Hey! It’s Catherine, I am the founder and designer behind Veri. I have been quiet for a couple of weeks now on social media, and I wanted to share why.
Since the beginning of the year, I have been moving through a strange, difficult season. I quit smoking 6 months ago, and my mental and physical health have been all over the place since then. Going back to therapy while navigating the public healthcare system as a queer woman reminds me again and again how hard it is to be taken seriously or even considered in this system. It’s a long process — blurry, often discouraging — and it shakes me daily. Some days, I can function, and taking care of Veri is holding me together, while other days, everything stops.
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One thought keeps coming back: what if my brain has simply always worked differently?
What if all these experiences — the intense highs and lows, the hypersensitivity, the waves of anxiety and shame, the brain fog, the constant doubt, the feeling of being “not normal” — are part of a different kind of wiring?
What I have learned so far is that neurodiversity can take many forms — and it is often invisible. It might look like looping thoughts, sensory overload, over-empathy, an energy that’s hard to regulate or a fatigue that shows up out of nowhere. It can also be a constant friction with systems that demand clarity and performance — especially in the entrepreneurial world. In that environment, I often feel like I have to play a role just to keep up. But the more I try, the more I realize that role doesn’t fit me and maybe there is something in that difference that is worth listening to.
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Entertaining the idea that I might be wired differently doesn’t change who I am — but it reshapes the way I look at my path. It explains the friction with “normal” systems, the struggle with consistency, the inability to keep up with an always-on rhythm. But it also shines a light on what makes me strong: thinking outside the box, feeling deeply, creating with intention, and working like a tiny machine when the spark hits!✨
Some of the choices I make with Veri — producing slowly, in small batches, locally, and outside of trends — come directly from how I exist in the world. I never wanted to chase the pace of the fashion industry. Not because I’m against it, but because I simply can’t. My body and mind always make it very clear when I have pushed too far.
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Creating while in a constant state of mental discomfort is not romantic, nor productive. It’s made up of small bursts interrupted by long, involuntary pauses. And yet, I keep going. Because it is the only way I have found to stay connected to myself.
When you wear a piece from Veri, you are also wearing that: a refusal to conform, a craving for honest simplicity, a search for softness in a harsh world. It’s not perfect, it’s not fast, but it’s real. Isn’t that what being queer is about, too? Just some food for thought…
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I still don’t know exactly how to name what I’m going through. What I do know is that building a brand like Veri helps me stay grounded, stay in the world. It helps me build a life that respects who I am and my limits, even when they’re constantly shifting.
So I wanted to take a moment to thank you for being here and for supporting a project that is trying to stay human, even in its fragile moments.
With care,
Catherine // Veri