A New Year - and a creative challenge

If you've been on our Instagram recently, you'll notice things look a little different from a month or so ago at the end of 2025.

I took a bit of a break from social media at the end of last year - I realised I'd fallen into the same trap I'd been stuck in so many times before: feeling stuck and uninspired - posting because I felt I *had* to, rather than because I wanted to or felt I had something worth saying. You know, life happens - and creativity had started to feel like an obligation rather than an outlet. Too many competing priorities had started to get overwhelming (a pattern I have repeated a lot throughout my life), so I took a step back.

The Z Studio Project was supposed to be my way of stepping away from the algorithm, chasing digital approval, and hanging my worth on little red hearts. It's our space for all of our myriad, multi-creative outlets and I had intended to reset, reflect, and come back refreshed. But that didn't happen, because, as I said, life happens and I don't really have the clearest idea of where this is going.

So, New Year New Me, and all that - I archived all the past posts and started fresh.

I went back to basics and thought about what Creative Joy actually means to me, and how I've sparked that in the past. For me it's about a way of noticing, being present, and seeing things differently - so rather than using my phone for doomscrolling and desperately trying to force inspiration, I'm going to use the amazing camera in my phone to capture moments of inspiration throughout the year as a record and a refuel.

At least one photo a day - for the whole year. Of anything that speaks to me in the moment or captures a feeling of the day. It doesn't have to be a masterpiece, it just has to be real. And I'll post them on our Instagram each week. It's a creative challenge to myself to look for micro-joys, be in the moment, and reignite my creative spark - gently, without pressure to perform, and daily.

I'm also casting the challenge out to my amazing little creative community - if you'd like to join in with a photo a day, one a week, or a summary of a month - I'll be using the hashtag #ZSPjoy365 or you can tag the Instagram account @TheZStudioProject and I'll share on my stories - let's fill the year with inspiration, and real pictures of real things from real people.

And let's create joy - on purpose.

New Year's Day Walk - our little family tradition