Finding our Reflection Points

Moving to a new place, comes with a big nudge onto the pathway of reinvention.

For us here at Juste Les Filles, this pathway was learning to find our place in the professional landscape of Paris. I guess, the growth we have individually accomplished is obvious in hindsight – we have left behind the places we'd carved in close knit industries back home, to start from scratch and begin working solo.

Speaking from my point of view (Mimi), I knew I would have to let go of some of the anchors I had in my life before, if I was really going to grow here and feel like I have made the most out of this big chapter of my life and career. After my first year here, the Paris shine never really wears off, but it certainly felt like a home I didn't really belong in yet, because I was still hanging on to the professional life I already owned in New Zealand. I realised it takes a lot of work to create new anchors, for your new self.

Without the usual mirrors in your life to help you appreciate your achievements at work, your stresses at work, your evolving identity, down to the outfits you wear, you feel like you're floating between new versions of yourself, waiting for one to stick, trying on new passions and ideas like pairs of shoes. You're crafting multiple facets in parallel; professional, social, kiwi, french… unsure which parts feel like the new you, while trying to honour the old you, or the "me at my core".

I guess my point is, when I had full time colleagues, I knew what my role was. I was sure of my tastes, my agenda for the day, I could share in project triumphs, and lows. Celebrate the wins. I knew where my value laid, and what I was bringing to the team. Perhaps, I can see that even more clearly now that it's over, but colleagues are the best reflection point to affirm our purpose and satisfaction at work. Maybe some lovely client feedback and winning awards helps too.. but on the daily – people who know what your goals are for the day, the week, the project, really help you achieve them.

There is a lot of pressure to network the hell out of yourself when you come to a new city – for some personalities this is easier said than done. Maybe this is a bit of tall poppy syndrome affecting me but I felt the pressure to sell myself, did not come naturally. It was clear to me that the biggest thing I missed, through all the pleasure and freedom of freelancing, was the people.

The three of us bonded over this exact feeling. We had been in the solo game in Paris for a year, feeling like we were on the outside of our respective industries here, looking in. After our first "after work drinks" in a very long time, we realised we'd each been navigating the same feelings, alone. We needed reflection points – people who are on your side, aware of your agenda, helping to keep you accountable and supported. We found new reflection points in each other. Reasons to drive forward and bring the passion back to our creative careers. Passion that is often overshadowed by freelancing admin.. visas, taxes, becoming your own accountant, learning french, eating healthy, 10k steps a day.. the list goes on.

While researching for the Juste Les Filles brand identity, I stumbled across this painting by Irina Pecherina, a Moscow based painter. This artwork below, perfectly articulated the feeling we had been describing: the floating, the fragmentation, the sampling.

Her story felt like ours.

And we have a feeling it might feel like yours too.

Here’s our conversation:

JLF: We found your artwork on Pinterest and it really resonated, I would love to ask you about it? I am a freelancer from New Zealand, in my second year living in Paris. Navigating the isolation of remote work, solo work, searching for my identity here both personally and professionally.

[At JLF] we share many of the same battles of being in a foreign city, only fixating on our work, struggling to fill in the gaps with friendship and finding community. We have come to the realisation that as we build our new identities – without points of reflection (in our friends and colleagues), we float between these new versions of ourselves, waiting and hoping for one to stick.
Your artwork has perfectly articulated this feeling, I would love to know more about your philosophy for the work, or if you have experienced the same?

IRINA: I’m delighted to meet you, and it’s truly valuable to read feedback from people.

You have a very subtle understanding and have captured my vision in the painting. I am an empathetic person, observing people and have seen many different destinies. However different we may be, I see shared experiences.

So, you have perceived everything very accurately for yourself.