Travel and storytelling are two concepts we hold close to our hearts here in the studio. With a month of travel headed our way, it felt fitting for this Beyond The Brand interview to come to life.

We’re honored to welcome Annika Bielig Bussmann, founder of SOULBASE magazine, an independent, interview-style lifestyle magazine featuring creatives near and far while dissecting topics across nature & food, creativity, travel and more. With both of us being here in Portland, our paths crossed years ago when Annika interviewed me and since then, we’ve stayed in each other’s creative orbit. I’m constantly enamored by the beautiful stories SOULBASE tells and the artistic content they share in Portland and beyond.

In her interview, Annika shares a beautiful perspective on travel, storytelling, and her viewpoint on not losing that creative spirit we all have within us. 

From one creative to another, this is truly a treat to read.

Enjoy. 🙃

1. We’re so excited to chat with you and especially excited to connect with another Portland-based creative! For those who don’t know you, tell us a bit about who you are and what you do? 

Thanks so much for the lovely invite. My name is Annika. I have called Portland, Oregon, my home for almost 15 years. I am originally from Germany, and I live the expat life here with my husband, our son and our dog. I work as a publisher as the founder and chief editor at SOULBASE Magazine. SOULBASE is an online and print publication with a focus on art, design, creativity and travel. 

2. We learned from your website that you traded nutritional coaching for a career with your camera. We’re curious what drew you to this creative industry? How did the idea for SOULBASE come about? 

I have always had a big passion for nutrition and loved my career, but after many years working in the field, I felt I was not wholeheartedly in it and knew there was something else calling me. A trip to Barcelona, Spain was the moment when things began to shift. 

We stayed in an old villa, which was a small hostel at the time, and on the final evening there, I flipped through the guestbook, where visitors from over the years had shared their stories and experiences traveling. This sparked an idea about how different places, experiences and perspectives can connect us on our journeys and cause us to reflect on our own lives–and how we each bring a unique viewpoint to the experience. I couldn’t get it out of my mind. 

“I live with the philosophy that if something sticks in your head after a year, pursue the thought deeper.”

This one stuck with me for more than two years. I knew I wanted to create visual connections through people, places and moments. So, I switched my career and started to capture portraits and products and documented each trip I went on and started writing about it on a blog. 

At some point, I knew it was time to bring it all together and publish a book. I wanted to create a “base” for connection, allowing people, places and art to be seen in a context that allows the person being featured to share their vision and approach and for the reader to reflect on their own perspective. So, we started with one prototype magazine and sent it out to friends and family. We got such good feedback that I decided to jump in and start my own indie magazine and call it SOULBASE, as an homage to creating a base and finding the soul in every connection. It is an assembled art word that holds a deep meaning for us. 

3. For this month’s series, we’re diving deeper into the idea of travel and storytelling and their relationship and influence. What is your viewpoint on the two, together and on their own? Can they be seen as two different individuals or are they not more like a good oiled relationship with its ups and downs?

From my perspective as a publisher, I would say travel and storytelling are the perfect partners for a long-term relationship, and sometimes one cannot exist without the other. In a way, they always have to work on their relationship. 

I like to compare travel with fashion, with just one different aspect. Travel and fashion experience seasonal hypes, trends and new ways to present themselves. But travel, in my opinion, has the advantage that even when the hype is decreasing, it has a longer impact on our lives than fashion. It’s the same with storytelling. How often do you think about a certain travel memory when reading a book, listening to a podcast or after a conversation? 

The multiple channels of storytelling, from digital and content creation to a print magazine like SOULBASE, influence creativity and inspiration and are the best working tools we can ask for, as they allow us to hear and read from a new perspective. 

4. From your perspective, what impact does travel and telling stories have on society? How have the two impacted you? 

Travel brought me to the city and region I call my home now. So, for me, it has a huge impact on my life. We try to raise our son with the opportunity to travel as much as possible. It doesn’t always have to be an international trip. The forest or nearby park can be a little day trip. 

For me personally, it is a reset from daily life, a feeling of shifting my perspective on life and recalibrating our lives. 

“Travel creates a center of calm and is a huge connector between cultures and continents. I think we need to travel in our life to exist.”

