We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Shannon Ables a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi SHANNON, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to go back in time and hear the story of how you came up with the name of your brand?

In 2009, The Simply Luxurious Life blog gained its name without any intention of turning it into a business, only a needed outlet to share with a blank screen (at that point) what brought me so much contentment, yet seemed to my immediate connections of people (friends, family, colleagues, etc.) where I lived at the time, impossible to bring so much joy and delight as I genuinely enjoyed living a quiet life alone, pottering in my garden, walking my dogs and savoring time at home.

Simply Luxurious, a phrase that I came up with on December 26th of that year organically came to mind as I enjoyed a day alone in the company of my pups, Norman and Oscar, taking our daily walk, savoring a solitary day gently which included poking into local shops after the holidays, savoring a sweet nibble and drinking up the quiet of a home vacated by family. My ideal everyday life realized. Appearing simple and indeed it was, while also being absolutely luxurious. Why luxurious, you may be wondering? Because when we look at the definition of luxury, look beyond the surface of what often is associated with this descriptor, at its core, it is about bringing comfort. Real, lasting comfort. And something that I write about as the foundation of living a simply luxurious life is that true comfort will be unique to each of us. Simultaneously, a luxury is something we value highly, and will enduringly appreciate once attained. So whatever it might be that will bring someone comfort, they will have to work for it, plan for it, intentionally invest effort, and yes, sometimes spend money to achieve it, but when they do achieve the comfort they have worked for, they do not take it for granted, for they know how much was exchanged to attain it. Just as important, what they achieve must bring them true comfort, and not increase stress or cause strain to maintain it. This is a simply luxurious life, and each of our individual lives will be unique to every person who consciously embraces this philosophy of living with contentment.

As I drilled down on the precise reason behind the name I had chosen, the truth was, and still is, that I deeply savor a life full of simplicity while being punctuated with everyday luxuries found even in the most routine of days. Once I finally stopped trying to change my lifestyle preferences to align with others so they would ‘understand’ or more aptly, accept me, and decided to just be me and do what fueled me with energy, I experienced more peace in my everyday life and found more energy to further spark my creativity. Embracing what others didn’t understand regarding how contentment is cultivated and letting go of their limiting ideas of what a fulfilling life must be, flipped the switch from not feeling as though I was enough to savoring all of the life I had the good fortune of savoring: living in my own company (with my pups) and delighting in the simple luxuries of everyday life.

To cement for the brand that indeed this was the way of life I wholeheartedly lived, loved and wanted to explore and share more about on the blog with readers fully due to the immense contentment it brought into my life, the full name came into being, The Simply Luxurious Life. As I began to share the simple luxuries and everyday pleasures – many absolutely free and others nominal in their cost, readers gradually, yet steadily began to find the blog. In fact, what I discovered through connecting with readers was that there were many of us out in our grand world, both finding joy and contentment in living in such a simple, yet intentional way, yet sadly at the same time feeling bullied, or at the very least, made to feel less than by others who were wanting us to be more extroverted, more boisterous and outgoing, more ‘en vogue’ with the zeitgeist. But, through our conversations on the blog, we knew different. We knew that what was most important was honoring our true selves, and in finding and building TSLL (The Simply Luxurious Life) community over the past 15 years, we’ve found strength and much to celebrate as we continue to savor life each and every day which is part of the foundation of living a life of true contentment.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

The Simply Luxurious Life (TSLL) is a blog and online destination founded on cultivating a life of true contentment, the art of living a life of quality over quantity. Beginning in 2009, I founded TSLL sharing regular weekly written content in the form of blog posts which has continued now into our 15th year.

A core component of living a life of true contentment is honoring your inner compass which involves exercising our individual curiosity, and following where it leads us. By following my own curiosity, even when there wasn’t a guide or an example to follow, I traveled to France and Britain as a young woman on my own. And in doing this, I came to know that trusting my inner compass is a wise thing to do. These two countries just so happen to be where I draw inspiration for living a life of contentment because their cultures speak to my predilections. However, it is through my realizing that we must trust our inner compass that will ensure contentment in each person’s life. A person doesn’t need to have any affection for either country because that is not where contentment is found, but instead it is found within each individual.

