Know Your Value is a women’s blog devoted to encouraging and bringing hope to women in many areas of life. Beauty is one area that can be a struggle for women of all ages and walks of life. God calls us beautiful no matter the color of our skin, what style of clothes we wear, or how messy we look when we wake up in the morning. He created us!
Verity Vareé is one organization that speaks directly to women about beauty and identity. Check out our Q&A with Emily Dean, founder of Verity Vareé. Once on the path of becoming a full time model, she now uses her passion to speak into the lives of others with truth about beauty!
What is the significance of Verity Vareé as the name of your company?
Verity means “truth.” Vareé means “to strike.” Our goal at Vv is to “strike truth” about beauty, womanhood, and authentic living.
Striking truth in our day to day life can be hard, messy and elusive. We want to be a community of encouragement that makes striking the truth more than a good value or ideal, but rather a much needed practice that will change our days and the way we live life. We want these beautiful, yet at times seemingly trivial, ideas (true beauty, authenticity, vulnerability, community, cultivating beauty in your life) to become integral to our daily thought life and walk as women.
#liveverityvaree is our mantra!
Tell us a little bit about your background with modeling and how you came to create Verity Vareé?
I was a professional model and at sixteen years old I got to interview with one of the top modeling agencies in the world, IMG. It was a glamorous, exciting roller coaster of shoot dates, sets, makeup, salads, and coffees. “Go, go, go” was the lifestyle, and I loved it. I had dreams of signing with IMG and finally “making it.” Finally, really feeling like I “deserved” to be where I was.
I came very close to being signed with IMG, but in the end was turned down. I had already met many of the employees there and had walked around to see the whole chic office building. I really thought I would be making my home in New York City to do full-time modeling. Being turned down was a major shock that left me feeling small and worthless.
It got me thinking though. What is beauty? Here I was feeling like I wasn’t beautiful, like I had nothing to give, and yet there was clearly something wrong with that picture because God calls me beautiful. I started reading scripture, studying our culture and its many trends, and began learning that beauty is something we are born with. It is not earned or fabricated. God has given every woman the gift of beauty and like the many flowers of the field, our beauty, story, and care is completely individual and unique to His perfect design for each one of us.
Your website talks about story telling and hearing women’s stories. What is your favorite part of hearing women’s stories?
I love watching women become aware of the value and worth as they tell their story. As I hear from each woman, I get to see her awaken to the value of her soul, connect the dots through her life to see beauty in brokenness, and ultimately believe that her story, her style, and her personality are all integral factors that help to make up the wonderful story that is uniquely her own.
What do you feel is your greatest success through founding Verity Vareé?
Creating a community of women who love and care for one another, in addition to cultivating these truths in their lives. There is nothing like knowing that you can walk into a room full of women and not feel mocked or ridiculed, but accepted and encouraged instead. If we can get this message to women and help create a community of truth and beauty, we are doing just what we came to do!
If you could boil “beauty” down to one sentence, what does it mean to you?
Beauty is awakening to the value of your soul, in order to live boldly and joyfully out of the perfect design God has created for each one of us.
How would you encourage our readers to find and accept their unique beauty?
Don’t be afraid to love the way you were made. Wonderful. Look in the mirror and focus on something you like. It’s not vain or proud. When we say, “Yes, I am beautiful,” we are in agreement with God. He made us and He calls us, “good.” Give thanks for your personality, even your shortcomings.
We were made imperfect so that His light could shine bright through the cracks in our imperfection. Love your story. Think back on times in your life that seemed bleak that have been made beautiful. Take care of yourself. That might mean journaling with pastries and coffee, or going for a run to get your heart pumping.
Do what your soul and your body needs. You’ve been given the gift of beauty. Take care of it. Do these things and you will start to see through the eyes of someone who values you more than you ever thought possible.
Since Wonderfully Made’s Know Your Value is about knowing our value in Christ, what does it mean to you to know your value, and how does this play out in your daily life and business?
Knowing my value is knowing the good and perfect design God has called me to, while recognizing my shortcomings that have made me fall short of His glory. It is recognizing that I am a beautiful, bold, kind, loving child of God who can only be all of those things through His strength and grace.
Recognizing these things in my daily life may look something like this: I am working and stressing when I realize I need to ask my Savior for some encouragement and perspective. Sometimes I’ll rearrange my day to make more time for my family or allow time to go for a run and clear my head.
In business, it’s just me learning over and over again that I need the God of the universe to help me do all I’ve ever dreamed to accomplish. It’s the difference between a day of pushing and striving to make meetings prompt, answer emails, and create a successful business, or me coming to my work and the Lord with the understanding that I am one woman who has limits, yet He says “You are enough,” then drinking my coffee and seeing where the Lord takes us!
Credits:
Vv Images: LaRue Photography
Headshot: Hilary Hyland Photography
