Archana Srinivas and the Colours of her Life

Daily life, everyday chores, regular things-to-do lists, these seem mundane. The everyday business of living can be boring to many, with only special occasions spicing up things. But for some, every little detail of life holds joy. Archana Srinivas of Rang –  The Colours of Life, is one such person. Based in Bangalore, this homemaker, mother and freelance photographer, and of course, avid blogger, lives her life with joie de vivre and captures the beauty of simple moments in her many blogs, through luminous snapshots and haiku-like lists.

Says Archana, “After working in advertising and web designing I decided to take a break when my daughter was born. It was an enjoyable break but nevertheless, the creative me needed an outlet and blogging provided me the perfect platform to express myself.

Rang- The Colours of Life, is my personal blog where I started sharing my everyday musings, my passion for food, travel, art and design, mostly in the form of photographs with my readers.

As I went about my daily life, I slowly started capturing these moments that were so mundane but nevertheless moments to be cherished and be grateful for.  These captures gradually made me look at even the most mundane things in a new light, new perspective. Yes I started seeing beauty in mundaneness!”

She also shares her mantra - “Life becomes precious and more special to us when we look for the little everyday miracles and get excited about the privileges of simply being human” ~Tim Hansel

Image credit: Archana Srinivas

One of my fav blogs...

The first of March. The first of any month holds so many possibilities. A chance to have another go at that list of resolutions. Make more resolutions. Try a new things. Cook and craft more. Work..umm…more or less, depending upon what you want right now from your life. Exercise a LOT more. Loose a few pounds and maybe, fit into that pair of corduroys that’s still new.

I hope this month, I’ll blog more. Paint, sew and craft. Read. And study more.

Well, since I mentioned posting more on Cookie Jar, let me tell you about a blog I enjoy reading. It’s called Cotton Strudel, and it’s written by, umm, Cotton Strudel  – a crafter, web developer, English teacher, wife and new mum. Its one interesting blog for all those out there who like to cook, craft and know how to savour every moment of this life. I like to cruise over to her online sketchbook and scrapbook, to see what she’s up to these days. Reading her posts is like catching up with a friend who shares the same interests. Mine being crafting, cooking and sewing. 

Cotton Strudel's creation - a little girl giraffe names Aurora

Image: Cotton Strudel

Dreams in my pocket - Jessica Constable

I can't get enough of good blogs and strong coffee. A few months ago, on a lazy Saturday afternoon, while rifling through blogs, I came across Jessica Constable's inspirational blog Make Under My Life. As I read, I came to know that Jessica is an entrepreneur, who runs her own jewelery brand called Jess LC. She's just the kind of woman I love to read about...yes, you got it. I love reading about women who have the courage to chart out their own career path and choose to start businesses instead of work the 9-to-9 shift.

So people...let's catch up with Jessica Constable over coffee.

I am…. 
I’m a jewellery designer in Chicago, Illinois. 

My business name, Jess LC, comes from my name and initials. But I have to admit, in 1999 the company was originally named Starlette Jewelry. As a 15-year-old living in Rochester, Michigan, I taught myself to make “totally rad” star ankle bracelets at a local pool. While making these beaded ankle bracelets, four women bought them from me on the spot. These unintentional sales changed my professional life forever. Inspired to earn my “fun money” selling jewelry rather than baby-sitting, I soon learned new jewelry techniques and sold my designs to teachers, students, and stores across Michigan. When I graduated high-school, my jewelry was sold in 12 boutiques.


In 2003, I began college at the University of Michigan and studied Business Administration at the Ross School of Business. While struggling through operations management and corporate finance classes, I continued selling jewelry and re-named the business Jess LC. My junior year, I interned in New York City at Macy’s Merchandising Group within Product Development. Though the experience was great, I found myself wanting to make changes to the designs, pricing, hang-tags, even the LOGO. Needless to say, as an intern these changes were beyond my control. So I resolved to take a CEO position after graduation… at Jess LC. When I graduated I was also named “Entrepreneur of the Year.” Which sounds impressive, until you find out that I was the only student with a business, and therefore the only nominee. Ahem.


After graduation in August of 2007, I moved to Chicago and started Jess LC full-time. Setting up shop in a small studio apartment as a one-woman show was challenging (read: really hard). But I had faith and persisted. By the end of 2008 Jess LC was sold in over 100 stores nationwide. At that point I also had a lovely team of interns, part-time help, and awesome sales reps.


I write… 
I write about designing a life with intention. It is my purpose in life to help people reflect on what they are meant to do with their lives and then help, encourage, and inspire them to then "design their life" around those intentions. The blog topics I cover which relate to this effort include lifestyle, home decor, thinking with intention, and designing a business with intention. 

My bread-butter-n-jam… 
My life is designed around doing what I love- as I've pursued my purpose through the blog the jewelry business has blossomed into a fun, exciting, and challenging endeavor. I am constantly getting inspired to design jewelry based on inspiration from my passion: interior design. I love translating the trends I see in home design into jewelry. It's also amazing to reach out and interact with customers via Jess LC and readers via MML (the blog). More and more often, those customers are now readers and vice versa. Being able to be known for not only jewelry design, but also as someone who helps people pursue their purpose is fantastically rewarding.

