Moulding dreams into reality with content creator Alanna Doherty
Welcome to The Storytellers, our series spotlighting the creatives bringing their ideas to life with The Storyboard.
Fashion creator, studio founder, and proud maximalist, Alanna Doherty is a force of colourful energy.
From launching her studio Groovy House to learning pottery and building a balanced life, she tells us that the act of putting pictures on her Berry Storyboard is as therapeutic as it is inspiring.
Tell us your story!
I'm Alanna Doherty, a fashion and lifestyle creator and photography studio owner who loves colour and prints! I started creating content full-time 7 years ago and love to share my colourful life with my community! Last year I opened Groovy House, my studio and event space, because I found that there was a real lack of colourful studios for creatives! It's been such an incredible journey even though it's incredibly hard to manage so many things at the same time.
I started my journey because I was really ill when I was younger and I wanted to prove that I could be in fashion by just being me and not needing to be really skinny. I found that allowing myself to be bold with fashion and wear whatever made me feel comfortable was the best way to heal and so I started posting my outfits online.
How are you using your Storyboard?
My Berry Storyboard fits so perfectly in my yellow wardrobe/office! Because I spend most of my time at work it truly does belong there and will be ideal for focusing on long-term goals and will really help me be creative in a freeing way.
"I find it so therapeutic printing out colourful pieces of paper with beautiful things and putting them together on The Storyboard!"
Since I'm so focused on my ceramics journey, I'm using it to help with visualising throwing on the wheel and jotting down my own designs that I hope to create one day!
How does having a physical space to create a vision board help you bring your dreams to life?
Sometimes I can be so go go go and in the moment that I forget to take a step back to think of the bigger picture and so having a physical vision board is so helpful to see my goals!
Becoming a potter is not an easy job and so I really want to be able to visualise it and have references of other potters on my board. My Storyboard holds so many of my interests — colourful interiors, jewellery, clothes, pottery — because, for me, it's all intertwined. My work is an extension of me and while sometimes that means that I have a hard time switching off, it also means that I love what I do and I love that it's all reflected on my Storyboard.
When you think about yourself in 5 years' time, what do you hope your life will look like?
I'm hoping that in 5 years I'm living a more balanced life. My twenties were so focused on work work work that it would be so lovely to have more of a balance between work and life. Work wise I really want Groovy House to become a lifestyle brand so that it not only provides multiple income streams but allows me to explore different passions!
How did you get into ceramics and what are your goals for Groovy House Ceramics?
I've always loved pottery, especially since I grew up in Barbados and there is a big pottery community there. I remember going to the East Coast of the island every time I'd go back with my dad and collecting various mugs and bowls. Then after I went to Marrakech to source pieces for Groovy House, I was even more inspired and wanted to be able to make my own pieces! Granted I'm still quite far away from this goal, but it's been the most rewarding few months learning this new passion of mine. I'm even hoping to be able to make my own tiles for my house! How cool would that be?!
What does maximalism mean to you?
Maximalism to me is just about being as bold as you want to be! Because I love colour and prints, it's quite easy for my design to be maximalist. I honestly just love STUFF.
Lots of trinkets in my interior spaces and the same amount of jewelry when it comes to my style! For me more is more and I love being able to experiment with different shapes and textures!
What does a typical 'work day' look like for you?
Every day truly is different for me but generally I will come to the studio to get ready (my wardrobe is too big for my flat so I have all of my clothes there!) and then I normally do a bit of admin just to make sure that I'm up to date with everything. I normally have my assistant with me and we will go through Groovy House emails and booking enquiries and then we get to the fun but time-consuming bit — shooting content!
After that we'll edit the content that we shot that day but sometimes by the time we tidy up after shooting it's late and time to head home!
"I've been trying to focus on 'me' this year and so most days I have an extracurricular activity. I have a personal training gym that I go to and on other days I play tennis or go to pottery."
Every day really is different though! Some days I'm in London all day and others I'm managing bookings at Groovy House.
