Kelly Wearstler has expanded her content empire. Earlier this month, the AD100 Hall of Fame designer announced the launch of Wearstlerworld, a weekly Substack newsletter that will be “the connective tissue between everything that is part of my world, from design and architecture to art, fashion, and travel,” she shares. Because—despite her prolific social media presence, five authored monographs, a 17-part MasterClass series, and a recurring column in Harper’s Bazaar Netherlands—Weastler still has stories to tell. This week, I caught up with the industry trailblazer about her writing process, how she takes edits, and the organizational tools she swears by.
Mel Studach: What attracts you to the medium of a digital newsletter, as opposed to sharing these ideas through social media or a book?
Kelly Wearstler: I love Substack, and I wanted to have something a little more conversational where the messaging is the star, and the images are more supplementary. [In Wearstlerworld], each Substack ponders a theme, whereas books are so different. I love and will continue to publish books, but those take a lot of time and resources to execute. A lot of this came out of how much I enjoyed doing MasterClass, which I never thought in a million years that I would do. It showed me how rewarding it can be to let others in and to share information. There’s so much sameness in the design space, so I think looking for inspiration in less obvious places enriches all of our lives.
I take it you’re ready to retire the notion of trade secrets?
For sure. Everything’s so transparent now, which I like. Somebody hires an architect or designer to get his or her point of view. We love working with so many different clients because what we do at the studio is site- and client-specific—every project looks different. We don’t have a formula. We’re continuing to evolve, which is the best way to learn.
What’s your writing process?
The Notes app on my phone is very active, with notes often driven from images. I take tons of photos, and every week I compartmentalize them into folders on my desktop of ideas. Once we’ve identified the theme, the ideas pour from there and it’s 24/7. In the mornings, I get up super early and I like to have good quiet focus time to write before anyone’s up in the house. Or when everyone goes to bed, I love that time too. I go upstairs and focus in my studio, and get some great ideas then.
