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Emma Barnsley

@told_by_emma

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followers

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following

creative strategist & mentor
💌 [email protected]

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dreaming wide awake. taken in Island of the Gods by @told_by_emma

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a month ago

I’m on a bit of a selfish quest to bring more beauty and presence to this app.

I’m in a slow unfollow phase. I’m letting go of accounts that tell me what to do in the name of selling something. And while there’s nothing wrong with that, this shift has helped me understand why I’m actually here.

I’m here to experience beauty, to experience story, to bear witness to someone’s craft, or someone’s expression. And I realised I also want to do that for myself.

In the days leading up to my 33rd birthday, I found myself enraptured with my surroundings. There was an undeniable pull to take out my phone and bring my awareness back to the world around me, to document the way I see things.

For years I’ve romanticised the idea of eventually printing the photos on my phone and creating an album. As much as I love that idea, it hasn’t happened. So this is me doing it here instead.

Taking more photos. Documenting my life. It’s so easy for this app to pull you out of the present, but it can just as easily anchor you back into it. I’m noticing it helps me turn my attention to what I’m uniquely drawn to, how I see the world, and what I notice that others might not.

I think the reason I feel drawn to show up this way is that information has become infinite, effortless to produce, and somewhere in that it quietly loses its value. But the way a specific person sees the world can’t be mass-produced. More and more, I think that’s what we’re actually drawn to. Not more information, but someone’s perspective. So here’s mine. ❤️ taken in Ubud, Bali, Indonesia by @told_by_emma

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4 months ago

Nothing worse than stumbling over your words when someone asks what you do. Here’s how to avoid that. 🌺

#brandstrategy #personalbrand #creativeentrepreneur taken in Bali, Indonesia by @told_by_emma

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5 months ago

As a creative founder, sometimes the most radical thing you can do is pick a direction and commit to it for a period of time.

Trying to keep your options open or trying to please everyone is the fastest way to water down what you’re actually here to share with the world.

Constraint = freedom of expression.

#creativefounder #personalbrand by @told_by_emma

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5 months ago

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5 months ago

Abby is a flower essence practitioner, mentor, and the woman behind Heka Healing.

She is also a creative and an intuitive, with a presence that brings joy and beauty to whatever room she’s in. When you think of the sun, you think of Abby. This was a series made to honour that.

A day by the lake with Abby of Heka Healing.

Photography & Floral Design @jessleefoote
Creative Direction @told_by_emma by @told_by_emma

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5 months ago

She could’ve slapped her name on it and called it a day.
Instead The Sentimentalist is named after who you BECOME when you buy it. Our girl Pam knew exactly what she was doing and I’ll be taking notes. 📝

#personalbrand #brandstrategy #femalefounder by @told_by_emma

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5 months ago

Secret’s out 🐅 by @told_by_emma

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5 months ago

72 hours in syd 🥐 taken in Sydney by @told_by_emma

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6 months ago

The work will show you where it wants to go. You just have to let it.

#creativeprocess #brandbuilding #creativestrategy by @told_by_emma

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6 months ago

I’d be lying to you if I said I thrift for the sustainability factor.

I thrift because I don’t like being told what I like or influenced by someone who was paid to wear something that they’ll resell the moment the camera’s off.

When I’m rifling through an overstuffed rack that’s sorted only by some vague definition of size, no algorithm, no one having pre-determined what’s hot right now, I have to reckon with my own taste.

I have to reckon with myself.

I’ve noticed that the more narrow my world gets through feeds, ads, and algorithmic suggestions, the more important it is for me to return to what I genuinely like underneath all that persuasion.

Foraging through leather belts and striped button downs and well-loved denim while old ladies gossip behind the counter and an AM radio blares in the background brings me back to my own personal sense of taste. It brings me back to myself. taken in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia by @told_by_emma

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7 months ago

When I catch this happening, I ask two questions:

What’s the meaning I’m about to assign to this situation?

What’s the meaning that gives me power here?

Power, in this case, looks like:

Getting clear on the facts, without attaching story

Considering context, rather than making assumptions

Neutrality over emotion.

Same situation. Less wasted energy. Wayyyy less internal drama.

And most importantly, more agency.

Try it on for size. ❤️ by @told_by_emma

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9 months ago