We decided it was about time we concluded our travels and let everyone know we did in fact make it safely back to the States. [ the very same day our niece Adah Lesslie entered this world! ]
Time and time again we look back on these pictures and are overwhelmed with the beauty that’s waiting out there. We are truly blessed to have experienced such a small piece of this world and want more of it. I know it sounds peculiar, even downright irresponsible to quit your job in the middle of “the great recession”, get married, use all of your savings to travel the world and have no plans what so ever after that. I get it. Imagine the conversation I had with my bride to be’s father about our grand adventure. Sweat much?
In retrospect, never has there been a clearer vision in either of our lives. We have been and continue to be inspired by this experience. While in Nerja for an entire month, we had more time than ever to just think. We re-discovered many things about ourselves during this time, not the least of which is what we are both passionate about with work. One afternoon overlooking the Mediterranean, reading yet another book generated one of the great conversations of the trip; what is it that compels us toward design? At what moments in our lives have we been overcome with passion for work? What led us to architecture in the first place? Why? It took us over 2 months of traveling to understand and say aloud the answer to these questions. We now have a very clear notion of what inspires us and are creating an environment that perpetuates inspiration with our work. We believe that this is not merely possible, but a necessity and dream for both of us.
Abby and I are now back in Charleston, SC living and working on East Bay Street. We founded cumulus architecture + design, llc [determining this name during a hike in the cinque terre, see past images – most notably where we get tremendous air] The name gives us something to aspire to and continually reminds us both of what we love most about design; exploring a dream and creating it. Knowing this, how can we spend our lives doing anything else?
We now have complete freedom with work. We’ve been very blessed with similar minded clients and are learning how to grow our business in the direction that we feel most led. The adventure we began back in Costa Rica has taken a new turn and continues to do so every day. What have we learned from all of this? To keep dreaming and follow those dreams. We believe our passions in life are God given and are a clear indication of what we should be doing with our time here. Our passion is exploring God’s creation and using that inspiration to create for others. We just happen to be architects.
Many, many thanks to everyone who has followed our posts, we are so often surprised how many of you out there actually did. Traveling has become a big part of our lives and we will blog away during each of our adventures. Please do the same and keep in touch. If ever in the Charleston area, please let us know. We’d love to hear what’s going on in your life!
Robbie + Abby Lesslie
http://www.cumulusarchitecture.com
the studio