A Year in RAREform
It’s RAREform’s first birthday today 🥹
It also happens to fall right before mine.
A year ago, I published my first piece from a hotel room in Milan, in between running around Salone del Mobile, not fully knowing what this would become.
What’s unfolded since has been my favorite iteration of my career so far.
Every year, the night before my birthday, I have a ritual.
I light candles.
I go back through old journal entries.
I take note of what I’ve learned.
And I write down a few hopes for the year ahead.
So for RAREform’s first birthday, I’m doing the same here.
What I’ve Learned
If you’re not hearing the conversations you want to hear, start them.
At 3 Days of Design in Copenhagen in 2024, I came across a chair designed to sit the body in its most open-hearted position.
It stopped me. Not because of how it looked, but because of what it suggested. That design, life, neuroscience, and the nervous system are far more connected than we tend to talk about.
Those were the conversations I wanted to have. That’s where RAREform began.
That life and design dance more closely than we give them credit for.
Because of that, I’ve never run out of things to say. Something always presents itself, something that connects back to the work I’m doing at RAREculture, or to the intersection of art, design, and daily life.
That the things that feel the most natural are usually the ones worth following.
Not everything needs to be forced. Sometimes it’s less about pushing forward, and more about allowing yourself to move with what’s already carrying you.
That not everything needs to be fully formed before it’s shared.
Sometimes the act of sharing is what shapes the idea.
That sharing is how you find your people.
So many of my relationships in the interior design and hospitality world have grown from someone reading an article and reaching out. There’s something incredibly affirming about walking into a new client’s office and realizing they already know who you are.
That people respond to a clear point of view, not perfection.
There’s something more compelling about conviction than polish.
That consistency matters.
Showing up every week, becoming someone’s quick dopamine scroll on their Monday night ride home from work, or a small break in the middle of a chaotic Tuesday morning inbox. There’s something about being reliable and dependable that builds trust over time.
That the most interesting work happens in the overlap. Between art and science, design and emotion, intuition and structure.
That tension is where things start to feel new.
That trusting your taste will take you further than trying to get it right.
Taste is personal, and that’s exactly what makes it valuable.
What I’m Calling In for RAREform
A clear offering that ties more directly into the daily work we do.
A way for RAREform to articulate and support RAREculture’s point of view, positioning us as a leading art and design studio that keeps the nervous system in mind.
Projects, partnerships, and synchronicities that feel aligned, creatively and energetically.
More opportunities for RAREform to live beyond the page.
In conversations, in real spaces, and on stages. Connecting with readers in more intentional ways through creative events, workshops, or even retreats.
There’s an AI-generated image of me giving a TED Talk that lives on my 2026 vision board
If anyone wants to help make that real, you know where to find me.
A deeper trust in intuition.
Letting that guide what gets shared, and trusting that my taste resonates with the people it’s meant to reach.
And a continued sense of curiosity.
Letting RAREform follow the paths that don’t always make sense on paper, but feel right, and lead somewhere interesting.
Final Thoughts
There’s something about marking time like this.
Looking back just enough to see the pattern, without getting stuck in it.
And looking forward without trying to control it.
Just setting the tone.
💌Elle
P.S. Thank you for reading, sharing, and being part of this. If you’ve been here since the beginning or just arrived, I’m really glad you’re here. I don’t take it lightly that you choose to spend a few minutes of your week with me.
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