Evolution. It’s the word that comes to mind as I look forward to this next decade, in a state of reflection about the last one that landed me here. The angsty, frustrated, angry and lost twenty year-old Ellie in 2009 is a far cry from Eleanora, the woman who stands calmly, confidently, securely, and openly in her grounded but vivacious spirit as a thirty year-old in 2019. The twists and turns of the past ten years were none I could have planned for or predicted, and I’m thrilled with where the journey of life has taken me thus far. I can’t even imagine what adventures and experiences years thirty one to forty might bring. I’ve come to learn that the beauty of our time on Earth is about the why, the who and the what – not so much about the where or the how. It is especially not about the how much. I’ve learned that the hard way, but I’m grateful for every challenge. Through the tougher years in my twenties I learned who and what I am, and more importantly, who and what I am not.
Ellie, November 2019. Photography by Wendy Bowman.
The truth about the past several years was that everything just felt confusing and tumultuous inside until I uncovered my creative focus. Things started to align three years ago when I began creating full-time. Then, two years ago, Melissa Delgadillo came into my life and everything just fell into place with an inspired mission that swept us both into a warp-speed tornado of storytelling production. We quickly became business partners and the dearest of friends. We followed our creative inspiration as our driving force, and let our intuitions guide us as a compass. Soon thereafter, ELEANORA Magazine was born.
ELEANORA’s timeline.
The past two years of our partnership has fostered a community of women supporting each other both online and in person. As we continue to grow that community over time, we will always be proud of this. Our digital editorials that we produced about inspiring women from history and empowered women from the present earned us recognition as Magazine of the Year in San Antonio, an accolade we were both humbled by and deeply honored to receive in 2019.
Yet, with all of the momentum and excitement whirling around us, Melissa and I each knew in our hearts that we were evolving again. We had lived two minutes from each other for a year, furiously toiling away inseparably. In May, Melissa told me she needed to move home to Boise, Idaho. It was time to be closer to her family, and she wanted to grow creatively into another market. That same month, Dan and I bought a house twenty minutes north of Pearl, and we decided that I was going to move part-time to Los Angeles to live and work with my sister-in-law, to spread my wings to grow strategic relationships for ELEANORA and begin a very slow, controlled step into the entertainment industry on a project by project basis. In June, Melissa and I said our goodbyes. She sold and gifted all of her belongings and packed her SUV with only what fit. I packed two suitcases and I headed for Hollywood. By the end of June / beginning of July, we were gone in what seemed like as quickly of a flash as the way we first came together in 2017.
Melissa and Ellie. May 2019. A whimsical birthday toast between two Geminis.
Photography by Wendy Bowman.
Melissa and I had every intention of keeping ELEANORA in production as is, working across the country from one another. The several months that followed was a time of learning, of transition, of exploring and of self-discovery for both of us. I was feeling all of these things in L.A. and Melissa was feeling them in Boise. Having just helped each other climb a career mountain hand-in-hand, we realized we both were right back down at the base of another foothill…but the next climb for each of us was one we had to conquer on our own.
We spoke on the phone often, keeping each other up to date with what we were seeing, hearing, sensing…and we both knew we were headed toward a creative fission – that one platform was going to become two, and that we were going to help each other arrive at our next phase of evolution as best we could.
Behind the scenes of ELEANORA Magazine’s April 2019 cover shoot, photographed and styled by Melissa.
Now here we are, facing a new year, a new decade, and a creative evolution for each of us: with two platforms that split from one. We wouldn’t be at this point if it weren’t for the investment we made in each other. Essentially, the beauty of our partnership was that we brought each other out of our shells and empowered each other to step into our creative callings. We never judged each other, we always learned openly from each other, we pushed each other far beyond the boundaries of our comfort zones…to the edges of learning we would have never pushed ourselves alone. We made all of this together, and now we leap to our next lily pad that’s all our own.
Introducing Monde, Melissa’s new media platform, that tells stories of everyday women overcoming extraordinary challenges. Also re-introducing ELEANORA, a multimedia creative personal brand that entertains, empowers and unites women through larger-than-life storytelling and inspired creative content. Wishing you all a new year of joy, fulfillment, and inner peace. As always, thank you all for being a part of our community.
With much love and gratitude,
