, 1962

• A Married Woman, 1964

• Blue Velvet, 1986

• Chungking Express, 1994

• Y tu mamá también, 2001

• Mulholland Drive, 2001

• Lost in Translation, 2003

• Death Proof, 2007

• Coraline, 2009 — First time watching, by the way. So good.

• We need to talk about Kevin, 2011

• Neruda, 2016

• The Florida Project, 2017

• The Lighthouse, 2019

• Pearl, 2022

• Rodeo, 2022

• Nosferatu, 2023

• Frankenstein, 2025

Documentaries

New ways of experiencing audio

After using Spotify since middle school (wild to type these words lol) I said goodbye to the platform for good. Big year for tech-break ups over here. But what can a girl do if there are almost no decent streaming service providers these days??????

Since then my relationship with music has changed quite a lot. I went from playing something in the background almost every waking minute of my day, to now being more intentional with what I want to listen. On the streaming side, my partner and I kept a Youtube Music account. Sharing it means less convenience, but that would do for now. I’ve also became more curious about old, analog ways of listening to music. We started a vinyl collection that I am excited to expand slowly. I have been playing with the idea of getting an MP3 player.

Going to live shows is another way I decide to support the work of the musicians I love. This year I was lucky to see Nathy Peluso, Wet Leg, The Marias, and the Haim sisters in concert. A great year for women in music. I am definitely not updated in the latest releases as I used to be since I no longer have an algorithm picking music for me. I am enjoying having more agency in finding the things I want to consume.

Subscribing to the mailing list of my favorite artists so I know when they are on tour or releasing new work has been a way to staying on top of things. Friends are always showing me new music that they think I will like too, which is very sweet. In October I visited my friend Andrea for a few days and we went on a roadtrip around Cowichan Valley, where she introduced me to Olivia Dean. I will never forget the first time listening to ‘A couple Minutes’ on the road, as we drove through the most beautiful views of fall.

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Youtube shows

This is some of the good stuff I watch regularly on my commute, while cooking dinner or decompressing after a long day of fighting the patriarchy.

Books

My reading year started with great momentum after giving myself the challenge of going through all the books in my shelf in 3 months. Once I finished the challenge my my attention went to other places (films hehe) but I am slowly making my way back to books again. I am currently re-reading Milk Fed by Melissa Broder, and This Is Strategy, by Seth Godin. As you can see I am girl of balance. I am excited to read a shit ton of fiction this winter. And poetry. Do you have any good recommendations? I want something that makes me feeeel things.

Recent essays

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I’m eating 2 starbursts, a box of pink nerds, and a bag of nerd clusters while Nemahsis sings, “you’re good for nothing, you said it to me once before,” in my ear. I nod my head because I know. you’ve said it more than once to me before…

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5 months ago · 40 likes · 14 comments · sayeda

Journal Rash

How to Reset Your Artistic Life

The thing about landscapes is they wait. They have nothing but time. A mountain range doesn’t care if you show up next Tuesday or never again. It was here before you, and it will be here after. There’s no accountability in geology…

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how to read like a writer

I read, I reflect, I take notes, I grind away at the writing of others, I produce my own, and all this takes up more and more of my day…

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Before we go

• For my Vancouver based readers: The Cinematheque is doing a screening series of David Lynch’s films, including Wild at Heart, which I have been dreaming of seeing on the big screen. Let me know of you would be interested in meeting up to go and discuss the film afterwards. A lil meet and greet if you will.

Thanks for making it all the way to the end! Let me know in the comments all the things you are experimenting and fun with during hibernation season. 🌀 Love ya!

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Get in touch with me at florenciaornelas.f@gmail.com if you’d like to collab or work together : )

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Today, we are diving into the mysterious world of dreams and how documenting them can make you more creative, curious, and excited about living. To get things started, here is some Reddit wisdom for us:

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• I noticed I started dreaming almost every day of the week when I started reducing my screen time before going to sleep earlier this year.

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If you enjoy the series, consider supporting it by sharing this piece or becoming a paid supporter.

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An Interview with Hiller Goodspeed

The first time I saw Hiller’s work in the real world was last year at a local exhibition at the Yaletown Roundhouse Community Center. It was a sticky summer evening when I set out for my regular walk around the seawall. Instead of following my usual circuit, I made a last-minute detour to take a peek inside the center.

