Joy is not a reward.
It’s your compass.
Start designing the life you want to live!
What if this was how you felt most days?
Alive. Centered. Creative. Playful. Not once a year on a vacation, but on ordinary days, in real life.
Joy by Design is built for that.
It’s where emotional wisdom meets daily life.
Where joy becomes something you practice.
If something in you said “yes”, you’re in the right place.
So What Is Joy by Design?
Joy by Design is a grounded, practical way to reconnect with who you are—and how you want to feel.It’s not toxic positivity or forced gratitude. It’s emotional education that puts you back in the driver’s seat of your own experience.
I didn’t create this work to sell it. I built it to survive a hard season in my life. I immersed myself in neuroscience, self-compassion research, and Buddhist teachings. I devoured the work of Brené Brown, Pema Chödrön, and Byron Katie. What emerged wasn’t just theory. It was a lifeline. And eventually, a path forward.
And it did more than help me cope.
My marriage healed. My parenting softened. My work became joyful again. I could navigate setbacks with more resilience and return to joy more quickly. Over time, I learned how to become a magnet for abundance—not through effort, but through alignment.
Now, I’m sharing what I learned through simple, visual tools designed to stick. Tools that help you shift your state, feel better more often, and begin to create the life you want.
My daughter calls it our “generational wealth.” She wants her high school friends to learn it too.
I call it Joy by Design.
This is about choosing clarity over chaos, curiosity over shame, and momentum over stuckness.
It’s about practicing joy, not as a reward for getting life “right,” but as a way of moving through the world.
When you do this work, moment by moment, you begin to unlock your creative power and shape a life that feels deeply, truly aligned.
I’m so happy you’re here.
Joy Studio
The Joy Studio pilot is opening—and you’re invited.Ready to reconnect with yourself, shift your state, and feel better more often? Then Joy Studio is your next step.
Part curriculum, part community, part alchemy—this four-week journey brings together soulful tools, practical design, and a little magic.
I’m welcoming a small group of fellow travelers to pilot this experience and be the first to try the tools that helped transform my life.
You’re invited to design your own journey to joy. Let’s go.
The Resilient Optimism Roadmap
How To Move Through Big Emotions (and Back Into Action)
For anyone facing job loss, panic, or a WTF moment. This soon-to-be-released roadmap is a serious tool for getting unstuck when life feels impossible - and it’s almost ready to share!
I built this framework during the hardest season of my life, after the 2008 crash. These lessons were earned, not imagined, and they carried me through.
If you’re crying at your desk trying to write a cover letter, I’ve been there. This roadmap is for that moment.
I’ll also be providing short, supportive lessons to help you move forward, moment by moment—not just in theory, but in real life.
Because this is a practice.
You can get better.
You can get unstuck.
And you don’t have to do it alone.
Drop your email below and I’ll send you everything when it’s ready! FREE. Real. Helpful for the hard times.
Be First To More Joy.
Joy isn’t a destination—it’s a practice.
And as you move from having → doing → being, you need new tools, deeper insight, and a little bit of magic.
Sign up here to get first access to the Resilient Optimism Roadmap (FREE!), Joy Studio, and the other tools under development.
Zero commitment. Opt out anytime.
The Energy Gauge™
A quietly powerful tool at the heart of Joy by Design.The Energy Gauge isn’t just a feeling check-in.
It’s a layered tool that helps you notice your emotional state, shift your energy, and reconnect with what matters.
Simple to use. Surprisingly deep.
And yes… there’s an app coming.
Ready to learn more?
Stories, Reflections, and Real Talk
This is where the framework meets real life. On Substack, I share the behind-the-scenes stories, honest reflections, and everyday moments where Joy by Design comes to life. Here are a few stories to get you started. I would love to have you subscribe and join our Joy by Design community!
The Day I Stopped Living Inside…
The Joy Line
Start Here: Welcome to Joy By Design
I’ve been a diplomat in West Africa, had a maker studio at the Smithsonian, and sold art nationally through Pottery Barn Kids. I once lived in Mombasa researching prostitution (yes, really) and worked with shipbuilders in Taiwan. I’ve studied French, Swahili, and a little Mandarin—just enough to get lost and find my way back.
I’ve created magical museum experiences, reimagined learning spaces for kids, and helped leaders rediscover what’s possible.
I grew up between New York City and a sheep farm in Maine.
Raised three incredible, complicated kids.
Meditated in silence. Cried a lot. Kept going.
Along the way, I changed my setpoint, from fear to trust, from shame to curiosity.
I cast off old patterns and chose a different path.
This work is the after to a very real before.
I believe play is sacred, creativity is medicine, and joy isn’t a reward—it’s a way home.
Joy by Design is where it all comes together.
The soul. The strategy. The mess. The magic.
If you’re craving more, you’re not alone.
We’re just getting started. Join me.
About Justine.
Mom. Maker. Meditator. Creative rebel. Student of joy.