When You Don’t Have the Work You Want to Show, Build It Yourself

I’m in a season of transition.

Right now, I’m working through my 90 to120-day exit plan. It’s not just about leaving my job. It’s about stepping closer to the kind of creative work I want to be doing.

If you’ve ever felt stuck in a role that doesn’t show what you’re capable of, you know that frustration. You start to wonder, How do I prove what I can do when I don’t have the work to show it yet?

For me, the answer came through AI.

Not as a shortcut. As a way to tell stories.

“If grief was a brand, what would it look like?”

That question hit me late one night.

At first, it sounded dark. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized it wasn’t about sadness. It was about beauty, memory, and design.

That’s how GRIEF was born.

The Brand Story

The logo cracks between the R and the I.

Because that’s where grief lives, between remembrance and identity.

The brand is inspired by Kintsugi, the Japanese art of repairing with gold. Every detail became a reflection of that idea. Light can still find its way through what’s been broken.

The Palette and the Products

The colors tell the story of emotion.

Together they feel human, quiet, and real.

And because scent is memory, GRIEF became a home fragrance brand.

Candles. Diffusers. Room sprays. Essential oils.

Each product is meant to feel like a pause, a moment to breathe again.

The Experience

The brand would launch in New York City, inside a quiet restaurant tucked away from the noise.

The kind of place with candlelight in the windows and music that hums in the background.

As guests arrive, they pass through an entrance marked by the gold fracture, running across the floor, and into the room like a living symbol.

Inside, a long table stretches down the center of the room.

Soft florals, the air filled with layers of scent, notes of earth, smoke, and light.

The sound is soft. The lighting is warm. It feels personal.

Guests write a note to themselves or to someone they’ve lost.

Each letter is placed in a gold bowl, a quiet ritual that brings everyone into the story.

At the end of the night, each person receives a box.

Inside: the candle, diffuser, fragrance spray, and essential oil.

A complete ritual to take home.

A reminder that healing doesn’t have to be loud.

The Flagship Store

If this were real, GRIEF would open its flagship store next.

Not glossy or overdesigned, but layered with texture and light.

Limewashed walls, ceramic displays, warm gold seams carved through the space.

The air would smell of the brand’s signature scent, Still Standing.

In the back, a refill ritual station.

Customers could refill their vessels, candles, diffusers, or oils, a small act of continuation that turns sustainability into emotion.

The Face and the Feeling

The face of the brand would be Feist.

Her song “Graveyard” would play softly through the campaign.

Her voice carries what this brand represents, grace through change and light after loss.

Why I Created It

“Sometimes, when you’re in a job that no longer excites you, you forget how creative you actually are.”

I didn’t build this project because I had to.

I built it because I needed to remind myself of what I can do.

I’ve spent years bringing other people’s visions to life.

This time, I wanted to bring mine to life.

AI helped me do that.

Not to replace creativity, but to unlock it.

Because when used with intention, AI isn’t just about speed.

It’s about vision.

If you’re sitting on an idea, waiting for the right opportunity, stop waiting.

Use what you have. Create what you wish existed.

Because sometimes, the story you imagine is the one that gets you where you’re meant to go.