CREATE MORE THAN YOU CONSUME

WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT DO YOU DO?

I’m Mila Stolk, and I’m a so-called multi hyphenate. I love to recognise patterns and combine knowledge and different disciplines — you can totally weave Marcel Duchamp, Virgil Abloh, Peter Paul Rubens, and social media tactics together. I’m building my fashion blog on Substack, and I love to consult on topics such as influencer marketing, social media strategy, art direction and personal branding. These worlds are about to change drastically and I’m excited to play my part in that change.

WHAT DOES A TYPICAL WEEK LOOK LIKE FOR YOU?

I’m building a life where I define my own success. If I make sure I’m happy, I can deliver my best work. So I balance a lot. I started with tennis two years ago, and just started ballet, both childhood dreams. I write weekly, observe a lot, and gather ideas throughout the week. I also like to meet new people and I enjoy studying, from social media trends, astrology, design history to quantum physics and beauty.

HOW DID YOU START YOUR CREATIVE CAREER?

Trusting my intuition to study history, from European, and museum history to art and design history when it had the worst starting salary. But it's actually great for recognising patterns and weaving knowledge together. I did my first internship at Vandejong Creative Agency. It was a great place to learn and get to know the creative scene in Amsterdam with clients and projects such as Unseen, Foam and We Are Public. I learned the most at Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen where I got to know the art world through the eyes of artists, curators, and the creative director. I also had a lot of freedom to turn my social media job into so much more from building a young creative community, to art direction, and directing videos, while challenging museum conventions.

WHAT MADE YOU CHOOSE SUBSTACK AS A PLATFORM FOR YOUR FASHION BLOG?

With The Fashion Emblem I’m building a world where fashion meets self development, and Substack enables me to build that world. People have new perspectives and are not afraid to carve their own path, it’s just the best. I love the versatility of the platform and that it focuses on long form content, depth and community. There is a lot of positivity on Substack, and people are genuinely rooting for each other and helping each other. But I also see it as the future of social media, so to start building now has also a strategic advantage.

HOW DO YOU SEE THE SOCIAL MEDIA LANDSCAPE SHIFTING?

I would say we’re at the beginning of a paradigm shift in social media. I’ve worked at an influencer agency and the old tactics are simply not working anymore. People are tired, crave depth, and don’t trust influencers as much anymore, which is a result of short term thinking and being too focused on money and sales. The thought of brands constantly capturing our attention will also be questioned. Audiences have become smarter and they are more intentional about how they spend their time. Therefore, the time to fundamentally change strategies at its core is now; we’re not talking about tweaks. New voices will emerge on Instagram, Substack will be the new IT platform, and Pinterest will gain momentum. Content actually has a great lifespan on this platform.

ARE THERE ANY THEMES THAT STAY CONSISTENT IN YOUR WORK?

I always think about trends, and where we’re heading. I’m really intuitive and I’m trusting it more and more these days. This has also a downside since I find myself in environments where people are scared to change, embrace the new, and trust in the process. So if I’m honest; this struggle also has been a consistent theme. I also really love images, and I believe in the power of working together. Like the artists of Bauhaus, they were stronger together. But also, when an image is created with intention and trust, it holds so much power, it really has an aura, and you cannot always grasp at first sight what it will generate for you. I love it when everything comes together in the creative process. Outcomes get multiplied.

WHAT INSPIRES YOU RIGHT NOW?

As a social media nerd I have been glued to my screen a bit too much, so I want to be in the world more, going on adventures, visiting museums, going to the movies, and being in nature. I also love to travel since you become a different version of yourself in different places. There’s so much possibility in life, but sometimes we forget to see it, so we have to keep doing new things, meeting new people, and seeing new places. My new motto, however, is: create more than you consume.

DO YOU HAVE AN ULTIMATE CAREER GOAL?

I really want to be of service, and help people through my work and inspire them to reach their dreams. I actually have many goals. One of them is to become a keynote speaker. I gave talks before covid, but somehow it never picked up after. I’m pursuing the feeling of tennis outside the court, it’s my happiest feeling, and I realised that speaking on stage, telling a story, and genuinely giving something to the audience, gives me that same feeling so I think there’s something there for me. I also want to be successful on my terms, live from a place of joy and abundance, where I combine working hard with having fun and having enough time for friends, family, and my health. I was obsessed with the concept of Utopia when growing up, so maybe it's a utopian ideal, but I do believe we’re living in a time where it is possible, especially with the rise of the feminine, women changing the status quo and AI.

WHO DO YOU ADMIRE CAREER-WISE?

I admire Brenda Hashtag. She is smart, stylish, witty, creates value for her community, and created a media empire by herself. She also knows her own value and acts accordingly, and is not afraid to call things out.

WHAT IS THE BEST PIECE OF ADVICE YOU HAVE RECEIVED?

I’m still looking for a mentor, so if anyone feels called to exchange knowledge, I would be hyped! So, the best advice, I actually read in a book; the most successful people work out. I think this will become even more important, since energy will start speaking louder than words. Sports are so much fun, and it can really change your life if you want to reach new levels or feel stuck. But it also teaches you to move through discomfort, to foster discipline in an age of instant gratification, and it teaches you to learn to listen to your body, which is an underrated skill. The art is, however, to not overdo it and to stay curious.