There it was: a wall covered in mini sculptures, collage, and the well-known charming illustrations. It was very stimulating, and it left me curious to learn more about the creator of all the curiosities behind the glass. Exactly a year later, in a similar serendipitous moment, I met Hiller at Zine Harvest and asked him to be a guest for Sobremesa. I am so happy he said yes.

Meet our guest 🧃

My name is Hiller Goodspeed. I am an American-Canadian artist and illustrator. I live in Vancouver, BC. I like to make, but what I make is always changing. I like to self-publish and do a lot of that. Mostly that, I would say. I am a generally creative person. I am still learning a lot, every day.

Describe your art for people who may not be familiar with it

My art is light and has a particular brevity to it. I was drawing a lot for a time, quick drawings that captured a feeling. I think most fans of my work think of these drawings when they think of my work.

In the last 7-8 years I have continued to draw, but also have worked on a number of personal projects that encompass a range of materials and subject matters. I incorporate my surroundings into my art, the things I see and hear and experience. Some have said there is a poetic quality in the things that I make. I let my creative compulsions guide me to the point where it has become difficult to succinctly describe what it is I do. I have a network of projects I can pick up or put down, depending on what I feel like working on.

I read online that you work as a librarian, along with making art. How do you think working in a library influences your creative work?

I do work in a library. I really enjoy it. On the first day of library school they tell you not to work in a library just because you love books. I actually think it is the best reason to work in a library. Working in a quiet, calm environment is a nice fit for me and allows me to exist in a tranquil state which is good for my mind and creative practice. I love facilitating the transfer of information.

You’ve self-published a lot of books and zines. You've inspired me to create and publish my first one this Spring!

Can you share some of the biggest lessons from your self-publishing journey?

That is very cool that you have published a zine. We need more zines, always. If everyone made a zine about something important to them, the world would be a resoundingly better place. I remember learning what a zine was, and what self-publishing was, and immediately thinking "yes, this is something I need to do". My first zine was called "Moon Soup" and was a collection of collages and art pieces that I made, bound with a machine we had in the design studio at the school I went to. I made 22 copies and gave them to my friends. I didn't know anything about zines when I made it.

To learn how to self-publish you have to throw yourself into it. It's intense at first, like any creative endeavour, but once you understand what you are doing, it becomes more enjoyable. There are countless guides and tutorials out there if you're unsure of where to start. I made a video called "Let's Make a Book Together" for VanCAF last year. The important part is getting yourself jazzed up to the point where you have to self-publish or you will burst into flames. There is no wrong way to do it, just go for it and see what happens.

I picked up a copy of Thought World at Zine Harvest and read the whole thing in one sitting at the Second Beach pool in Stanley Park. Something about it made me feel hopeful. Like we’re all just having a similar human experience, figuring things out.

What motivated you to create your own digital archive and what have you learned along the way?

I'm glad to hear you enjoyed Thought World! I make a lot of things, and I don't always get to find out what people think of them. Which is mysterious and cool, but it is nice when someone tells me they liked something I made.

In 2023, I decided to make my own social media website, Thought World, just for me. It's kind of like a diary? A quiet corner of the internet where I can go. Maybe it's a blog, actually. It was a great idea, and a freeing experience. It brings me the kind of comfort that is hard to come by on the internet. I published year one as a celebration of itself. I plan to publish years 2 and 3 as a single volume this winter. It is all online for free, too.

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I used to think that in order to be an artist, you had to go to art school, have the best supplies, or create a certain kind of work. But seeing your art in person last year really sparked something in me. I was like, "Oh, this artist made this mini sculpture out of clay, but also makes zines, and drawings, and poems! They seem to be having a lot of fun with it."

Do you have any guiding principles when it comes to making art? How do you decide what to make, given that you are interested in so many different things?

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This interview is part of Sobremesa, my series of intimate conversations with artists. Paid readers get full access to this interview and more than 60 pieces on the archive.

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Welcome to another issue of apartamento 710, a newsletter about living a creative life outside of the walls of the Internet. If you are new here, I invite you to explore my interview series, Sobremesa, my most recent corner, Reference Library, or one of my favorite pieces, my rules for making.

