REBRAND/REFOCUS

I'd like to introduce you all to my new logo *drum rollllll* 



Yeah, not exactly a mind blowing logo so you're probably wondering why it has taken me years to create. Well, as I always like to say, less is more...ok I don't really ever say that, ever. But, less is more. Especially when it comes to a logo that i'm hoping will last the duration of this little blog/businesses life. I think part of me expected myself to create something incredible and that's why I never really created a logo as I was just never happy with it and everything I created was what was "in" at the time. So, here's to timeless logos, may we know them, may we use them, may we love them (can you guys tell i'm writing this late at night and clearly should really go to sleep??) 

If you read my previous post, you'd know that i'm currently pregnant and about to venture into a new and exciting chapter of my life. I am so excited to be a mum, and I am so excited to give birth. Yeah, the actual birth part. It excites me and I can't wait to experience it. I know this sounds weird, society tells me I should be afraid of birth, that it's painful etc etc. Anyway, I digress, I'm going to be writing lots of posts on birth soon and this post is supposed to be about the new direction we are heading here at NAYMA. 

My new tagline is "an islamically designed lifestyle." what does that even mean? To be totally honest, it was either "islam. design. lifestyle." or "an islamically designed lifestyle" and the latter just looked better #design. Basically, i'll still be designing. You'll still be seeing prints from me and i'll still be available for custom work. I'll also be delving into topics related to living an Islamic lifestyle while talking about issues that aren't so openly spoken about in our communities. Like infertility. Cause why is it okay for those "well meaning" aunties to ask when you're having a baby but it's not okay for you to say, "well, aunty, we have been trying but there really is only so much we can do, the rest is up to Allah" So expect to see lots more blog and Instagram posts talking about womens health, pregnancy, birth, parenting and living a holistic lifestyle. I know this may come as a shock as i've never really spoken about any of these (besides infertility) but I have been researching these for many years, it just never felt right to talk about something i've never experienced myself. 

Basically, I'm beyond excited to finally be able to talk about topics I am so so passionate about (guys, I just spelt passionate as "pationate"....this is the cue I should really be taking that I need to go to bed!!). My views aren't mainstream, they are very far from the mainstream and you'll most likely be like "what is she even on about" so I encourage you to have an open mind, ask me any questions, do some research for yourself. As with everything I write, I'm not trying to change your mind, I am simply encouraging and prompting you to use it. Think. And then think deeper.  

With coming back to social media, this was a really difficult decision for me to make. On the one hand, I hate it. I find it stressful and there's sooooooo much pressure to post the perfect photos and have a perfect feed. Part of my decision to come back to Instagram is that i'm not going to hold myself to any standards or expectations. I'm going to post whatever I want, whenever I want. If I don't feel like posting for a day, or two or even a week then I won't. If my feed doesn't look as good as it "should" i'm going to let it go. I'm not going to delete posts simply because they don't look good on my feed. I'm just going to be real, raw and honest. There have been way too many occasions where I was about to post something but didn't, because I would think "this isn't what's in right now" "what if no one likes this" and it's always been that those posts are ones i'm most proud of, where i've been my most creative and really pushed myself. That's part of the reason why I hate social media, if you look at nearly every profile, they all look the same. We all follow each other and post the same stuff and come on what's the point of that? It's sooo hard to get out that mindset and I feel i'll probably still struggle with this train of thought as I transition from the "perfect feed" to "my feed". But I know i'll be happier with less pressure and I know my content will be better too.

So, welcome to the new NAYMA. I hope you're as excited as I am for what's to come here at my little corner of the internet and I want you to know that I want this platform to be for all of us. If you have a story you want to share or even just want to talk to someone, please feel free to hit me up!

Love, 
Naeema