WOMEN WE LOVE | Meg Ryan
8.2.21
This week we're excited to introduce Meg Ryan from Drawn with Light to 'Women We Love". Meg is a self described Visual Storyteller, a passionate advocate of ethical fashion and sustainable living, and Assistant Editor of Slow Journal, a magazine about living life in the slow lane.
Hi Meg! Let's jump right in. How would you best describe to our readers, who you are?
I'm an eclectic mix of excited, focused, innate desire to adventure and experience life to the full! Life is such an exciting experience; the gift of existing is a privilege of, and there is a wonderful ride we each can take if we are open to the great unknown within the universe. There is so much joy to be found in the interactions life floats your way or the adventures you consciously choose to follow. Alongside this belief lies passion, a burning desire to live a life that is truly mine. This pushes me forward, creating an instinctual drive within. I often have five journals on the go at once, but never a phone in sight, a need to stay present, to run from the online world and delve into the art of putting pen to paper. I believe I am a true fire sign, very honest, passionate, a little nuts and somehow each part of me comes together in an enthusiastic, somewhat crazy love for life!
Photo: Rod MacGregor
ON VALUES AND CONSUMING CONSCIOUSLY
What do you value most?
Connection. The raw emotion that washes over you when you feel truly aligned with a moment! Truth be told I did not experience this feeling until recently. I noticed a shift while travelling Australia with Rod in 2019; an inner awareness started to grow. It was almost as if that journey led me to uncover what it was to be truly me, just me! It made me realise what and who was important and seek out those interactions that made life come alive. The ones that make you feel like you are exactly where you need to be. They're the moments that make you want to break out in dance because you feel joy everywhere, the ones you squeeze someone's hand with excitement or scream just a little bit. Those feelings of connections that you leave from and feel completely refreshed, inspired and like anything at all is possible.
What first sparked your interest in slow fashion and sustainability?
I believe it's always been a passion as my parents brought me up with a strong focus on buying mindfully, and we often went vintage shopping together. This core of consuming thoughtfully and consciously only what was needed has been with me for as long as I can remember. After majoring in textiles at uni, I became more aware of the fashion industry's negative impact and started to think about my choices in a world bent on having new. Each person has such a unique journey with sustainability, mine happened in stages, and I must confess I was never as mindful as I am now. The last step in my journey has been to seek out those building forward thinking labels and supporting them on their journey. I adore discovering brands that think and create mindfully and inviting them to join our adventure!
"I adore discovering brands that think and create mindfully"
ON REINVENTING CREATIVITY
You live in Victoria. How have these past months in lockdown influenced you creatively?
I'm not going to lie. At first it was pretty hard! From being locked down, to being told we were non essential, to spending most of the year in seclusion. However, out of it bloomed this inner peace, a feeling of gratitude and a renewed passion for experiencing it all! Creatively we were given the unique blessing of launching a business without the distractions of side jobs, a social life and could solely focus on our passion. To be honest, I now can't imagine launching a business under any other circumstance! In hindsight, the lockdowns strangely sparked joy within us because nothing was taken for granted. Every creative relationship was extra special due to the year we were in, and we were forced to think outside the box, from putting up sheets in the back yard for fashion shoots, to turning our home into a cute cafe for a client. It really taught us that the only limitations are the ones we put up! Life is a gift, no matter what is going on around you, it is up to you to choose to live and flourish through any external issue.
ON SLOW JOURNAL
Tell us about your current projects, including your work at 'Slow Journal'.
Currently, we have a few projects on the go, including ongoing work for a local cafe, elevating their imagery, and I am their social media manager. This project perfectly aligned with our move to the country and has been invaluable in building relationships within the community. My management role assists the cafe in targeting their ideal audience through branding, imagery and local collaborations which involve the area. Alongside this, we just launched out 'Conscious Collaborations' venture, every month choosing a new business to create for free, who's purpose we believe in and one we wish to support.
To start the year we are dreaming alongside an artist who designs eco friendly yoga mats, a skincare brand that is building a bridge between self affirmation and reconnecting us to nature and an organisation which carefully selects brands to bundle into a curated hamper, with 10% of proceeds going to charity. To us, connection is a core blessing of being human, and to be able to contribute to someone else's narrative lights us up!
Additionally, I dream with Jane, founder, creator and dreamer behind Slow Journal. This journey is such a beautiful one and, funnily enough, Jane and I have never actually met in person! She first reached out to me to feature Rod and I while living on the road in our self converted van, and from there the friendship just grew. A year ago, Jane asked me if I would like to help build a community of likeminded people together, souls who chose to live mindfully and encouraged one another to do so. Now I curate pieces on slow fashion, products and people doing incredible things for our planet. Jane's beautiful spirit shines through in every page, and it is a real honour to be a small piece in her beautiful puzzle!
Liana Bralette
Liana Meilani Pant
Liana Sculpt Pant
ON WORK LIFE & GRATITUDE
You have teamed up with your partner, Rod. What is it like to work together?
Actually, quite easy! We have out moments as all couples do, but overall it just works, and we are very aligned in how we wish to build the business. The combination of my whimsical brain and his very practical one just mesh. I think it also helps that we have created separate roles within the business; he has the eye to bring my ideas to life in such a magical way through his photography skills, and I curate the behind the scenes. I chat to brands, collaborate on the story they wish to tell, manage the social media and if a brand desires I will model. We then come together on all the big projects like website, scouting locations (one of my favourite sides to the business) branding choices and share the role of editing. Maintaining clear communication, often working side by side and remembering to take a breather and escape into nature in the busier periods, helps keep us grounded and happily connected.
What are you most grateful for right now?
Right at this very moment the sun setting on the horizon, colours changing from gold to pink, bouncing off the sparse land, dotted with ghost like trees an iconic scene tied to the Australian outback. My favourite time of day, when the whole world seems to get quieter, the sound of roosting birds the only sound piercing the silence. Overall though, I'm most grateful right now because I feel incredibly content. I have found the path I'm so passionate about pursuing, a love that's deep, family and friendships which are so strong. I feel like the luckiest girl in the world because what more could I ever need!?
ON ALULU
Which pieces are your favourites from the current ALULU collection?
I cannot go past the Liana and Zali sets! I am obsessed with these styles and love the beautiful one of a kind patterns in each. This design also feels amazing on and it the perfect set to go out and adventure in! I can't wait for more waterfall hopping, days in the sun and time spent exploring our incredible backyard.
If there was one lesson to take away from 2020, what would it be?
There is always a silver lining and even when the clouds overhead seem darker, choose positivity. It's up to you and you only to find happiness. It's waiting to be found in every circumstance, and it's just up to you to open your heart and mind. The mind is a powerful being, and where you choose to focus your energy will follow. As Elizabeth Gilbert says in Big Magic (my favourite book) "Live a life driven more strongly by curiosity than by fear." I think this applies to all roads in life and that if we are open to the magic of every moment, there will always be something good to be found.