Out of Office with Linny Giffin
Artist and founder of Linny Inc.
What’s your name, where do you currently live?
My name is Linny, I live in Washington DC.
Where do you feel most at home [your truest self, energized/restored]?
On a walk outside or lounging with my cats.
What is your soul’s work?
Creative expression. Getting dressed, curating my home, making art or trying to make myself/others laugh are the easiest ways I feel connected to myself.
What does the word “holiday” or “vacation” evoke for you?
A break from my phone, being extra present with my people or a new place. Any sort of traveling just helps to step out of those everyday stressors and be reminded of what's truly important.
What puts you in the vacation mindset?
That away-message on the email, letting the regular routines and rules slip away.
What is your favorite part of vacation?
I think vacation feels very childlike because it's all about being playful, feeling free, being looser with your money and your time. You're escaping to a new place, you're nobody, you owe nothing. Fully accessing that feeling and then trying to bring it back into everyday life every time is what I'm after with a vacation.
How do you find the essence of slowness [that vacation mentality] in your everyday life?
One of my passions is creating a beautiful home and I've been a long-time vintage lover. Curating a home with vintage is a slow, intentional process. I'll create a vision for a space and look for pieces that work within that, or I'll find a unique piece that might inform the direction of a room. My mom, who is the most epic thrifter found these amazing floral curtains for me. I love them so much and designed our guest room around them. I think similar to that vacation mindset, this way of decorating feels really playful to me. There aren't right/wrong answers, things can be moved around and adjusted, nothing is final, it's always evolving. It's the ultimate creative play for me.
What puts you most at ease? The most joyful?
We have 2 insanely magical cats that are my peace. My husband is third and he knows it <3
I feel most joyful during that part of the creative process when something feels right. Creativity is all about feelings, you can't control it, you have to be patient with it. So when it clicks and you're making something that's coming out of you, it's like a spiritual moment.
Where does the inspiration for your design and art come from?
I'm a super visual person so I'm always looking at pictures and pulling out colors and styles that I like and refining my palette. I always pull that into my design and art-making. Otherwise, my head can be a very busy place so I started writing down headlines of my thoughts, the intensity of them made me laugh. Turning them into art instead of fighting with myself has been one of my favorite lessons in life, make peace with your darkness, it's all a part of you.
What is your favorite destination?
ooo! What a hard question! I've never felt like I had a place that defines me. My little world with my husband and our animals is my favorite destination, if we could relocate to a beach front, or like the french countryside we'd be in business.
What is the favorite thing you collected or found?
My burl dining table. I had a visual in my mind of the exact table I wanted and then I found it immediately on Facebook marketplace. It happens every once in a while with vintage and it's straight magic.
What do you believe is the secret to breaking out of the mundanity daily living can sometimes bring?
Constantly working on this one, but going for a long walk, taking a bath or cleaning the house/working with my hands are the things that typically work for me. Stepping away from technology and external demands and coming back to myself through action. I really wish it wasn't so hard.
What is one piece of advice/an idea/an assurance you’d give your younger self?
Get a therapist
What is your mantra?
Thank god I'm rich.