Introducing The Beauty Thread.
a new membership and an invitation to notice, hold and create beauty in our own worlds, as the seasons turn.
Hello, I am so glad you have found your way here… I’m Lyndsay — mother, creative and storyteller with a background in interiors PR.
Step inside Story & Thread., a cosy, layered home where the threads of creativity, interiors and mothering meet. Here, we unearth the stories from the seasons of our lives, with a house & a garden at the heart, and everyday beauty as our guide…
“All of this, calm and reasonable as it was, made out of ordinary things as it was, was the truth now; beauty, that was the truth now. Beauty was everywhere.”
—Virginia Woolf.
Dearest reader
How are things in your world as we step further into autumn (or indeed into spring in the southern hemisphere)?
It is a time of change and of crossing thresholds1 (perhaps it feels that way for you too?), as I write I am marking a moment in time…
- a deepening of the path into the mellow magic of the autumn season (arguably also the rightful new year!).
- the beginnings of the final year of my 30s (which so far has called for vases of jewelled dahlias, copious amounts of apple crumble, a rousing writing soundtrack, and outfits requiring wildflowers and leopard print bows).
- a brand new chapter for my daughter (and us as a family), as she embarks on her first day of school later today with an understandable combination of anticipation and trepidation (and as I try not to hold onto her too tightly as she walks through the wooden gate for the first time).
And whilst there is a lot more I could write to you about the feeling of these shifts (and I am sure you will not be spared my thoughts at some point…!), instead today I am going to divulge more about a tangible offering nestled within this shapeshifting time, as part of a practice of deepening (a learning from this summer) — into my thoughts, my words, my experience of the world, and importantly my relationship with you as a treasured reader…
Introducing The Beauty Thread.
I would love to introduce you to The Beauty Thread. — a new offering as part of Story & Thread., an invitation to notice, hold and create beauty in our own worlds, woven together by the ever-changing seasons, both around us and within us.
What is The Beauty Thread.?
The Beauty Thread. is a membership featuring a seasonal series of offerings, led by my closely-held belief that when we are able to notice beauty within the everyday, we find inspiration and awe in the world around us, and in turn, within ourselves — that our environment and surroundings have the power to shape us, and that we too, leave an imprint on the landscape of our lives. When we come to know beauty, it transforms us, the onlooker, into an exquisite piece of life’s tapestry.
What is ‘beauty’ and why is it important?
Here, beauty is not merely the sight of something nice and is far from being about perfection, but rather it is the feeling of the extraordinary masquerading as the ordinary, or something draped in intention, significance and wonder — perhaps it is the first glimpse of the sun rising over the neighbouring rooftops during summer days, or the glow of a candle burning brightly in the inky darkness of a winter’s morning.
In the act of noticing the beauty around us, everything comes together — it is the meeting point of meaning, creativity and seasonality.
Beauty is not a nicety or luxury but a necessity and powerful guiding force, that when noticed and valued, becomes a part of us, helping us to find our path. By taking time to pay attention and observe, we can place reverence on the stuff of the everyday that is subtly embedded into our lives, adding a textured, tactile layer of meaning that nourishes us from the inside out.
*When did you last experience something truly beautiful?
The offering.
Each season, alongside regular posts about my experience of the interwoven threads of creativity, mothering and home & garden as the seasons turn for all subscribers, paid subscribers to The Beauty Thread. will receive…
An invitation to A Seasonal Salon.
Inspired by The Bloomsbury Group’s intimate and spirited creative meetings that fostered an inspiring, collaborative environment for creatives to share ideas and to work together (they were in essence, something between a salon and a party…!) — our gatherings will allow us time and space to notice the beauty around us and to soften into the season we find ourselves in, as we weave together seasonal stories, art, folklore and flowers.
**The first autumn seasonal salon will take place from the comfort of our own homes (via Zoom), more details to follow soon.**
A guide to A Storied Home.
A guide for you to keep, containing ideas for creating a storied home through the seasons, led by the senses, sacredness and a sense of homecoming. Looking to the elements that surround us and the stars scattering the sky during the season, we will explore home through colour, texture and composition to create a nourishing, joyful and beautiful place to spend the season.
Your space at Gather & Tend.
A cosy online co-working space where we gather to find seasonal creative cues and tend to our projects individually, but together.
I am realising just how important it is that we make time to gather — both gather ourselves inwards as we are pulled in different directions during the day, as well as gathering together, and to tend — taking care of and nurturing our work, visions and dreams, rather than racing through the priorities on our to-do lists.
Private chat threads for beauty weavers.
Last week I opened the Story & Thread. chat thread for all subscribers for the first time (I don’t know what took me so long!). It is a lovely place to explore ideas, thoughts and reflections in a more detailed and personal way, I have loved getting to know you a bit better, you are so welcome to join us over there.
There will be chat threads reserved for paid members of The Beauty Thread., that delve into topics that emerge around the seasonal salons and the storied home guides, and other themes that delve a little deeper…
Wildflowers and words.
A personal wildflower letter from me will be delivered via email (or post if you are happy to provide your address) for all yearly paid subscribers.
For my birthday season of autumn, paid subscriptions to The Beauty Thread. will cost an introductory price of £5 per month or £45 per year. From the beginning of winter (1st December), the cost will increase to £7 per month or £60 per year.
One of the most important learnings since writing here regularly is that ideas become clearer, find their form and evolve as I make space, show up, notice and tune into what is true, and what is needed.
I feel on the cusp of something beautiful — I would be so honoured if you would join me, as together we weave the delicate thread of beauty into a silken web that interlaces all of our lives.
P.S. Please don’t hesitate to ask me any questions by sending me a message via the button below or replying to this email.
I would be so grateful if you would ‘restack’ or share this invitation to The Beauty Thread. with anyone you feel would be called to and would enjoy weaving beauty through the seasons with us.
I found out not long ago that ‘threshold’ is derived from the Old English form of the word ‘thresh’, meaning ‘to sift grain by trampling’ or originally ‘to tread, to stamp noisily’ (and I love that in Old French the related word treschier is ‘to dance’) — each version alludes to a sense of active participation in transformation, within a container of ‘holding’, and quite possibly has its origins in harvest-time, where both threshing and dancing took place.
Holding you in this expansive transition lovely one, this offering will be exquisite I have no doubt and I cannot wait to receive your magic on a deeper level xxx
This sounds like a gorgeous offering, Lindsay. Have you read graphic designer Stefan Sagmeister’s work around Beauty? He released a book of the same name. I need to go back to it! Also saw him talk live about the meaning of beauty and it impacted me so deeply, to the point there’s a whole spread about it in the Brand Seasons Paper. I must email you about it!