A soft yet vibrant life, with Yvie Ormsby
There’s a reason that The Enthusiast & Co has that second part attached to it: it’s a COmmunity, for COnversations, with CO-conspirators. So I’m thrilled to be sharing a conversation with you today that I had with the brilliant Yvie of Yoco Studio, all about her idea of ‘colourful zen’. I loved it, and hope you do too!
(Our conversation has here been condensed for clarity, but believe me: we could have chatted all day.)
On a soft but vibrant life
Ellie: So the catalyst for this conversation was an instagram post you shared, which made me leap into your DMs and say YVIE I WANNA DEEP DIVE ON THIS!
Yvie: The original post was just me on Twitter saying that my goal is to live a soft but vibrant life, and that the fact is I want ease. I also want joy, but I'm not looking for unnecessary difficulties. And I'm also not looking for the middle ground that seems to be dominating currently: the only thing that seems to be out in the world at the moment if you’re searching for a soft life is you need to be wearing white, sometimes brown, your house is decorated with serif typeface, and you can only have pampas grass. And if that’s your aesthetic, great — but it’s not mine. So where’s the other side, the more colourful, vibrant side? That seems to be the other end of the spectrum, with stuff like going to gigs, where you're expected to be doing all of the things all of the time. Why can't it be in the middle? Why can you not have a soft, easeful life whilst doing all the things that you want to do?
On the meaning of minimal
Y: Although I've kind of stopped stopped saying ‘soft life’ in general, because that itself has taken on its own identity. So I talk about ease. I don't mean easy, I mean ease. I find there's a difference between those two as well. I am looking for ease. But that doesn't mean it's not going to be difficult, or it doesn't mean I'm not going to work hard, or it doesn't mean that I'm going to do less.
The things that are associated with soft are like, minimal, monochrome and empty. But none of those are synonymous with each other, that's just the perception that people have. Minimal doesn’t have to mean empty, and monochrome doesn't even mean black and white. It just means one colour!
On ‘soft swaps’ and her morning routine
E: I love your idea of a soft swap. Often when we try and optimise things we're doing it to get better, bigger, splashy results. And I think actually looking at stuff a different way, which is like, okay, how can I make things easier, softer, nicer (whatever that means), is such a nice way of looking at the day and seeing it as a playground opportunity for you to live the life you want.
Y: The conversations in my DMs that I had after posting about that! People were like oh my gosh, yes, we need more of these swaps!
It can be huge things or it can be like little things. One of the things that I do myself is in my morning routine – and it doesn't really sound like anything wild, especially if you're used to thinking about hustle culture and that sort of morning routine, because I want to reduce the amount of things that are in these routines in the first place! So when I get up I shower straightaway, because it makes me feel like my day has started. Even if I'm still tired, I can have my eyes shut under the shower. I've got a shower specific playlist that I play, so halfway through I'm always singing and dancing along with music – it’s great! Then I make my green tea, I open my window, rest my tea on my windowsill, and read 10 pages of a book while listening to lo fi. This way I'm just in a nicer place, and then when I sit down to work, I feel great. It's been so different to how it used to be, when it was like wake up, rush, sit down, open the emails, I might even have sat down and started on emails while I'm still in my pyjamas! Now, in myself, I feel energised but like softly energised.
E: I love the picture you’ve just painted, because it shows how easeful can still be full and vibrant: it's just that you've chosen the stuff actively to serve you.
Y: Exactly, and you can always add, as long as you do it in an intentional way. Then when you realise what it is that you actually want, you can then take away the things that you don't want or need.It's not about doing all of the things all of the time. It's about doing the right things.
On a colourful capsule wardrobe
Y: For me, ease is less time thinking about what to wear, so I’m currently building a capsule wardrobe. But if you go and search for capsule wardrobe, it is all white, brown, denim, black. If you’re looking for a colourful capsule wardrobe, you can find them, but they are rare! Why? There’s plenty of colourful clothing, but it’s more for events or last-minute things. Instead my goal is to have a wardrobe that is full of colourful clothing, but is minimal in quantity, higher in quality and sustainability. That way I can get out the house and do the things I want to do with ease. All the things!
You can follow Yvie on instagram @yoco.studio.
This chat was SO much fun, Ellie! Thanks for sharing that you want to be part of the joyful & easeful club too. :)