Rejected. Back to the drawing board!

The way curiosity can actually open doors for you without you needing to search for the keys to those doors. And how one “accidental” event leads to another, turning into a career opportunity you hadn’t even thought about but would actually LOVE to jump on!

So let this newsletter be that first door for you too, giving you the courage you need to open the door to your next level, just like in a game. No big words, this insight came to me today when one rejection turned into a bigger opportunity.

First off, we haven't spoken in a while, have we?

If you just joined our creative ASDB world - it’s all about thinking visually, not just drawing: reconnecting with your creative instinct through free, instinctive sketching, and using technology as your creative assistant, not your replacement.

I am on my own reconnection journey after spending the last few months mostly focused on complex commercial work, illustrating interior designs as highly detailed bird’s-eye-view drawings, seemingly THE perspective clients (and my students too ;)) ADORE.

As impressive as those drawings look… my own ideas and creativity got stagnant. My drawing & design academy was put on the back burner indefinitely. My days became one huge deadline. And it physically hurt.

So before hitting an emergency level with work, I started integrating quick, loose sketching and daily walks into my days. Whenever possible, I started visiting stunning design locations in real life, not just digitally. And this is how my new idea was born.

I go there, sketch AND talk about design with the owners, designers, and people somehow connected to the space.

Today was one of those days, but unexpectedly, it started with rejection… yes.

My plan was to sketch at a furniture store here in Munich. Well-known brand, multiple locations, absolutely gorgeous design concepts. Perfect!

However, I was welcomed with: “You can’t do this now, we’re a big company and need permission.”

And I was like, “But this is just live sketching, no commitments. I’ll be an invisible artist sketching.”

Still no.

But they LOVED the idea of live sketching…

I’ll stop here because I’d like to keep those ideas private and develop them from there, but the moral of this story is: had I not come by in REAL life, instead of attacking them with emails first as they actually suggested, we wouldn’t have uncovered a few potential collaborations.

And as much as the initial rejection hurt, their final “we’re actually so glad you came by” left me encouraged, and thinking about how I can expand that idea to other brands instead of being dependent on them.

WOW.

I was THAT close to walking back home when I shared my frustration with my video team. They told me to find a cool design and go sketch there. Period.

“You are not going back home without a sketch.”

OKAY TEAM.

This is how this sketch was born, somewhere between pizza and a few mocktails :)



Since I was sitting at the bar because the counter was high enough for me to comfortably draw on my iPad, I was “on display,” so to speak, and the bartender was there the whole time. At some point, he got curious about what I was drawing and started asking questions.

This is how I learned that he dreams about opening his own café, but he also likes his work, connecting with guests, simply being in Munich, and getting closer to his dream.

Then he introduced me to his colleague and asked me to show him my sketch. Miguel, that’s the colleague’s name, loved it. He even thought I was the designer of the restaurant, but I am obviously not :D

And we simply started talking about the hospitality business. How important it is to keep up to date, not stay the same, evolve, but keep that core element that makes you… YOU.

And this couldn’t have come into my life at a better time, as someone who is in the middle of a pivot myself.

Keeping that old, authentic artistic touch that helped me build my brand and the academy, while expanding and shaping my business to stay up to date with my community & the world without losing myself.

And just like that, a day that started with rejection turned out to be one of the most insightful and memorable days of 2026.

Imagine if you did this… DAILY.

Not necessarily going to fancy restaurants and driving ourselves into bankruptcy, no :D But following your curiosity, even when it feels uncomfortable or scary, and letting the conversations flow?

Want a confession? Today’s filming process was THE most uncomfortable one. Imagine someone sitting at a bar, in the spotlight, filming for all three hours they were there and capturing all these weird angles.

Why on earth is she filming her iPad??

Ah, it’s a DRAWING. Now THAT’S interesting!!

So I’m inviting you to do something out of curiosity too next week, even if it feels weird.

Weird means doing something differently from the crowd, and that will definitely make you stand out, one way or another ;)

With big drawing energy,
Anna at @andshedrawsbig