“The power of simple stories & the courage to follow your dreams”
Claudia was travelling through the Karoo (in the Eastern Cape of South Africa) in 2017 to escape the city for a few days.
Where others see a harsh, arid landscape, & nothing but sheep for as far as the eye can see, Claudia looked up & saw a beautiful Karoo nightsky, flooded with stars & saw an opportunity:
“Why not in an area full of wool, create products that could empower local women to make a living & draw more attention to the incredible beauty of the area?”
A year later, Claudia moved to a farm in the Karoo with her husband, young son, and the family dog. Inspired by her new surroundings, she began writing original children’s stories, brought to life with illustrations by her father. This collaboration resulted in a charming range of children’s storybooks.
Claudia’s journey is a testament to the idea that real success comes from answering the call of inspiration and having the perseverance and passion to bring dreams to fruition, – whatever it takes.
If there is one message that I want to share with you, dear reader, it’s this one: If you are lucky enough to have a dream, don’t second-guess yourself. Or as Liz Gilbert said in “Big Magic”:
“You will never be able to create anything interesting in your life if you don’t believe you’re entitled to at least try. Believe that you’re allowed to have a voice & a vision of your own.”
Your Brand has a Story
Not every start-up story is as instantly visual & romantic as Claudia’s. You may be struggling to find your story, or you may have fooled yourself into believing that your brand doesn’t have a story. You might feel that yours has too many rough edges & is hard to love. But every brand grows from a seed. Dig deep. Find what drew you to start your business in the first place. And when you find it, dust it off and let it guide everything you do.
If you need help with that, I’m here for you.
Like all of us, Claudia has moments when self-doubt comes knocking on her door. Like her, I hope you’ll have the good sense to defend your idea stubbornly against all the odds.
I was lucky to be involved with bringing the KarooFelt website to life and to design the spinoff brand, KarooWunder. Sometimes we bring inspiration to our clients & sometimes they inspire us right back!
“Tara has been an absolute pleasure to work with. She has an amazing eye for colour & space and gets it just right. She took my brief & made it even better than I thought possible.”
“She really felt into my product, and established the best way to market it to my clients. On top of that she juggled our differing time-zones with ease & kept me abreast on what was happening with small videos. I couldn’t think of any better person to work & and will definitely send all my future work her way.”
