It was a cold, but sunny day; and I was having a bit of a stressful one. After successfully meeting a client for a forthcoming project; I took a walk through my local park to reflect...

This realm - that's what I will call it - is one of my favourites as it is a very picturesque location which looks incredible in both the warmer and cooler months. I have been here twice before for photography, but the photos were not as attractive as these! I took these photos with my iPhone and edited using VSCO's P5 filter for an added "cool" effect!

I felt I needed a bit of escapism for at least five to ten minutes and these surroundings provided it! Believe it or not, the dual carriageway is literally just out of shot - this is not a remote spot by any means! Looking at the perspective of the capture reminds me that everything is a journey and that journey can be quite amazing to witness; and a bit abstract at times (email me if you want further understanding on that statement!).

Being in these surroundings enabled me to reenergise and to inadvertently gather new inspiration for my fashion brand; with a new collection promised late-fall (I have gone all American there - I mean "winter").

Autumn is fast intensifying; and as my favourite season - I welcome it (except the early disappearing act the sun now makes). Expect to see more photography both via my DSLR and my iPhone in the coming weeks and months - I am even calling it "VSCO sessions" on my personal Instagram account (@iamroyikoroha).

Let me know what you think of this photography if you get a moment! This post was not planned; but as I sit here behind my Mac - my Windows Laptop has gone defunct for now (oh sh*t...in fairness it has been a whole month now since that happened) - I felt it best a bit of spontaneity summoned!

Blog you soon,

Wow!

I have been away from blogging recently, but am back to recently relay about how much of a pleasure it was to be invited back to my old university to give a talk to students about my creative journey at their Creative Careers Fair.

I haven't yet managed to get a picture of me talking, so here's a pic of the Creative Careers Fair brochure.

As a proud University of Westminster Alumni, having graduated with my BA (Hons) in Architecture, I never imagined that I would be the other side of the microphone giving a lecture/talk to students. However, there I was a week ago talking to aspiring Creatives about my journey from my early years; to school/university study; and onto transitioning into the working world...

I opened by explaining who I was, what I currently do, and why I was there. I then progressed to talking in depth about my creative journey starting from my younger years when I had a huge fascination with Lego, Meccano, and Play Dough – using it to create structures. This led to my secondary school years (11-18) where I had a strong affiliation with subjects including Design Technology and Art. My enjoyment of these subjects subsequently led to a degree in Architecture and the Built Environment where the course content reignited my love for graphic design and incepted my love for photography!

Furthermore, I explained to the students in attendance how graduating, searching hard for a job, and then initially having a few stints of work experience led to me deciding to create my own experience by becoming a Freelance Graphic Designer & Photographer – of which we are on the website which forms the basis of my trade. I showed my website to the students who were intrigued as to how I went about creating this and what was my inspiration for certain works I have done? My answer to this was “fate” as I myself never envisaged a decade back that I would be freelancing! I have also started my own fashion brand Labels Are Limitations® which is a constant process of evolving over time – including loads of trial and error, ensuring that the correct designs are produced and that the market (my targeted audience) responds to such designs in the right manner!

My main focus was to give students – who wonder where to go next following university – some inspiration! This is whether they will seek employment or whether they will want to [like me] start their own business. I wanted to let them know that I am still on the “creative-ladder” constantly trying to improve and that like me, they the students must not give in! It’s never easy...it can be real stressful sometimes...but perseverance is the best way to approach anything!

Keep going!