Why hello there! First of all, I would like to say that it’s good to be back. I took my first real break from the blog in almost six years since it started, and it was a much needed little mental vacation. I ended up still posting a handful of times for various collaborations, and I kept up with social media, but the blog was put on pause due to my ‘day jobs’, life, travel and sleep deprivation (read more about that here).
This year has thrown me for a loop to say the least. I feel like I hit the ground running in January and life, work and everything else in-between has not slowed down, and in the best way possible. In case some of you don’t know much about me outside of this blog, here is a little breakdown of my life beyond Simply Audree Kate. I consider my brand a three-tiered company. My first job is a Fashion Stylist (Audree Kate Studios). I have been styling for over six years and I have a handful of brands, publications, and clients. I also assist a handful of celebrity stylists and I freelance on the Alice + Olivia styling team. My second job is a Fashion Editor. The past year I was the a freelance fashion editor at StyleCaster.com (read my articles here) and a freelance writer for a handful of other websites. My third job is Simply Audree Kate—where I run the blog, social media, oversee a team of interns, and manage my fashion college workshop series and eBook, “Fashion Fundamentals.”
In 2018 I was presented with two different full-time jobs with brands I work with, and I ultimately turned them down. These were extremely difficult and emotional decisions I made, and I wasn’t sure if it was honestly the right decision at the time. I was working around the clock for styling, blogging and freelance writing, and I was quickly losing steam, creativity, drive and second guessing my decision to go back to corporate security. Would my life be easier with a standard 9-5 job? I wasn’t sure if I should follow my styling career path, a fashion editor job or go full-force / full-time with SAK. The universe answered pretty quickly and presented me with a handful of styling jobs, so I listened and dove into growing my styling business.
The past few months I have spent 80% of my work week on set styling or prepping for shoots, and the other small portion of my time has been spent writing articles for publications and overseeing my team of interns. I decided to take the summer and lean into these amazing opportunities, train new team members and enjoy life away from the screen or social media. I didn’t work on the weekends, I went to bed at a decent hour and hung out with friends on a regular basis. After a stressful winter and spring of juggling multiple jobs and trying to determine which way my career was going—I prescribed myself a summer vacation from SAK to reset, focus and dive into Audree Kate Studios.
With September already in full-swing, I am ready to hit the ground running this fall with SAK! I know the rest of 2018 will be nothing less than a little crazy, but I feel much more confident now being able to balance work and life. This year has challenged me, taught me so much about myself and the industry, and it has also gave me a sense reassurance and drive.
So let’s get down to business, and welcome back to SAK 😉
xo Audree
DRESS (VINTAGE – L TRAIN VINTAGE) | EARRINGS (C/O SUGARFIX BY BAUBLEBAR) | BELT BAG, BOOTS (C/O LULU’S) | SUNNIES (C/O TOPFOXX)
