Why "Simple and Splendid"?
"Simple and Splendid" describes how I want to live my life, style my surroundings, present myself and experience the world. Relationships, conflicts and life's daily crises have a way of quickly becoming all-consuming, depressing and just too complicated.
I firmly believe that the lighter things in life, leisurely activities and things we spend hard earned money or droplets-of-end-of-the-day-energy on should at least be consistently splendid and satisfying...
I often find places, spaces, events, products and services around me to be mediocre, uncoordinated, unnecessarily complicated, messy, fussy, cheap-looking, flashy, poorly constructed, poorly planned, poorly executed, frustrating, disappointing, unsatisfactory or uninspiring…my list is long.
Rarely is this the intention but this is often what results.
I am blessed/cursed with an eye that sees all of these things and quickly sees what is wrong and how to fix it. I am a VIRGO, and I am probably mildly O/C…mildly...
So when I do stumble upon something that is "simple and splendid" I am overjoyed. I want to share it with others right away. This can be a space, place, product, person, service, company, event or life experience. And by sharing it I want it to get the recognition it deserves…so that it can be duplicated, sustained, liked, appreciated…
"Simple and Splendid" is an aesthetic style and a life philosophy for me. If an object, room, composition, event, process, procedure, ideology or design is overly-complicated looking, feeling or sounding… then...it is not for me and immediately requires "an edit".
I don't want to oversimplify ALL things or be a radical reductionist but, for me, simpler is usually always better. AND WHEN "simple and splendid" come together…magic happens…
"Splendid" for me means memorable, pleasing, beautiful, harmonious, a little glamorous, out of the ordinary AND SOMETIMES it just means not having a bad experience at a store, restaurant, hospital, airplane, public park, school, party, meeting, wedding, hotel etc. It means being in a space (literally and figuratively) that makes you feel good.
I haven't mastered the art of calming my head and my heart every single time something goes wrong in life but I have trained myself over the years in the art of simplifying things at "work" (processes, messages, design, relationships, communications, objectives…) and at "play" (my style, my home, events, chores, tasks, relationships, situations…).
So if you too are a fan of all things "simple and splendid"…then please read these posts and share your tips, experiences and finds so that we can spread the joy of simplicity…
I firmly believe that the lighter things in life, leisurely activities and things we spend hard earned money or droplets-of-end-of-the-day-energy on should at least be consistently splendid and satisfying...
I often find places, spaces, events, products and services around me to be mediocre, uncoordinated, unnecessarily complicated, messy, fussy, cheap-looking, flashy, poorly constructed, poorly planned, poorly executed, frustrating, disappointing, unsatisfactory or uninspiring…my list is long.
Rarely is this the intention but this is often what results.
I am blessed/cursed with an eye that sees all of these things and quickly sees what is wrong and how to fix it. I am a VIRGO, and I am probably mildly O/C…mildly...
So when I do stumble upon something that is "simple and splendid" I am overjoyed. I want to share it with others right away. This can be a space, place, product, person, service, company, event or life experience. And by sharing it I want it to get the recognition it deserves…so that it can be duplicated, sustained, liked, appreciated…
"Simple and Splendid" is an aesthetic style and a life philosophy for me. If an object, room, composition, event, process, procedure, ideology or design is overly-complicated looking, feeling or sounding… then...it is not for me and immediately requires "an edit".
I don't want to oversimplify ALL things or be a radical reductionist but, for me, simpler is usually always better. AND WHEN "simple and splendid" come together…magic happens…
"Splendid" for me means memorable, pleasing, beautiful, harmonious, a little glamorous, out of the ordinary AND SOMETIMES it just means not having a bad experience at a store, restaurant, hospital, airplane, public park, school, party, meeting, wedding, hotel etc. It means being in a space (literally and figuratively) that makes you feel good.
I haven't mastered the art of calming my head and my heart every single time something goes wrong in life but I have trained myself over the years in the art of simplifying things at "work" (processes, messages, design, relationships, communications, objectives…) and at "play" (my style, my home, events, chores, tasks, relationships, situations…).
So if you too are a fan of all things "simple and splendid"…then please read these posts and share your tips, experiences and finds so that we can spread the joy of simplicity…
About me...
Derya Akalin Uysal was born in Salt Lake City, Utah and grew up in Toronto, Canada. She moved to Istanbul, Turkey in December 1998.
Her BA Honors Degree in Sociology and English Literature from York University reflects her passion for analyzing both systems and narratives. After a decade of working in community theatre during her youth and starting her career as a Business Analyst in the telecommunications industry she moved to Istanbul where she worked briefly in banking and then became a training consultant for the telecom and retail industries.
At age 27 she became the Executive Director of The Ozyegin Foundation and the general manager of ACEV two years later. She lead both foundations for almost a decade and had the honor of working with dozens of national/international private and public organizations, academicians and thought leaders as well as a staff of 100 and an army of volunteers.
Personal and professional challenges throughout have taught her valuable lessons about coping with crises, managing human resources, leadership and finding her own voice. All of these lessons served her well after she took a break from her career in 2010 to become a mom of two girls (born 18 months apart), to adjust to her new role as wife and mom and to survive thyroid cancer.
She is now enjoying developing her new venture ETUDIST and raising her children...
Her BA Honors Degree in Sociology and English Literature from York University reflects her passion for analyzing both systems and narratives. After a decade of working in community theatre during her youth and starting her career as a Business Analyst in the telecommunications industry she moved to Istanbul where she worked briefly in banking and then became a training consultant for the telecom and retail industries.
At age 27 she became the Executive Director of The Ozyegin Foundation and the general manager of ACEV two years later. She lead both foundations for almost a decade and had the honor of working with dozens of national/international private and public organizations, academicians and thought leaders as well as a staff of 100 and an army of volunteers.
Personal and professional challenges throughout have taught her valuable lessons about coping with crises, managing human resources, leadership and finding her own voice. All of these lessons served her well after she took a break from her career in 2010 to become a mom of two girls (born 18 months apart), to adjust to her new role as wife and mom and to survive thyroid cancer.
She is now enjoying developing her new venture ETUDIST and raising her children...