We all have people we meet along the way, connect with and know we adore. As we share what we are up to we create a vibration and lock into areas of compatibility.

I met Anna many years ago when we both worked in the fashion industry. Back in those days I was busy "doing" and not yet good at "being".  Anna and I would connect about projects we are involved in, sharing and supporting each other as best we could while being so focused on work, life balance.

Anna is deeply creative. As a matter of fact she is an artist and paints beautifully when she is not busy raising her amazing girls and giving back with an open heart.

Anna embodies the heart chakra, her boundless heart centered loving personality is a gift to humanity.

About Anna

Colorful words hide in plain sight to be absorbed by the viewer. As the artist explains, “I am, We are, You are  --- some really great words like blessed, kind, loved, worthy, strong, able, capable, brave, fearless etc over fill the canvases. 

As a child Anna received prizes for her innate talent. She went on to study portraiture and figure painting in NYC while also earning a Fashion Design and Textiles Management degree from the Fashion Institute of Technology.

Anna Brindley’s artwork is while being shown at the “Refresh” exhibition in Mansfield TX last March got a wonderful surprise request from a celebrity. Dan Levy of Schitt’s Creek asked to buy her portrait of Catherine O’Hara’s character Moira Rose. Read that fun tale here.

Our Chat

Laura: We both had a long career in fashion tech. Do you remember when we met?

Anna: Yes, we were introduced to possibly work on a project together and we stayed in touch. When I saw you start your company, I started following you more closely because I also wanted to get back to my desires for entrepreneurship. I was cheering along  side!

Laura: Right, I remember when you asked for a call. That call has turned into several more where we talk about challenges, dreams and ideas.

Anna: Yes. Business concepts and start- ups are my favorite subject to talk about…. So thank you for indulging me….

Laura: Of course..

Anna: But then with your business I saw that you were on another path I don’t talk about much but that  I have been working on consciously since 2012 – shorty after my second child was born.

Laura: You mean “adore yourself” ?

Anna: YES! I have struggled with self love and worthiness in silence. I started a blog in 2014 called Love Thyself 365 – I had trouble keeping up… I set an unrealistic standard of creating a graphic everyday.. LOL. I burned out pretty fast.  But then, in 2017 I got very sick with meningitis and almost died. I decided I must get to a point where I felt worthy and get back to loving myself more. I started painting words of affirmation.

Laura: Yes and you mentioned that every time you would see my posts and blogs that you felt that we were trying to say the same thing… that we are on a similar mission.

Anna: That’s right. I was pleasantly surprised by the conjunctions, crossovers, words you were using etc. For my healing I started painting up to 50 affirmations per painting. The fun part about this project I call “Manifestive” is that I take canvases that people want to discard as trash and paint over them to bring them back to their once loved selves. The more damaged, the better!

So far I have completed nearly 30 paintings and 3 are on display at an art show in Mansfield called “Refresh”.  The collection I call Manifestive, is a festive way to manifest your dreams and ideas of who you are becoming. "I am" ---"You are" ---"We are"

Laura:  Ah. Yes. We do have a similar mission with different approaches.  You and I talked about how entrepreneurs often see things in the future and for the fashion business you had too! It’s full on in trend . It used to be Lizzo and Brene Brown talking about it. Now self love, self adoration – it seems everyone is talking about it.

Anna: Yes and for me, I wanted to put these words I paint in my sacred places: My kitchen (on tea towels) my studio where I paint, my bedroom, my bathroom ---next I will find a way to have  them in the cars for my commutes.. LOL

Laura: So are you placing these words everywhere as reminders?

Anna: That’s precisely right. These words will make their way into me and replace the ones that no longer serve me.

Laura: So which of these sacred places get the mood spray?

Anna: The mood spray is part of my ritual now. Because my painting exercises are part of my self care, meditation and prayer, I now like to set it up with a scent to help me get in the frame of mind I need to be in.  I turn on the healing drums music, spray my area, and then It helps me relax so I can start to create as I pray and meditate. It helps me engage all of my senses.

Laura: So your goal with all these affirmation words that you paint is to finally “Adore yourself”?

Anna: YES! Finally, yes!

For more on Anna’s work follow her on Xtralove.us  and https://xtralove.us/collections/manifestive-tm

This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.