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Today I am very excited to let you into my sketchbook archive. I have been making art and expressing myself through different mediums since I can remember. It was only in the past four years of my life, though, that I began finding my creative style without even realizing it. This is my first time sharing it with the world, and I feel it is the beginning of great things for me as an artist.

This journey to find my creative voice and style began when I moved to Canada in 2021. I arrived here with a 25kg bag and very little savings in my bank account. It's the biggest bet I have ever made, hoping to find a better future for myself. I put all my energy and money into going back to grad school. I worked part-time to be able to afford it, and in the little time I had in between classes or work, I drew, painted, collaged, dove into the world of ceramics, and essentially tried as many techniques as I could, searching for my medium.

Every day for the first year living in Vancouver, I questioned if I was making the right choice. I felt very lonely, and that first winter was brutal. Making art through these times not only saved me but gave me the motivation to continue dreaming even bigger dreams. This summer, I found a couple of sketchbooks from these past years, and I was very inspired to share them with all of you.

Notes to self, reminders if you will:

• When you are starting, it’s not about the instrument; it’s about downloading the feeling, the emotion, the idea onto paper. What drew me back to art making was the need to let out all my emotions and cope with loneliness and depression. Since I didn’t have a budget to invest in art supplies, I reused the back of all the sheets from old essays from grad school. Remember that everything is a canvas. I used to paint (and still do) in paper bags, receipts, napkins, and on the wall.

• Something that is highly underestimated when it comes to art making is

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Today’s guest is Delaney Yvonne, a Vancouver-based artist and designer. Delaney’s work speaks in an intimate language that reaches the ethereal while often being inspired by the mundane. When I met Delaney in person for the first time back in the Spring at a local market, I was delighted by her warmth and her gift to make you feel seen. We bonded over fashion, art making, and the challenges of building community in this city. Instinctively, I asked her to be a guest in the newsletter. I am so excited to share my conversation with her today.

We chatted about:

• What it takes to change careers in your late 20s and how she did it

• How she makes sure precious ideas don’t vanish

• Her obsession with going down niche Etsy rabbit holes

• And so much more!

Grab a seat, your favorite drink, and let’s start with Sobremesa : )

Meet Delaney 👡

I’m a painter and graphic designer based in Vancouver. I’m primarily a painter and art has always been my main passion. In 2021, I went to school to study graphic design and now work full-time at a design agency while continuing to pursue my painting practice. I love biking to work every day, spending time with my family, drinking natural wine with my girlfriends, watching horror movies, and fashion.

My painting style leans toward realism, but I like to include a sense of contradiction or irony, and sometimes elements of social commentary or critique. Visually, I would say my work is feminine and whimsical. I am very intrigued by beauty culture so that theme often finds its way into my work.

For people who might not be familiar with your work, what are your preferred materials to work with and favorite techniques?

I am a painter and generally use acrylic on canvas. I’m currently doing a series of paintings that look closely at different textiles and patterns, focusing on their detail and texture. I love making very detailed paintings and using the smallest paintbrush imaginable. If I wake up with a sore wrist, that’s how I know yesterday was a good painting day. Outside of painting, I am a graphic designer. I find that my design work informs my artwork, and vice versa. I love when art and design intersect.

I know you’ve been making art since you were very little. Was this something that came from your parents’ encouragement, maybe by taking you to classes, or have you always naturally gravitated toward creating?

I think a little bit of both. I was always drawn to creative stuff and it always came very naturally to me. But my parents also encouraged me. They gave me time and freedom to draw, paint, collage and let me figure things out on my own. They also introduced me to their artist friends, so I had creative adults I could look up to.

I am a twin, and I’m sure that played a role as well. My twin sister is an amazing athlete and I think I wanted to find my own thing.

Before deciding to work in a creative field, you spent a few years in a completely different industry, until you decided to start over and return to school. Many people in their 20s and 30s are afraid of pivoting; it can be a risk, especially when you've built skills in a particular field for some years. What would you say to someone considering making a pivot? Any tips you can share from your experience?

I originally studied science and worked in the environmental non-profit sector as a project manager for years. As much as I loved that work and respect that field, I couldn’t shake the feeling that it wasn’t quite right for me. I would work at my project management job during the day and paint in the evenings. I always felt so happy and alive when I was painting.

