One of the things that always keeps me going in my creative jobs is my peers. I think it can do a world of good to take the time to connect through the great world wide web, but even better if you get to connect in person. When I headed out to L.A. for The Brand Market workshop, I was able to spend the afternoon with Justina Blakeney. After hanging with her, I was wishing she lived closer. What I love about Justina is that she is fierce at whatever she does. She goes the extra mile, takes the risk, and hence brings life to genius creativity. I would say she is a strong voice in the industry, and I so appreciated being able to chat with someone on everything from motherhood, the funny business of social media, blogging as we know it, and the crazy life of an entrepreneur…

Here’s just a few things you should know about Justina: She makes these insanely cool portraits just from foliage. (Check the series on instagram: #facethefoliage) They each have a story and you get sucked in to the mystery every time.

Pretty fascinating, huh? I hope she compiles these for a coffee table book someday. Can you guess which one is me? Was honored to get my portrait done:)

She also recently founded The Creative Residency which is a program of intense, fast paced, keep it real seminars on specified topics such as Social Media, Landing a Book Deal, and Bio Bootcamp. They are currently run in L.A. but hoping they make their way across the country!

And if you aren’t already convinced this gal is a mover and a shaker, you should know about her book coming out called The New Bohemians: Cool and Collected Homes (coming soon!). Considering my interior design preferences leans towards Bohemian, I can hardly wait!

Last but not least, she is a mother to a beautiful little curly haired Ida. Justina does an incredibly job encouraging women of all races to embrace their image and celebrate their post partum bods. I applaud that whole heartedly! She is a rockstar, no?

Head over to her blog and have a look. You can keep up with her here:
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