Hey y’all 👋🏼 I hope you’ve been enjoying Sana’s Notes so far, if there is anything you’d like to hear about from me, just hit the Reply button and let me know! I hope you enjoy this week’s catch-up.

— Sana Tabassum

🍎 food for thought

Every time I sit down to write this newsletter I think ‘what have I really done this past week?’. In all honesty, I’ve been doing a lot. From writing pitches for Open Studio, to filming new content, working freelance and doing

chores around the house, it’s safe to say I could sleep for an entire weekend. I guess those of us who tend to overthink or always strive for the next goal often brush past the multitude of things we do without even acknowledging them.

This week I was fortunate to be included in the POoR Collective’s watchlist as part of their takeover for the AJ, amongst some really talented individuals who are making waves in the architecture industry. Part of me felt a little bit of imposter syndrome if I’m honest. By the end of the year it’ll be 6 months since I graduated and I really only have a few freelance work to show for it. It’s an odd feeling because the longer time passes by as I’m working on my own projects and taking risks, I also feel further away from traditional practice. That’s not to say I’m not actively pursuing roles (trust me the rejections serve as a good reminder).

Anyway, I recently bought a cute little magazine display shelf since the number of features and work I want to have on display is increasing. In doing so, I unearthed a copy of :scale magazine. I haven’t looked at this thing properly since I sent out about 80 copies from my bedroom. One of the features we did was with the POoR Collective, in their early days. Now, I know a self-published magazine has nothing on the Architects’ Journal, but it’s nice. Life has come a bit full circle hasn’t it?

What I’ve learned 👇🏼

• Give yourself moments to pause and reflect. When I started re-reading some of the guest contributions and even my own piece on Starchitects, it made me realise that this is what I love—bringing a group of people together to craft something that can educate or inspire. It’s like when you’re cleaning your room and you come across something from your school days and you go down that rabbit hole of just remembering moments and memories.

• Don’t be afraid to switch directions. I’ve been working with an organisation on a freelance basis doing their social media and newsletter engagement. But to be honest they’ve been pretty great at it so far. Instead of just doing the bare minimum, I suggested we should work on a set of new resources that will help their community. This suggestion was really appreciated and it goes to show that re-evaluating things may work better for everyone.

🍗 content nuggets

Not architecture related BUT these are a few things I enjoyed watching this week:

P.S. if you’d like to send me some channels I should follow or videos you’ve loved this week, just hit reply!

🦋 magic sauces

I rarely promote my downloadable resources but I know it’s that time of year when crits are coming up or you’ve been asked to put together the first draft of a portfolio. I made this tracker back in my 4th year and I swear by it! It keeps me sane and organised and I never have to worry about my portfolio being organised. This Notion template lets you plan out each page so you can see visually whether you need to work on it with space for notes, links to examples and organising your portfolio into sections.

Get it here 🔗 https://toscale.gumroad.com/l/portfolio-planner

Gingerbread City

Calling all recent graduates!

The Gingerbread City is taking place at Westfield, White City from the 2 December to 7 January and the team behind it is inviting recent graduates to take part for no sign-up cost. You can participate as an individual or group.

Check out available plots here: www.thegingerbreadcity.co.uk. Please message [email protected] if interested by 3 November.

🔥 on the back burner

Calling architecture students in London!! 🚨

I need your help. If you’re part of an architecture society please reach out!

I’m looking for the opportunity to collaborate with organisations and architecture societies to hold workshops in the upcoming months. This could be on the topic of personal branding as an architecture student, learning how to get your foot in the industry or 1:1 feedback sessions where students can get their design projects, essays or CVs reviewed.

It would also be a great opportunity to bring together students from all years to co-work, help each other, bounce ideas and create new connections.

DM me on Instagram or reply to this email if you’re interested. Thanks to those of you who did!!

Bonus points if you forward this email to someone.

— Sana x