Is colour or neutrals better for your brain?
Hiya
I'm holding two Christmas ornaments, delicate ginger jars with beautiful detail. Both gorgeous in different ways, and I’m struggling to put either down or make a choice. And yes, I know it’s July, I have already worn my Christmas jumper this month.
Okay. Let me back up. It’s been a big few days.
Three days ago, was Finders Keepers Design Market in Carlton that runs every year. I was lucky enough to have pre-birthday money in my pocket, and Jack by my side traversing the isles and scoping out the wares.
Two days ago, it was the anniversary of my dad's death, and I always feel so far away from my family on this day specifically.
Yesterday, it was my birthday, I love it and dread it for different reasons.
Lots of emotions to hold in one body in the same week.
The market came first. Early Sunday morning session. Low sensory and quiet before the crowds. I walked in with money and no plan and somehow ended up frozen over Christmas ornaments in July.
I used to do markets myself. Jacqui my cousin by marriage, and I worked stalls for years, different ones in Perth, ones that loved individuality. We had a system that worked, she'd sit the back wrapped in a quilt when it was freezing, sewing and making beautiful things. I’d be at the front and I'd talk to anyone who came near us. Goblin chaos. Colour everywhere. Multiple conversations, the two personalities making it work and fun together.
Walking through as a customer, this time I really noticed something. The market's split in two now, not by locations, but the type of art and design that is shown. Maximalist chaos, the stuff I used to make and sell. And a whole new wave of neutral, minimal, ecru linen calm, so different to my taste, but just as beautiful.
I made a beeline for the colour. Every stall. Every time. These were my people, and who I felt comfortable with instantly.
Here's what I worked out this week, properly, for the first time.
That's not anxiety keeping me off the neutral stalls. It's sensory.
Late-diagnosed autistic brains often don't filter background input the way others do. Every colour, texture, sound, all at once, undimmed. Ecru linen isn't calm to me. It's more input with nowhere to land. Colour I can read instantly. It gives my nervous system a job that isn't work.
But as you can tell by now, there is no right answer as to colour or neutrals, it depends on what you love, what you need.
Which brings me back to the ginger jars.
Two ornaments. One red, one violet - minutes standing there, with a very patient son. I used an age-old trick – closed my eyes, transported myself into being at home and which one would I feel so sad that I didn’t purchase. That made the decision.
I also came home with a pigeon print (of course), a Wind in the Willows style woodland scene, a neuron pin for my cork board, and three artists I'll actually keep in touch with.
Knowing what you love isn't a nice to have. It's regulation. You don't have to do everything the market offers. You don't have to have a stall. You don't have to pick the "right" ornament. You don’t have to buy anything at all. You get to make a beeline for the thing that's actually feels like yours, and if that's a violet ginger jar, so be it.
You get to make decisions that work best for your nervous system.
Yesterday I turned a year older, on a day that still carries my dad in it. Birthday eve is now Dad’s anniversary, and I am choosing to see the joy in the linkage. Grief and birthdays don't resolve. They sit next to each other. But I've got a ginger jar Christmas ornament, a pigeon print on my wall, and a neuron pin on my cork board. Memories of a lovely outing with Jack, and gratitude for my birthday money.
Understanding what works for you, your energy, your brain, is the first step to running your business and managing home life without it costing you everything else.
If you'd like to know more about what that could look like, I'd love to hear from you. I love hearing from women founders who want to grow their businesses.
Mel x
P.S.. these are my favourite artists from Finders Keepers Market if you are looking for something gorg and a little bit different, colourful and supporting local small businesses.
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ADHD Village- PO Box 475, Clifton Hill, 3068, Australia