Over time, it became obvious that I needed to pivot to something creative. I enrolled in a graphic design program and never looked back. As soon as I was in my first class I was like “this is the perfect job for me”. It seems so obvious in retrospect but it took me a long time to get to that point. For some reason, I wasn’t giving myself permission to think of art as a career option.

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The advice I would give to someone considering a pivot:

• Give yourself permission. Don’t wait for someone to tell you it’s okay.

• You probably think you’re too old to pivot but you’re not.

• Think of it as an advantage! You will have experience and skills from someone who has only worked in one field. You may be a few years older than your new coworkers or classmates, but you will have diverse experience.

Let’s talk about your creative process! When you get great ideas you’re excited about, how do you make sure they don’t slip away? What’s the first step you take to bring them to life? I like to keep a little notepad and write everything down, but I’ve heard of friends who like to draw their ideas or record themselves to capture them before they disappear.

• I write myself little notes that would make zero sense to an outsider. My notes app is unhinged. An example I just found: “repeating like animorph, mesh, transparency multiply”. Makes perfect sense!

• I remember ideas better with visual references, so I have a private Pinterest board for every idea I’ve ever had.

“Over time, it became obvious that I needed to pivot to something creative. I enrolled in a graphic design program and never looked back. As soon as I was in my first class, I was like “this is the perfect job for me”. It seems so obvious in retrospect but it took me a long time to get to that point. For some reason, I wasn’t giving myself permission to think of art as a career option.”

Do you have any techniques for overcoming creative blocks? For those times when you don’t know what to create or where to start?

• Sleep on it: Whenever I get stuck on something, I take time away and come back the next day. The problem always seems easier with fresh eyes.

• Thumbnail sketches & word mapping: I got in the habit of doing these during design school. It always helps.

• When all else fails, watch a good movie.

What are your favorite ways of finding inspiration outside of the internet?

• Volunteering. I volunteer with an arts organization called The 525. We host exhibitions for emerging artists. I do all of the design work, including the posters for all of the exhibitions. Working with that group and meeting the artists is a constant inspiration.

• Friends from different age groups! I have friends who are way older than me and friends who are way younger. Can’t recommend this enough!

• Getting dressed. I love planning outfits. It’s a fun way to be creative that is completely separate from my work and just for myself. Shout out to my sweet partner for giving me so much closet space

Things Delaney is loving lately 💋

Online:

• Post Projects: The design studio I work at!!!

• Anjela Freja on TikTok: She does a weekly video that reviews what’s happening in the art/design world. She’s so good.

• : The Review of Beauty: I am obsessed with Jessica’s work. She is a beauty reporter and critic. She critiques the beauty industry in a thoughtful and enlightening way, and she has changed the way I view beauty culture.

• Fire of Love: A movie about volcanoes that is visually breathtaking.

• The Pitt: So much medical jargon. So much drama. I loved it.

• Going down niche Etsy rabbit holes. For example, I have one multi-page collection for keychains, one for vintage French ribbon, and one for Juicy Couture zip-ups.

Offline:

• Urban Source craft store in Vancouver: They have a huge assortment of alternative art supplies (for example, an entire bin of mismatched vinyl scraps). Great place for ephemera, weird art materials and design inspiration.

• Maude Sips: Really cool, wine-forward event series in Vancouver. Hosted by the brilliant Martina Maude.

• Tools Magazine: An annual publication out of Paris. Each issue revolves around a different type of manufacturing technique or “tool”.

• The Wall by Marlen Haushoffer: A book I really enjoyed about a woman who gets isolated in the Swiss Alps behind a mysterious wall. It's a dystopian story, but it somehow felt soft and idyllic.

Explore Delaney’s work at delaneyyvonne.com or connect with her on Instagram.

Thanks so much for reading this edition of Sobremesa! If this conversation sparked something in you, please let us know in the comments. We want to hear all about it.

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In case you missed it:

If you are new here, I invite you to explore my interview series, Sobremesa, or my most recent corner, Reference Library. If you enjoy this space, the best way to support my work is to upgrade to a paid subscription or share this piece with someone who you think might find value too!

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The garden that keeps giving 🍅

A few weeks ago, I published my rules for making, and it resonated with so many of you. I highly recommend that you check out the comment section of that piece.

I decided to create a downloadable version of my rules for making so you can print it, put it on your fridge, inside your wallet, or gift it to a friend in need of a creative push. It is included when you upgrade to a paid subscription or available for purchase via apartamento710.com. Thanks for all the support, always.

