At Sparkloft, our Discovery Trips are more than just travel—they're transformative experiences aimed at expanding horizons and fostering personal growth. These trips provide our team with the opportunity to immerse themselves in new cultures and environments, inspiring fresh perspectives that fuel both our creativity and global understanding. Explore how Avery's first trip to Findland ignited curiosity:
Finland is a country known for its serene nature, dense forests, crisp lakes, and for contributing to the most extreme music genre of all time: black metal. It has the most heavy metal bands per capita of any country in the world! It consumes the most coffee (an average of over 6 gallons per Finn every year) and the most milk (a staggering 22 gallons per person). There are more saunas than cars. Most impressively, Finland consistently ranks among the happiest countries in the world. A high level of government transparency, a world-class education system, access to nature, public healthcare, and an overall high standard of living all contribute to this ranking.
I got the opportunity to visit Finland for a friend’s wedding and couldn’t pass it up. I’d never been that far north in Europe before. Long summer days! Crispy cool weather! (Especially compared to my humid hometown of Atlanta.) A chance to explore a new part of the world!
One of my all-time favorite things to do on a trip is to bring a sketchbook for drawing and journaling. Finland was no exception. When traveling, there’s an impulse to see as much as possible and fill the itinerary to the max. Go go go! See all the sights! Take all the pictures! Cross every experience off the bucket list! If you don’t gram it, it didn’t happen! Keeping a travel journal forces you to pause, slow down, and reflect on your experiences in more detail.
Part 1 - Mökki Time
Aside from drawing lots, one of my travel goals was to immerse myself in Finnish culture and live like a local. In Finland, a "mökki" (or "cottage") is a traditional Finnish cabin, often located on a lakeshore or in the forest, and is a popular destination for summer holidays and relaxation.
Chilling out by a Finnish lake, connecting with nature? Say less. For the start of the journey, I booked a sick-ass cabin in the rural Finnish lakeland.
On the first morning there, I woke up early due to the time change. Instead of getting back in bed, I drank about seven cups of strong Finnish coffee, watched the sunrise over the lake, and wrote a little bit about the view in front of me. It was so quiet and peaceful! Serene is the best word for it. The lake was like glass.
Over the next few days, my family and I acclimated to the mökki lifestyle: swimming and fishing in the lake, cooking meals with local ingredients, and taking a few day trips to explore the town of Mäntyharju and visit friends at their family cabin near Heinola. Our Finnish friends shared a few insider tips to get our wood-fired sauna operating at a temperature locals prefer: 50–60°C (over 120°F). We spent the last nights rotating between the sauna, lake, and hot tub. Fins might be onto something here.
Part 2 - Helsinki
On our way to Helsinki, we stopped in the city of Porvoo for lunch (and some pre-lunch doodles). Now it feels like we’re in Europe for real! Cobblestone streets! Adorable shops selling toys and chocolates! We walked around and explored a bit before driving on to Helsinki and settling into our apartment that would serve as our home base for the rest of the trip.
I really enjoyed exploring Helsinki. It’s a relatively small city with a population of about 700,000 people (by comparison, metro Atlanta is 6.4 million). But the city was bustling! The streets were filled with people at all hours. It was busy, but not overwhelming or overly loud. I loved people-watching. And I really loved seeing the local graffiti, stickers, and promo posters pasted all around. The creative energy reminded me of New York, but in a much cleaner environment with cooler architecture.
I love to nerd out on design details and visual nuances of any city I’m in. Helsinki has this amazing blend of super-modern design layouts with trendy type and striking textures. Underlying it all were funky Art Nouveau influences: floral details, curved lines, and sneaky motifs from Finnish folklore. Having a sketchbook on hand to draw buildings, signage, and statues helps me notice more and get inspired for my own graphics, artwork, and campaign ideas.
Part 3 - Tips and Tricks for Travel Journaling
I know what you’re thinking. BUt I CAnT dRAw *mocking spongebob meme format*
You legit don’t have to draw. My mom came with me on this trip, and her travel journal was super collage-heavy. It was really cool to have a fresh approach in the mix, and I had to pick up some new gluesticks because we were having so much fun collaging things (liimapuikko is gluestick in Finnish, by the way). We’d paste in torn pieces of newspaper, travel brochures, stickers, and anything cool that caught our eye.
You don’t have to collage either. Write a poem. Write what you did that day. Write your packing list. Write a captain’s log about crew morale and your inventory of snacks (I love doing this). Or just take a bunch of photos and try to draw one later. I can’t recommend drawing enough; it’s so therapeutic and fun for me. But you do you! Find whatever approach works best to document a trip and take note of your adventures.
For supplies, I like traveling with a hardbound 8.5x11” sketchbook and a pencil case full of markers and pens. It’s small enough to fit in a backpack, but big enough to draw fun things and have a few different colors in the mix. Sometimes I’ll bring watercolors too (especially when visiting a tropical destination with lots of colors and funky plants). Washi tape is another great option for on-the-go collages.
The last step in this crazy fun process is just finding the time to do it. You just need a little downtime! You’re on vacation! Find somewhere comfortable with a good view and pause to enjoy the scenery. I’ve drawn during airport layovers, on beaches, in coffee shops, lounging in parks, and in pubs all over the world. However, my favorite time to draw on trips is at restaurants. There’s a perfect window after ordering food and before it arrives to kick it with a local beverage and reflect on the journey so far.
Part 4 - Conclusion
We left Helsinki after thoroughly exploring the city’s streets, shops, parks, restaurants, record stores, and a few iconic attractions like Korkeasaari Zoo, Senate Square, Esplanadi Park, Suomenlinna Fortress, and at least four different Marimekko stores (maybe more). It was a great trip! I took lots of photos, hung out with friends and family, and did some drawing and doodles throughout it all.
For me, keeping a travel journal is more about the act of doing it rather than the finished result. Having a visual record of your adventures is an added bonus! It’s almost like a photo album but with more doodles of skulls. I’ve read that keeping a journal can reduce stress and anxiety while increasing self-awareness and emotional regulation. I think it’s a great habit whether you’re traveling or not, and I’ve tried to keep it going in my everyday life.
Aside from personal reflection, keeping a visual diary of your travels can lead to strategic insights and sharper marketing. There’s a recurring trend to lean into human connection in order to reach a chronically online audience in fresh ways. Handwritten, collage-style aesthetics can help give a campaign a human touch. Hand-drawn illustrations or abstract textures can convey the benefits of a product in a way that’s never been seen before.
Brands that have done this well include: Moleskine collaborating with travel influencers to show their product in real-world scenarios; Airbnb highlighting offline experiences through micro-influencers and travel journal storytelling; and Montblanc partnering with Wes Anderson to play up the luxury and romance of a handwritten travel note. Travel journals are a vehicle for storytelling and inspiration that brands can learn from.
In conclusion: you should keep a [travel] journal.
