Lately we’ve been experiencing an existential crisis of sorts, asking ourselves, why did we bring the Iriseum into being in 2022, and why have we continued building in 2023, even registering the name as a company? What are we about?
In the beginning, we were swept up with the fever of the 2021 NFT bull run. Serene wanted to start something, and she began with what she knows and loves --- mental health. Crypto-twitter was generous to her, inviting her onto spaces to speak about the subject she loves, and the community she feels a sense of belonging to and advocates for. That’s World of Women, in case you don’t already know.
The more she spoke, the more her worlds converged. She knew she wanted to build something with her World of Women IP, and she thought mental health was the only thing she had. So she started looking at the WoW NFTs she had, and I had, and we felt this one (WoW 7823) was the epitome of a woman living a full life.
We called her “Iris” because she carried the glow and clarity of eyes that listened. At the time, there was talk about metaverses, so we too thought about Iris in the metaverse, and believed it would be wonderful to have a monument linking real life and virtual worlds that stood for mental health and well-being in both universes. Thus the name “The Iriseum” was coined, linking “Iris” the human with “Museum” a place.
Since then, the Iriseum has been living in our consciousness and the more the name stuck, the more we felt ready to bring her to being. We didn’t have a detailed business plan laid out. This was a side hobby (not hustle)… how did it even get this far?
In June 2023, we registered her as a private limited in Singapore. We had some merch we could sell as Serene just wrote a book mentioning and using her WoW NFT (another one), and she had also spent some money producing 5 customised fabric-based items with a fashion designer friend. And so we started.
Serene also started thinking about creating content on socials, mainly IG, Twitter and LinkedIn. She still has some way to go, but we like to believe she’s been improving. It is challenging --- how to create personal content without getting too personal? How to create content for a business when all she feels she has authority to speak about is her own experiences? A lot of growth has happened on this journey. Serene begins to lean into her knowledge and experiences… she starts to find a quiet confidence and conviction within her that yes, even now, at any time at all, she can contribute. She has what it takes to make valuable contribution to this world.
We started hosting monthly gatherings at the start of this year 2024. By July we will host our 6th and last at our current venue (we’re on the lookout for another venue.) Serene wanted to build community, and the best way she knows how is to have a group conversation, and it has been really great. We got to know more people, and also a bit more about the people we only just began to know through engaging with NFTs. We discovered we did have something to teach, share, contribute… people listened and expressed appreciation.
So now, we need to think, to plan, and to decide.
What the heavens are we thinking to do? Where will the Iriseum go? How will Serene’s, and our life together as a couple, change and be impacted as this develops?
A new and dear friend, Ed, recently reminded Serene:
“Forget companies. The world has always been changed by just people with a cause. For your crisis i recommend this book by Rick Rubin called ‘The Creative Act.’ Often we wanna do things that we feel gains us approval from others as opposed to it just being an extension of our being.”
In truth, Serene has been toying with multiple action plans recently. Did she want to double-down on research and try to find and use data for advocacy, and to refine her business intentions? Did she want to make more content --- but what focus? Did she want to build an app for a community to live in and be rewarded? Did she want to find a business partner or team first, willing to build this with her?
At first, and even now, she is bogged down in the knowing of her current commitments to her full-time employment, and feeling the tugging towards a new adventure in the Iriseum… she tells herself often, that patience is the key. Pacing is the key. Planning before acting is the key. The door has 4 locks, and the last one is time.
Serene loves families. If she could she would build a family all on her own. Maybe the Iriseum can be about this, some way, somehow.
Well, in the meantime while all these patience, pacing and planning before acting is being practised… World of Women has released their IP guide. Perhaps it is a sign that Serene can double down on design and content, first, for now, for a start.
It does always feel like we’re forever beginning again.
Oh and hey, check out our new logo, made with elements from the WoW IP guide. We love it and hope you love it too!
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