12 days of Advent: a Substack Community Celebration #3

Let's work in a way that honours our boundaries and supports our energy, with Sarah Robertson.

Hi, I'm Laura, and I’m a multi-passionate mama of 3, excited about demystifying creativity, obsessed with other people’s pivots and delighted by flat whites, long walks and learning.

beautiful work by Sarah Robertson

our best work doesn't lie at the crossing of toil and grind; it waits at the junction of calm and pace.

- Sarah Robertson

Welcome to the third day of our 12 days of Advent: a Substack Community Celebration. You’re going to love today’s piece: it’s like a soothing hug in a piece of writing!

Today’s gift is from Sarah, a brand designer, creative mentor and writer. Collaborating with clients to define their vision, craft beautiful visuals and discover their voice is at the heart of her creative practice.

Originally from Edinburgh, Sarah now works from her home nestled in the Scottish Borders alongside her partner, Jonathan, and the littlest members of the team: their colour-loving lass, happy-natured lad and curious cat!

You can find her at

Brand Seasons

where she's creating a podcast, playdeck and paper to support you with your independent business or creative practice. There, she writes on curiosity and creativity and takes a gentle, nurturing and playful approach to strategy, styling and storytelling.

the kind of beautiful photography you’ll find in all of Sarah’s work

Light a candle, take a breath, sit back and allow the words to wash around you, like music (thanks Roald Dahl!)

Sarah writes…

Leaning into flow and pace

I believe it’s possible to protect our peace, and do the work that lights us up.

But it wasn’t always this way. I used to bend and break to please and had no real sense of what it meant to live in alignment with my energy.

So when I started my studio, These Are The Days, I promised myself I'd approach my branding and design work differently, meaningfully and thoughtfully. And collaborate with clients who believe in intentionality, too.

I don't think I trusted that this client existed at the time. It hadn’t been my experience. But that was on me. For some 20 years, I allowed myself to be the yes woman, the deadline woman, the get-it-done-yesterday woman. And yet, most of the creative projects I've worked on over the last three years have been play-filled and, perhaps more importantly, ease-filled.

As I ease back into studio life following six months of maternity leave, I'm mindful that it’s also my job to consider my capacity, navigate chronic fatigue and put my health front and centre. I still mess up. But I feel much safer in communicating my availability and honouring my boundaries. Because when we value our bandwidth, others will respect it, too.

Over the festive season, a time charged with liveliness and wonderment, I remind myself that it’s okay to tilt towards flow and pace. And to let go of the need to be switched on like the bright lights we see all around us at this time of year.

In this choice lies a rhythm that refills me. A balance of input and output. Because our best work doesn't lie at the crossing of toil and grind; it waits at the junction of calm and pace. It's time we met it there.

Sarah Robertson

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The junction of calm and pace, eh? Beautiful writing from Sarah. I find this rhythm a really challenging one to realise, but it’s a work in progress eh? How are you finding the pace of life right now?

I’d love to chat about this with you in the comments,

Laura x