Girlcrush: Blogmilk CEO Ana Degenaar on Minimalism and Simple Chills

Hey, Ana.

We stumbled upon your Blogmilk website. We are in love with your minimalism designs. 

I could go on about this… I basically believe that out of everything that we can attain in life, Minimalism is one of the tools that serves us the most. We live in a world where we’re defined by how much we’re able to get done and how well we leverage the little time we have at our disposal... and minimalism breaks down all those walls. It shatters them. It allows us to have just enough, to do just enough and arrive at the best possible outcome. 

 

It truly is a tool that allows you to get more by doing less.

 

I just wrote a chapter about this on my book yesterday. The most important thing I’ve learned is to protect myself from blocks by understanding what causes a creative block in my life: I can see it coming from a mile away when I don’t take care of myself, my health and my sleeping schedule - and so I’ve made those things the biggest priorities in my life.  That gives me all the stamina I need to keep going - and I can’t help but advise others to do the same. There’s always a constant behind each block. Whether it’s fear, exhaustion or demotivation, we need to find the root so we can fix the issue.

 

This is such a good question. When I started out I was very insecure... so I held back sharing a lot of my best work. I was scared it wasn’t perfect - so I’d tell myself to stop trying to dissect my work and just scratch my itch to create and share that with the world and stand behind it.

 

I take risks every single day. I think we all have the option to either do things that please others or those that please us to start with, so I guess following on from the above question, I’ve learned to do things for my own creative satisfaction, for instance: I just wrote a book without the slightest notion of how it will do.

I honestly look up to everyone that’s brave enough and passionate enough to push through in this Industry. I cannot think of any names because I’m constantly reading new and exciting things, so I can't offer up any one specific person.

I disconnect from work and make it non-negotiable. Then I always dedicate some time to myself and to the people I love. Lately, I’ve been loving spending a few minutes of quiet time at home in the afternoons just before I finish the last stretch of my productive day. That seems to be making the transition from a busy day of work into rest a little less difficult for me.

Surprisingly enough, I only carry my wallet, lip balm, hand lotion, a notebook and a banana. I know it’s boring but that’s truly all I need.

My daughter Emma - because she’s such an incredible human being. I’ve never met anyone as empathetic and as kind as her. She also manages to make me laugh all the time - not that it’s hard but she has the most creative tactics. 

 

I used to make it my life’s mission to stay on top of what was happening in the music department... but I’ve been writing my book and that’s taken up so much of my life that I haven’t gotten into any new songs lately, so I’d very lamely have to say I’m very excited about Safia’s and How To Dress Well’s new songs.

Anything that’s comfortable no matter how elegant or how plain it makes me feel. My go-to outfit right now is basic jumpsuits  and sandals.

I have and I must say it’s perfectly curated. I was immediately captivated by the Wearstatuquo Basic Turtleneck Dress and I’d definitely go for Birkenstocks and some basic rounded shades.

I visited this gorgeous coral reef located in Natal (North East of Brasil) recently and I fell in love with the tranquility and  untouched beauty of the place.

 

I’m definitely the type of person who’s always out and about when on vacation. I like to experience the environment and stay away from crowded touristic places. I’ve been dying to visit Asia for a long time, I’m a Summer baby and I love the outdoors so I’d most likely spend my time out in the open air.

All I truly want is to look back after those years and be satisfied with the body of work I created and with how that impacted my personal life.

 

Thank you for inviting me to share. It’s been a fun experience.