What inspires and invigorates me… 
Reading blogs and books about business, life purpose, and interior design get me fired up to do what I do everyday. 

I enjoy… 
I enjoy iced tea, beautiful throw pillows, Westie puppies, traveling, watching HGTV, journal writing, and graphic design.

Instant perk-me-ups… 
Prayer, running, coffee with friends, phone calls while running errands, walking along the beach, doing my nails. 

What counts…
Learning to separate my ego from my spirit, family and friends, and fearlessly pursuing my purpose. 

The important lessons of my life… 
I've learned that the more you actually go after what you are meant to do, the more opportunities arise to help you get there. It's really about taking those baby steps to make it happen and to stick with the path you've chosen. I've also learned that there are two voices inside my mind: my ego and my spirit. My ego wants to control the future, fears the unknown, and generally gets me caught up in unnecessary worry and pride. My spirit on the other hand is a calm, cool well of knowledge that is always at ease and trusts in the future being bright regardless of whether I know where the path is heading at this point in time. The more I've been able to recognize these two perspectives in my life, the better I've been able to let go of a lot of unnecessary drama, pain, and fear.

Let me share… 
I have two mantras which have helped me change my life: The first is, "You get in life what you have the courage to work towards." The second is a quote by Michelangelo who said that he could carve such beautiful statues from pieces of stone because he saw the potential within the rock and simply removed the layers that were hiding that potential. I believe our lives are like those pieces of stone: the more we remove, the more we uncover our purpose and potential. 

I'd also say that the most transformational book which has helped guide the course of my life is The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey.

Dreams in my pocket - Nancy

Hiya! It's been some time since I posted anything. I've been dividing my time between work, embroidery, long walks and books. And this week onwards....a lot of work!

Well, time now for another interesting blogger. Please welcome Nancy of Wolf and Willow. She loves everything vintage and her beautiful online scrapbook of words and delicious pictures will have you smiling in no time. So guys...take a break from whatever you're doing and all the busy moments, to take a sneak peek at Nancy's blog and what she has to say here...

I am….

A dreamer with a wild imagination. A lover of vintage children’s books and fantasizing about the past. Growing up I travelled all around Australia with my parents, from the chilly Victorian coast to the tropical Whitsunday islands and back again. I loved writing and illustrating books. When I grew up, I spent five years at university studying all sorts of interesting arty things like archaeology and literature, then settled on being a graphic designer. Now I work as a freelance writer, designer and illustrator for books, magazines and blogs.... I spend any spare time sewing, cooking and playing with my dog.

I write… 

Wolf and Willow. I nickname it “Project Pretty”, because really, it’s a visual diary of pretty things! I post free sewing patterns from time to time, or write about vintage icons, etsy finds, fashion, illustration and decor. I have a little Field Journal section where I post about personal stuff like childhood memories, family photos and projects I’m working on.

My bread-butter-n-jam… 

I’m a freelance designer, illustrator and writer. I specialise in publishing (design, illustration and copywriting for books and magazines); interface design (blogs and websites) and surface pattern design (textiles, packaging, paper goods).

I sometimes work in-house at companies around Melbourne, which is nice, because I meet great people and get away from the daily distractions at my own studio. But I also love working from home because my dog curls up under my desk.

What inspires and invigorates me…

Sunshine. I can’t get enough. If it’s sunny, I like to take a picnic blanket and read a book under a tree, go running, ride my bicycle down to the local shops... anything outside. I also love to play 80s music and have a dance when no-one is watching... that always invigorates me!

I enjoy… 

Drinking tea of all kinds, collecting pretty teacups to drink it in, reading books, trying out new recipes, hot porridge, cuddling my dog, watching movies on the ‘life raft’ with my husband (an inflatable boat we put in the lounge room and fill with pillows – it’s like floating on a cloud!), cycling around the suburbs admiring the pretty gardens and weatherboard houses, sewing, writing.

Instant perk-me-ups… 

Raspberry and white chocolate muffins, fruit salad, phoning my mum for a good long chat, cuddling my dog.

What counts…

Being kind and cheerful and generous with your love, time, knowledge, compliments... whatever you can give, give it! Life is hard enough without us making things worse for one another, so why not try to make life better for others by being nice, even if it’s just a smile or a kind word?

The important lessons of my life… 

Be grateful for what you have every day (make a list if you have to!) and never take anything for granted. If something is really making you miserable, change it. When your life is over, you don’t get to pack a suitcase, so forget about material possessions and money, seek to be rich in love and happiness instead.

Let me share… 

A recipe for the best breakfast smoothie ever! Blend 1 cup milk (soy if you wish), 3 ice cubes, ½ handful blueberries, 1 banana, ½ teaspoon cinnamon, ½ handful of walnuts, 1 teaspoon of honey and a sprinkling of goji berries... delicious!