We were lucky to catch up with Lauren-Ashley Barnes recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Lauren-Ashley, appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?
My resilience comes from my faith and not wanting to have any regrets in the end. My will to achieve my goals and create my dream life is greater than any obstacle or fear. There will always be set backs, but I view them as lessons.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I’m excited about running my business Pineapple Sundays full-time. It’s a feel-good stationery + giftware company. At the end of every year we donated a percentage of proceeds to the Loveland Foundation which provide free therapy sessions for women, girls and non-binary folks of color. I ‘m looking forward to hiring my first employee and developing fun new stationery products for 2024. Our products are designed with self-care in mind and we have some of the coolest bookmarks around. I’m excited for my upcoming fall release where I’ll be adding 2 fall themed enamel bookmarks and halloween greeting cards.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Definitely my creativity and willingness to continue to learn new skills in art and design. My product development skills was learned while working at a wholesale company and taught me how to develop a product from concept to completion as well as dealing with overseas factories. Lastly, customer service. Before I landed my first design job I worked as a receptionist, even though I hated answering the phones it taught me how to deal with different personalities and how to defuse situations and creative problem solving.
Thanks so much for sharing all these insights with us today. Before we go, is there a book that’s played in important role in your development?
I have so many but the top 3: Oprah’s What I know for Sure “If given the chance I hope you dance.” It helped me step out of my comfort zone and try new things, even if I’m afraid.
Elizabeth Gilbert’s Big Magic: “Tell fear to shut up, you’re in the driver’s seat and you can’t even touch the radio.” When I’m moving closer to who and where I need to be, fear creeps in like a sneaky little ninja whispering all the negativity in my ear. When it comes up I say Gilbert’s quote, it’s helped me stay resilient. This book is great for anyone really, not just creatives.
Jen Sincero’s You Are A Badass: “In Order to kick ass you must first lift your foot.” Basically to me it says you want that dream life, go out there and get it. Take the first step then the next, you have to constantly work toward what you want. Again, this connect to my resilience.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://pineapplesundaystudio.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pineapple.sundays/
