The Creative Rebels Club: Brain Error 404, Burnout & the Beauty of Building Community Slowly
A weekly wrap of what the eff I'm doing to make Studio Sonder the best goddamn creative community on the internet.
🫔 TL;DR
Last week, I broke a little. Or a lot.
Creative burnout crashed through my front door. I spiralled about my writing, questioned everything, and somehow — in a mess — found my feet again.
Studio Sonder is loading for new members.
(More to come next week)
So am I.
Let’s fall in love with creating again, baby!
🫓 Where I’m At
If my brain were a webpage over the past few weeks, it would’ve displayed a BIG fat Error 404, hopefully with the little pixel dinosaur.
I’ve been crumbling inward—not because of anything terrible, just the relentlessness of trying to do it all: working full time, running/launching a business, writing a book (more on that to come), rewriting screenplays, creating content, building a community, writing a bloody Substack, eating food that isn’t Uber Eats, maybe even walking outside like a normal human.
(Failing hard on that last one)
Spoiler: it’s too much.
And even though I know this — even though I’ve said it out loud to myself and others — I still tried to hold everything at once like a circus juggler in the dark.
I’ve been spinning so many plates that I forgot why I started this in the first place.
I forgot that I wanted to build Studio Sonder to make space for my creativity again.
Last week was my body’s way of saying:
“Hey, love, maybe put one of the plates down before they all smash.”
This is your sign to give it a rest, too. You can do anything, but not everything, everywhere, all at once.
🥙 Behind the Build
We soft-launched Studio Sonder’s creative community for Creative Rebels in January, offering 100 founding member spots (max).
And in my head, there was this tiny voice whispering:
“What if it just... takes off?”
“What if a million people join overnight?”
A girl can dream. A girl should dream.
But ya girl was deluded.
We have 25 founding members.
If we’d have met the 100 quota - I’d have combusted.
And I would have deserved it.
Building a real, valuable community should be a slow, deliberate and handmade process.
Our tiny but mighty group of Creative Rebels is gold dust. I get to learn, shape, and build with them — not just throw spaghetti at the wall and hope it sticks.
I’ve said from the get-go that this is a creative community for the people, by the people. As it happens, yes, I do sing Hamilton in my head when I say that.
And we’ve been building with our people.
Quietly, steadily. We've got:
a new cohesive direction for the brand (thank you, Anna, thank you, Hannah, thank you, Emma, thank you, Megan - no thanks to you, Demi, for going full gremlin on the vibe boards),
writing sprints blooming out of the ether thanks to Anna's genius (The Year of the Novel launches July 2nd),
and a real sense that this isn’t some little passion project — we are shaping it to make a real difference to creatives everywhere.
Studio Sonder was never about making me the star of the show. I don't want to be centre stage.
I want to make the space. I want to lead and listen. I want to create something people actually want, not just what looks good in a deck.
It’s possibly why I’ve been avoiding LinkedIn like the plague this year (or that’s the excuse I keep telling myself).
Before I jump foot-first into this, I want to get it right. Everything else will evolve. Time is your best friend in these situations.
🍄 What I’m Learning
You know that episode of The Bear where they talk about subtracting, not adding?
Yeah. That.
I’ve always been the person who does too much. Says yes. Makes more. Adds more tabs to the already overloaded mental browser.
But last week forced me to sit in the stillness and ask:
What matters? What’s essential? What’s just noise?
Also, in case anyone needs a reminder, your worth isn’t measured by how many tasks you complete or how shiny your Instagram content looks. Sometimes, just making it through the day without breaking is a win. And that’s okay.
❤️🔥 Messy Action of the Week
I got carried away trying to create a thing around Severance (the show, not the employment status—although relatable). I poured a load of energy into it without thinking it through. I just started writing and thinking out loud on the page.
It wasn’t polished. It wasn’t perfect. I spiralled afterwards. But you know what? I did it anyway.
Messy action, baby. It's still my mantra, even when it makes me cringe.
I will continue the Severance mini-series, but I will give it a beat and formulate my thoughts like someone deserving of the PhD they have been awarded.
🔮 This Week I’m Dreaming About...
Writing again. Not content. Not copy. Just… stories.
For the first time in a long time, I realised I didn’t have a story I was writing for me. And that left this weird space in my brain where the fantasy world used to live.
I’ve been clinging to an old project, Vivienne Varlette, a.k.a my TV baby, but it’s time for something new to spark. I’ve got a seed of an idea now. It’s small. But it’s mine.
This is the book I briefly mentioned above.
And I’m dreaming about what Studio Sonder could become — not just a space about creativity, but a space that permits you to bloody do it.
🦩 Studio Sonder Spotlight
To the founding 25: Some business “founders” (give me a second while I vomit at referring to myself as such) are just looking for beta testers.
But, my sassy Creative Tacos.
My wonderfully Creative Coconuts.
My fearless Creative Rebels.
You’re Studio Sonder’s co-creators.
You’re helping me build something from scratch with love, chaos, Post-It notes, and hope.
You’ve no idea how much that means to me.
Thank you for believing in this little creative-community-that-could’s potential from day dot.
Trust that your early commitment will be returned tenfold because believing in someone else’s dream is enough to start a revolution.
🌯 That’s a Wrap
🗓️ April 21st is D-Day.
It marks three years since I quit (read: got emotionally divorced from) full-time employment.
It’s Easter Monday.
If Jesus can rise, so can this studio.
So can I.
Studio Sonder will officially launch into the wild world.
Stay tuned!
Until then, keep taking messy action daily,
D x
