About Yan

Hey, my name is Yan and I create stuff.

 

I was raised in an ex-communist country without any big material wealth. My father was away most of my childhood and my mother had to take the responsibility of raising me. The biggest priority of my parents was for me to grow up in a healthy environment. That’s why all of the money they were making went into enrolling me into a better school or moving homes to a safer neighborhood. My mom being a psychologist gave me a deeper perspective on life from a very early age. I always felt like I never fully belonged. I was often the one with the least money amongst my friend group and classmates, and I instinctively learned to hide it. At one point I had so much wealth and abundance in front of me but I felt so far away from it. I was living in constant fear of losing it all…

 

That’s why I began thinking about starting my own business since I was still in school. I wanted to earn my place in my community and take care of my parents. Since the age of 17 I tried things like creating an online store for interior goods, a print-on-demand clothing brand, a motivational community project, a series of Instagram theme pages, a social media management agency, a TikTok career, a digital product store, a business growth agency, a property visualization studio, and AI-powered software. On top of these I worked in a marketing agency, a property funding company abroad (Switzerland), a property consulting company, a boutique hotel and a cafe. Going through so many things made me feel miserable at times. I felt like I wasn’t good at anything and that I lacked some hidden fundamental trait for success.

 

After multiple periods of depression and anxiety I decided that I’ve had enough. It was time for a change. I had to find a way to turn my life around. So I thought about it. I thought about what I was missing. I thought about what my purpose in life is. I found out that I was approaching things from the wrong end. My crippling fear was making me rush things through. My lack of knowledge was making me miss crucial steps. And my fragile ego was making me aim for unrealistic goals. I was letting other people define what success and happiness should look for me. In my efforts to escape the crowd I was doing exactly the opposite—drowning even deeper into it.

 

But gradually through a lot of self-reflection and intention I saw there was one good thing about the situation. With each and every failure I became a little bit better at something. I learned how to design great content. I learned how to set up an online store. I learned how to edit videos. I learned how to create stunning books. I learned how the spaces we reside in influence our state of being. I learned how to deal with my social anxiety. I learned how to not care about what others think. I learned to see people’s true intentions. I learned how to stay humble and be more kind to myself. I learned how to trust the universe and enjoy the process. I learned that failure can be the best teacher. I learned that my purpose in life is to lift people—to be a guiding light for those who are ready to experience life in a new way. So now it was time to just channel all of this knowledge into something meaningful—something that would help me give back to the world for teaching me all of this—something that would lift others.

 

So how am I doing this? I decided to start doing what I’m best at—capturing the essence of something and amplifying it through bold design. Helping people transform their environments in order to live a more balanced and aligned life. Creating things that serve as a source of inspiration, passion and joy. This is my life’s purpose and I’ve never been more excited about it. If this resonates with you in any way, I’d be thrilled to have you on this journey with me.

 

Stay creative,

Yan