Let’s dive in with today’s letter!

Every summer, a loved one comes to spend time with me in Vancouver, and I get to play tour guide. This year, it was my mom’s turn to visit. The best part is not that I get to spend lots of quality time together, or that she spoils me with my favorite childhood food, but really that she is here to fulfill her long life dream of going to school and studying English. I feel very proud and grateful to see her accomplish her dreams and get to know her as a person, not just like my mother. That, my friends, is a story for another letter.

A ferry ride to an island in the Pacific Northwest is all you need

A couple of weeks ago, my mom and I embarked on a trip to Vancouver Island to spend the day with my good friend Andrea. We picked berries at a farm, yapped for hours at a family-owned cider house, and went home with 4 pounds of organic berries. It was a very wholesome and perfect Summer day.

During our 1-hour ferry ride to the island though, we were surprised to see that despite having reception, passengers were engaged in many different offline activities. Not only elders as you might expect, but also children and teenagers were focused on activities like coloring, table games, knitting, and some other cool things that didn’t involve being online.

I write a lot about finding ways to find inspiration outside of the Internet in this newsletter, so this time at the ferry, I felt like an anthropologist observing people around me engage in these offline activities so naturally. It always gives me hope seeing people choose to stay present, sharing a moment with other humans instead of scrolling through videos on an app, ignoring everything and everyone around them.

I don’t think this is unique to this ferry though, and you probably have sensed the shift in society where you live too. We crave going back to basics and decentralizing our lives from our phones in some capacity. The exhaustion of social media algorithms is real, and we can no longer ignore how tech companies have done everything but create online spaces with decency and responsibility.

I firmly believe that we are in the middle of a big shift, realizing that we have agency over how we can live our lives. For me, it means choosing to spend the hours I can feeling and experiencing things in the real world. Choosing wisely where my energy and attention go.

As always, I write this hoping to spark something in you. To motivate you to take action and find out how you can be more present and connected to yourself and the planet.

5 things that have impacted my creativity and overall sense of well-being.

1. Community: Going to my local pool, finishing my swimming session, and heading to the sauna and jacuzzi. Time passes differently when you are in the water. No phones are allowed inside, which makes the experience even more enjoyable. Being surrounded by people from different generations, specifically elders, has also been so good for my soul this summer. I am always inspired by how comfortable they feel in their own skin and how open and curious they are in conversations. We all need to spend more time sharing spaces intergenerationally.

2. Boundaries: I started leaving my phone in our living room before going to bed, and stopped bringing it when I go to the bathroom. How come we can’t even pee without our freaking phones in our hands?! It’s been only a few weeks, but I already feel the benefits of less screen time (+ mental clarity, expanded capacity to deal with difficult situations at work, and motivation to engage in creative activities).

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3. Simplicity: I downgraded my phone to a smaller version with a more basic camera. I left only my banking apps, communications apps like WhatsApp, and I am planning my strategy to leave my personal Instagram in the next few months, which will be another letter. I know leaving social media is not the answer, but rather finding balance… but honestly, the app is not serving me at this point in life, so I think I am ready to say bye, even for a temporary period. Interesting because this Summer marks my 1st anniversary since I left TikTok.

4. Creativity: I have found joy in coloring again, specifically since released a new coloring book this week. I am obsessed, and coloring is one of my favorite ways to decompress after being on my computer working for 8+ hours. You can use the discount code wuwucolor to get your coloring book via wuwuuu.com.

5. Leisure: Sometimes it’s nice (and vital for our sanity!?) to lie under the sun and just do nothing. But if you are like me, and doing nothing is hard sometimes…word search and crossword puzzles are a simple but superior activity when you want to let yourself flow.

How does taking care of yourself look these days? I want to know! Let me know in the comments or hit reply if you are reading this via email ❤️

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Thanks so much for reading, I hope the rest of the Summer is so sweet to you!

-Florencia

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More of apartamento 710:

The apartamento 710 ebook: A compilation of more than 20 ideas to feel inspired again. Available when you upgrade to a paid subscription or for purchase via apartamento710.com

As promised, find the downloadable version of my rules for making below, which also contains a preview of a new drawing series I will be releasing this Fall :-) Access this and more perks by upgrading to a paid subscription.

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