It's about nostalgia.
Following our earliest dreams of who we wanted to be.
It is an irreplaceable privilege to accumulate the years, and sometimes decades, of knowing a person. As we grow and age alongside our friends, we get to witness their journey unfolding in the most beautiful and unexpected ways. We get to be there to see the obstacles and breakthroughs and how these moments inevitably sculpt their path and their person.
Such is the honor I have had in watching my dear friend Mia build a life of her own making. In my eyes, Mia is the truest of artists. She is curious, generous, vulnerable, and does the hard intentional work that is required to make a dream tangible. After diving deep into the history and craft of incense making, Mia just opened a brick and mortar store - Fumi - and it is exquisite. Fumi is a place for Mia to sell her hand crafted incense, to offer evocative pieces that delight the soul, and to host and highlight other incredible creatives and dreamers. If you’re in Portland, go say hi…she will welcome you with a cup of tea!
As I forge my own creative journey it feels essential that I seek out the stories of other artists. To trace the way they have carried their dreams for so very long, maybe all along. To follow as they take that hard definitive turn, the choice and commitment that begins to make it all real. As Mia would say “when you feel it in your guts”. This the second zine in a series I seem to have started about a year ago (you can read that first zine here). I am hoping to continue to share these stories of what moves us to take that unprotected step towards our own creative longing.
Big love and gratitude to Mia Reiko Braverman for allowing me to capture this potent moment in your journey.
What do you do with the dreams you have been carrying?
Amazing
So lovely. Thank you for making such a beautiful story come to life!
I have just started to feel like a writer. I am sitting at my desk and just creating a space like this, being in it, helps the writer emerge.
Mia, having been to your house once I can say I was immediately and delightfully ensconced in a sense of beauty and home. Your artistry is so evident!