5. How have travel and storytelling influenced your work with SOULBASE? 

Without travel, SOULBASE most likely wouldn’t exist. It’s vital for my life and is still one of the main inspirations behind SOULBASE. It can be a house that we feature that is just one neighborhood away or a creative who lives in Europe and shares their creative journey. It allows me to dive into a journey for a moment that influences and inspires me to search for more moments like this. 

6. SOULBASE has an issue dedicated to all things travel. What inspired that issue and the stories told? 

Our own passion for travel definitely had an influence on that issue. Simultaneously, looking at the larger conversation society was having about travel. Pretty early on in the making of the issue, I had a feeling that there were a lot of travel issues out, but a lot of them were missing the piece highlighting different forms of travel and the meaning of travel. 

We wanted to ask: “What does travel mean?” “Does it have to be a paid trip to a foreign destination?” “What are we looking for when we think about travel?” 

That’s why we were so excited to showcase a bed and breakfast in Switzerland with a fully curated Danish interior, a group travel company that takes you to Morocco or Italy with like-minded people, and a surf retreat that invites you to step out of your daily comfort zone. Those trips create new friendships, cultural perspectives and more. That’s what we wanted to do: connect the dots.

7. How has travel influenced your work? Is there a trip (or trips!) that comes to mind? 

It has not only influenced my work but also our lives. 

We were so amazed by the biking culture in the Netherlands that we decided against a second car and now live in Portland with one car and one cargo bike. 

Finland has had an impact on me with its unknown tango-dancing scene and its beautiful natural scenery. 

Thailand holds adventure and so many stories to tell in my heart. Moving to the States and embarking on cross-country road trips have given me enough stories for two full issues. 

Now that we live in the States, we also get to visit our home country, Germany, through a new lens and have discovered many hidden gems in Europe that we hadn’t found when we were living there. 

8. Many of your issues focus on topics like body and relationship, nature and food, and creativity and invite unique perspectives and stories to shape these ideas. Which comes first, the topic and then the stories that follow or vice versa? 

It depends, but overall I would say the topic. Not only do we print an annual edition of the magazine with a new topic each year, but we focus on that topic throughout the whole year, across all of our channels. Last year we did the travel theme, and this year, we’re diving into creativity. 

We research certain topics half a year before we decide on one final topic for the upcoming year. We’re influenced by what we see is being openly discussed in culture, or where we feel there is not enough content out there. 

9. We know how isolating building something can feel. How have you found support and community as you’ve grown SOULBASE in Portland and beyond? 

That is a good question. Fifteen years ago, I would have given you the standard response: pop-ups, social media, meetups, the hippest coffee shops, all those things. Nowadays, with several different careers under my belt, I think I would answer it differently. 

Firstly, I’d think about the context in which you’re asking me: as a private person or from a business perspective. 

I have a wonderful personal support system of friends and collaborators who have been with me for many years and across career changes. These are the people who I know I can call in the middle of the night. I’ve met these people in all sorts of different ways. Some through work, parenting groups and friend circles. Some through social media and random chats in a coffee shop after complimenting each other’s coats. 

I think of this group as different from my network, which could be purely professional. I still love to network, go to art shows, connect with people on social media, etc., and I thoroughly enjoy that creative collaboration. But in these contexts, I’m usually sharing more about my professional

passions and less about my personal challenges and dreams. That’s reserved for the people I know on a deeper level. 

That shift in thinking has led me to focus less on having the most updated social media platform, the biggest following or being seen in all the hippest places. It’s not because I’m an introvert; it’s just how I choose to present myself and my work. 

Of course, if I see a good connection on social media, I will reach out. Or if someone sees me or my partner out and says hi, I love that. Those boundaries can be fluid at times. It’s up to everyone how much they want to separate their personal and professional lives. 

Circling back to the advice, I’d say, depending on your career and what you’re looking for, social media, workshops, pop-ups, clothing swaps, meetup groups and creative mornings can definitely be helpful. If you’re more introverted, start small and meet with one person after you’ve chatted with them for a while on social media. 

