the short-&-sweet version…
I love to create.
But let’s first take a few steps back…
I grew up in a family where working 9-5 was not ‘a thing’. Both my parents were creatives & artists. Mom a famous singer, dad a content creator, producer and brilliant musician. A lot of our time was spent in different towns as my parents toured the country with shows, and my brother and I thought of creative ways to keep us busy backstage while mom and dad were performing.
And even though it was not a ‘9-5’ life, my parents showed me the dedication & discipline it took to make a success of something when there’s no ‘boss’ to tell you what to do. I watched them as they worked long hours to come up with new creative ideas for shows, for new music, and to ‘package’ & market the new products they created.
I had the privilege of having a front-row seat watching my dad as the founder and creator of “Noot vir Noot”, and seeing how that developed from an idea to one of the most successful TV game-shows of all time.
At the age of 18, I was working as an international model and started to become more and more fascinated with what happens with the photos AFTER the photoshoot until we see them in the magazine. My curiosity & questions led me to study graphic design. And soon I realised that this is a wonderful tool to bring the many creative ideas and dreams in my head to life… I was in love with designing!
It wasn’t really ‘planned’, but before I finished my studies I already had my first graphic design client. EMI Music asked me to design CD covers and sleeves for them. Word of mouth is still the best marketing and I got more design requests. Before I could say ‘job hunting’, I was working for myself. My entrepreneurial journey started…
The name of my business came easy to me:
DREAM OUT LOUD
I dream, I create, but I want to bring my ideas and visions to life.
But I also have another creative passion…
Being the daughter of 2 amazingly talented musicians & artists, and the sister to a world-class drummer, MUSIC is certainly in my blood! I play the piano and even learnt to play the violin and church organ during my school years. But fast forward to age 18 when I heard good quality dance music for the first time – from my ears, it went straight to my heart and never left. Love at first sound.
The beats and sounds made my body move and my happiness “groove” – one of the best feelings on earth. But I was wrong. At 22 I taught myself to DJ, and being in a vinyl shop made me happier than any shoe or clothing shop ever could. This was when I discovered that the best feeling was not to hear the music, but to CREATE the experience for others to feel what I’m feeling too. I was a DJ, because creating & sharing music is in my blood.
I’ve had a colourful and interesting life so far, filled with design, music, DJ, starting a family, & also writing, founding and presenting one of the top courses for girls in the country called “Girl-Schoool”.
I have a heart to empower, lead and inspire others and creating and building this brand gave me 10 years of incredible purpose as the content truly made a life-changing impact on young lives! I then built an ONLINE version of the course too – the writing, recording, editing and building of the website were all done by me and a super fun creative project!
I successfully sold my Girl-School business after 10 years, in 2022, to a new owner who has now franchised the brand.
But it’s not the end… I continue to create products that bring smiles to faces, one being the ‘Friends & Family Bonding pack’, an iOS & Android app I designed and built myself, and a range of inspiring posters for schools.
I’ve always struggled with the question:
WHAT DO I ACTUALLY DO?
I struggle because there is no ONE answer.
Then one day, while walking my dogs, I looked up at the most beautiful sunset I’ve ever seen. SO many colours combined! And I got the message loud and clear:
You don’t HAVE to be just ‘one thing’.
Just like this ‘one sunset’ is made up of so many colours, my life picture and journey can also be full of different shades, things, gifts, passions, to ultimately make one (life) picture.
So now, I proudly call myself a multi-passionate entrepreneur as I will never fit into just one conventional box.
I create. I design.
I create products that empower in some way.
I bring ideas to life.
And I love to make people smile through music too.
So that’s me, in a 7-paragraph nutshell.
In this space, I share the products I create, some of my designs, and if the music side interest you then follow me @anrimusic too.
If you have an idea or vision that you want to bring to life, let’s connect, let’s create and DREAM OUT LOUD.
© ANRI VAN DER LINDE | A division of Dream Out Loud