✨ Let Me Reintroduce Myself ✨

Hello, it's me 😉 it's the 2nd day of 2023 and I figured I'd (re)introduce myself here for those of you who may not know me yet, or need a little refresher.  Thanks for being here in the first place and checking out Terrae, it means so much!

I'm Chelsea, the founder of Terrae Collective.

I've spent 15 years in the fashion industry where I have had some truly incredible experiences - I've traveled the world, met amazing & talented people, and found lifelong friends that I consider family.  I've experienced lots of different teams and cultures and learned so much from each company I worked for.  I discovered who I am along this journey, especially over the last year, and found my place on this Earth as well as grown to understand my purpose here.  I know what I want my next 15 years to look like.

So what's the problem with the Fashion Industry?

With the good usually comes some bad, right? Although I have so much love and respect for my career journey thus far (and honestly wouldn't change a thing), I dealt with a lot of shit that I'm no longer going to take as status quo or that I'm going to ignore.  The fashion industry can be extremely toxic, and not just in terms of pollution and manufacturing processes which I think is first to come to mind when we think of issues within fashion.  There is this unhealthy and unsustainable hustle mentality and burnout culture that I just rolled with for over a decade because a) that's what everyone did and b) I felt replaceable.  The industry is relatively small and extremely hard to get into, so once you're in you are made to feel that you better not fuck it up.  So at 18, entering that world, I didn't know better.  But now I do, and let me tell you I'm EXHAUSTED.  

Back in 2020 I had hit rock bottom healthwise; my career was going great, but mentally and physically I was a complete fucking mess.  I was working from the time I woke up til the time I went to bed, only leaving my office (because at this point we were working from home) to use the bathroom.  My husband would bring me my meals, I wasn't even prioritizing food over work!  And because my team and I were doing such a "great job" and led a successful new product launch, leadership gifted us with 3x the work, half the time to complete, and no new team members.  It got to a point where I was having regular panic attacks, and when I finally brought this up to my manager, her response was, "well everyone is feeling that way."  She fucking normalized it!!! who the, what the fuck?!  

That's when I stopped putting something first that wasn't even putting it's people in the top 10.

It was after that conversation that I realized nobody was going to prioritize me and my wellbeing other than myself, and even I wasn't doing that.  That had to change.  I started setting boundaries around my work hours, making time to do yoga and once studios opened back up, even leaving the house to go in person.  I felt better than I had in years.  I started going 2-3x a week and even started a work study with the yoga studio, meeting one of my closest friends in the process.

That one change had a trickle effect on my whole life.  I have struggled with anxiety since I was a teen, and was constantly on edge, worried, nervous about something.  But after a few months I started to feel this inner calm, which, trust me, I thought was complete bullshit before I started feeling it for myself.  My mind was getting clearer and I found that by taking care of myself first, I was able to manage my time better by clarifying my priorities and my responsibilities which led to me being more efficient and effective in my job.  I felt balanced for the first time in my life.  At that moment I knew I'd never go back.

That's why I started Terrae.

I'm not going to lie, I first started Terrae as a creative outlet.  I've always had an entrepreneurial itch and in the back of my mind always knew I wanted to start a company.  But what I didn't realize was how much my passion for design would become a passion for wellness.  2022 was a year of tremendous personal growth for me, and what I realize is that we don't talk about toxic work culture enough.  Most leaders and managers don't teach boundaries or care about their team's wellbeing, they care about profit.  I'm not ok with that.  I want to start the conversation that it's NOT ok to have panic attacks because of workload and it should NEVER be normalized!  Having a job and a career is a necessary responsibility for 99% of the people on this planet, so how do we make it a healthy part of our lives?  I believe it starts with sharing stories and letting people know that how they feel is valid and most definitely happening to someone else.  And that there are ways to make it better!  But it starts with you, it starts with us.  No one is going to be better at, or is even responsible for, how you go through and experience your life.  This is a lesson I've learned and has helped me through so much.  And I want to share it with you, and help you get there. Are you with me?

Let's make 2023 the year of putting our wellbeing first, and finding true happiness, balance and bliss.  Happy New Year ❤️