Design a life that’s fluid and open to change; not fixed and closed to possibility.
Mission
To support people be resilient. To bend with the blows that life bears; to wobble and shake with the various traumas we all endure at some stage in our lives. To be open and optimistic about what’s next; when what is now and what has gone before no longer supports them to be at their best.
Lives like these are designed from the inside out; with strong foundations made of a persons values and strengths. Built with a vision in mind.
Life can deliver blows beyond our control. That diminish us. That rob us of our strength; blind us to our values. That cause us to loose balance; that make it seem like our lives are falling down around us.
Your Story by Design is about empowering people to pick up the pieces if they do fall.
To redesign their life from a foundation of strength. With a new vision of what their lives could be.
So that the next chapter of their life story is one of maximum joy, authenticity and purpose.
How Your Story by Design began
It started with a loss that shook her world.
The shake up revealed that the shape of her life no longer fit the person she had become and what was now important to her.
So she asked a question:
“is this how I want to live”?
When she answered no, Janice Valentine embarked on a journey to redesign her life around what she desired more of: Meaning, authenticity and creative expression.
She became a life coach to support people follow their dreams to make a difference in the world. There were workshops given to aspiring change-makers and an event series called Startup Salon. And in 2017 a one-off hackathon become a social enterprise called Hack Access, which focused on creating an accessible and inclusive urban environment. The adventure reached its zenith in 2020 when 100 innovators came together in Google’s European HQ in Dublin to work with Dublin Airport to solve their accessibility challenges.
A few months later the pandemic brought the Hack Access adventure to an end.
But from the rubble of one endeavour came an idea.
Put it all together. The life coaching, social impact and the passion for design and storytelling.
The Your Story by Design lifestyle design framework was born.
Meet Janice Valentine
From marketing to executive support, to social innovator and lifestyle designer
Janice’s journey reflects her love of adventure, diversity, creativity and collaboration. In the beginning following the completion of her Marketing degree, the adventure took her to the City of London where she held internal communication and executive support positions in international investment banking. After about 10 years and a period of personal hardship she began to desire more meaning, autonomy and creative expression in her life.
This internal shift brought her back to Ireland and into the realm of life coaching and social entrepreneurship. Upon completing her training as a life coach and driven to inspire others to follow their creative dreams Janice began running workshops and events in Dublin’s startup community. And one of these, a hackathon event called Hack Access Dublin was such a success that it became a full-time business, which operated between 2017 and 2020; closing in the pandemic.
While working on Hack Access Janice developed a huge appreciation for designers and the role design plays in how we experience the world. The built environment is a major contributor to not just our wellbeing but to the wellbeing of the planet.
Now Janice is bringing together her passion for design and social impact and her skills as a life & storytelling coach in a new endeavour called Your Story by Design. Janice’s goal is to help anyone who is looking to redefine and redesign their lives around what helps them to flourish and make the best out of their one precious life.