The blog expanded organically and gradually when the podcast The Simple Sophisticate premiered in 2014 and now has 400+ episodes, with content continuing to be shared twice a month, always on the 1st and 3rd Wednesday. In that same year, the first book was published, Choosing The Simply Luxurious Life: A Modern Woman’s Guide, and every four years a new book has been published, Living The Simply Luxurious Life: Making Your Everyday Extraordinary and Discovering Your Best Self; and in 2022, The Road to Le Papillon: Daily Meditations on True Contentment.

TSLL has become an international community of members, each living their own simply luxurious lives, and through our monthly video chats, and exclusive content reserved for members, TSLL has become a place for readers to know they are supported and encouraged as they journey along their unique life path, all the while cultivating contentment.

My professional background as a Language Arts teacher, having taught high school English for 20 years in Oregon before retiring in 2021 to give my full attention to writing, prompted the opportunity to create the first online video course offered on TSLL, the Contentment Masterclass which was released in 2024. The course teaches students how to build a life lived grounded in contentment, a life that provides the foundation of fulfillment, enjoyment and an abundance of happiness to be experienced every single day all the while knowing you are contributing what you can uniquely give to the world and simultaneously equally nourishing yourself.

Any thoughts, advice, or strategies you can share for fostering brand loyalty?

As someone who didn’t study business in college, but instead the humanities as I earned my degree in English and History, what I have discovered as I became an unexpected solo entrepreneur is that the core of any long-standing business is the quality of relationships we have with our readers/clients.

And while it takes time to build relationships, the relationships are built on trust, of knowing and seeing them, and they begin to trust that they are not just another customer or visitor to the blog.

The gift of slow, organic growth, and that is exactly what happened with TSLL as I didn’t invest in any outside advertisement or have a public relations team or agent, may have taken longer to build my audience, but it assured the readers that my ethos was steady and firm. My content was consistent and regular. Each posting would appear on a particular day each week or each season, and it has continued along in this manner for 15 years. There have definitely been tweaks and polishes along the way, but this was a result of reader feedback as well as prioritizing quality content.

Remaining in touch with readers comes in the form of responding to their comments, extending gratitude for the time and insights and sharings they give in their comments, reaching out via email as well as responding in a timely fashion to their questions, being receptive to their suggestions and ideas and thanking them publicly when their ideas are used (in our monthly video chats, social media or in blog posts). As well, when deciding on the focus for a next book, I have learned that trusting what my readers would like will always be the best idea. Granted, I include my own creative approach, insight and discoveries, but the reason my first book came to be was because my readers asked for it. The second book was essentially a part two of the first, and the third book, again, came directly from a request from readers as they wanted a daily entry book composed of motivational short essays to read throughout the year. Listening and being responsive as well as consistent in offering regular content continues to guide me because TSLL is what it is today in large part because of my readers’ trust and time.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

Peace.

I know that sounds ‘over the moon’ absurd at first glance (maybe after a second glance as well), but the most significant benefit of living a life of contentment is to be at peace with oneself, to have an ease of being and to have the skills to navigate well and without regret or harm through any unwanted situation.

The peace is found within each one of us when we courageously choose to discover what we can both uniquely give the world and the world will constructively benefit from. If we all were encouraged and supported to discover our gift that resides within each of us, more people would find peace within themselves, and thus the world would become that much closer to being peaceful.

Wishful thinking? Maybe, but since we can only control ourselves, why not choose to discover how to find peace in our everydays? That alone will inspire others to do the same because it is possible. It just takes courage, patience and kindness both to ourselves and others.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://thesimplyluxuriouslife.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesimplyluxuriouslife/
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/thesimplyluxuriouslifeblog
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shannon-ables-3746233a/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/shannonables

Image Credits

Photo credits for pic with Shannon and both dogs: Noru Photography (Gabi Kos). All other photos were captured by Shannon Ables.
Illustration on the blog header was created by Inslee Farris. Illustration on the book cover was created by Sarah Lœcker.