And most importantly, be yourself! If you see me in Portland, you will most likely recognize my blue or pink coat. I will never be without my cargo bike or colorful tote bag. Those, for me, can be a real icebreaker to spark conversation. 

10. We’d love to know more about SOULBASE’s upcoming April issue! Can you share a sneak peek of what we can expect?! 

This year, we wanted to create an edition by creatives, for creatives and with creatives. One of the core questions we talk about in this year’s “Creativity” issue is: 

“What defines creativity for you?” 

We talk with illustrators, painters and educators. We showcase interesting creative spaces and ventures like a remodeled cotton mill, a community radio station and more. 

We think there are so many amazing creatives out there, and each of them has an individual approach on what it means to be creative and what it means to work in that field. We wanted to share different perspectives and angles from different countries. We hope it helps readers see more of their own creativity, even if they don’t work in a traditionally “creative” field. 

“It is always something special, even after so many years, watching the print issue come alive and seeing it in the wild.” 

11. A lot of the content SOULBASE shares is very artistic, whether it be architecture, design, art, creativity and the list goes on. We’d love to know what’s personally keeping you inspired right now? What things are you most drawn to at the moment? 

Thanks for the sweet words. Currently, colors and spaces that have a multi-purpose usage, like an art space within a bookshop or coffee shop with art galleries, pop-up spaces, etc. are very inspiring to me.

I love concept stores that have a color scheme. Also, hotels and unique homes. One of the things that always gets me inspired is something that is still under the radar or is up-and-coming, and that is in any way connected with architecture or colors. 

12. How do you stay creative during slow seasons?

I must confess, I’ve been guilty of struggling through slow seasons for many years. But, I’ve come to realize that I don’t have to be creative all the time—and that’s a conscious choice I’ve made with SOULBASE. We tend to experience our peak times from summer until early spring, while spring to summer is generally a slower period for us. I intentionally avoid falling into the trap of the never-ending hustle, as I’ve learned it doesn’t suit me well throughout the entire year in terms of creativity. 

It’s not that I lack ideas during slow seasons; quite the contrary. If you were to ask my lovely assistant about our early years, they’d tell you how the slow seasons used to drive me nuts. I’d be bursting with ideas, feeling the pressure to keep going. That’s when I realized I needed to establish a rhythm for myself. 

I discovered that after our print release, booking a weekend getaway or simply shutting my laptop and leaving it untouched for three days worked wonders. I’d immerse myself in different activities—working out more, trying new things like aikido or aerial yoga, paragliding or taking clay classes. During the slower times, I also relish the opportunity to devote more time to my other responsibilities, such as my other jobs and being a parent, as well as reconnecting with friends. These are aspects of life that often take a backseat during our peak periods. While many of our friends and family understand the ebb and flow of our “seasonal” life, there can still be moments of friend or family guilt. These slower times become precious opportunities to fully embrace the private and professional aspects of my life beyond SOULBASE. 

But I do have personal practices to keep the creative juices flowing during these times. You’ll rarely catch me without my tote bag, as it contains my beloved journal, where I pour out my thoughts and ideas. In the summer, it’s filled to the brim with endless ideas for the upcoming years. Podcasts and audiobooks are also an integral part of my daily life. 

“I believe that exchanging thoughts and experiences on this topic is something we should do more often. My personal recommendation would be to do what works best for you and avoid comparing yourself to others.”

14. Lastly, let us know where our audience can find, purchase SOULBASE issues and stay connected! 

You can find all our print editions on our website www.soulbasemag.me or at our stockists and follow us on @soulbasemag for more creativity, art and travel inspirations.

---

I don’t know about you, but I’ve felt a reignition of creativity after reading this interview! Annika has such a beautiful viewpoint on travel, creativity and of course, not putting too much pressure on yourself when it comes to finding your own creativity, no matter what that looks like. I hope this serves as a little reminder that we all truly are creatives at heart and that there’s so much power in travel for personal or professional growth.

Keep an eye out for SOULBASE’s upcoming issue set to release this April. 🎉And to read some more Beyond The Brand interviews, there’s plenty more stories to browse through here.

Image credits:

Reed Alyson

Annika Bielig Bussmann