What, Who, Why, and Where is Family Style?
Family Style. Family. Style. What the hell is Family Style? Who the hell is Family Style? Why the hell is Family Style a thing? These are questions that we are going to answer today. There is already an introduction video that gives a summary of this topic, but I felt like it might be a good idea to partner that with this blog post so that we could get into a little more detail. Before we get too far into the weeds, though, let me say that we are really, truly, and genuinely glad that you're here.
Moving onward, we have three major topics to cover here: the What, the Who, and the Why. No doubt, as you arrive here, likely at the invitation or recommendation of a friend, you have quite a few questions as to what this is, or whether or not you even belong here. If you've made it this far, read a bit further and all will be explained to you. And let me assure you that you ABSOLUTELY belong here.
WHAT is Family Style?:
The core idea of Family Style is rooted in the practice of family style dining. According to Capital One, family style dining "is when food is served on large platters meant for sharing, rather than as individual plates. Diners serve themselves from the food platters, just like you might at home in your dining room." (What is Family Style Dining?, 2019) This dining method is commonplace at some large events like weddings or other catered events. It can even be found in restaurants that, in addition to serving up great food, hope to serve up an experience that "celebrates the meal as a communal rather than an individual experience."(What is Family Style Dining?, 2022)
So how does a style of dining fit in with everything you see going on here at the Family Style Network? Well, the biggest piece of that is the word FAMILY. We here at Family Style view ourselves as a huge family; a tight-knit group of people that love and support one another endlessly. It's been said before that people are able to bond with each other in this community in ways that they were never able to do with some of the people in their real life. If that doesn't scream family, I don't know what does. So as far as the Family Style Network goes, everything we do, we do as a family, for the family. Hence the name.
But where does the dining come in? Well, in addition to many other things that you'll find here on the network (a blog, several podcasts, etc.), you'll see that our flagship podcast gets its namesake from the network as a whole: The Family Style Podcast. In this podcast, members of the community meet up "around the table" and have the kind of conversations you would have were you eating "family style" around a table with friends and family. The conversations might be serious, they might be funny, and they will definitely be all over the place. But every episode will be unique.
WHO is Family Style?:
At the core, most basic level, Family Style is YOU. If you're here, and you decide to join this community, than YOU ARE Family Style.
As far as the people behind Family Style, that's Ryan Maurice and Ashley Archibald. In late 2022, some conversations started bouncing around back and forth between Ryan and Ashley. Ideas began to take root, and over time a website, a podcast, a blog, a network, and in fact, a community was born.
While Ryan and Ashley got the ball rolling, and laid the foundation for everything that you see here, the community is ultimately the pulse of this entire network. Without the community, without YOU, this whole network means nothing.
WHY the hell is Family Style a thing?:
As was mentioned previously, Family Style was born from discussions and ideas thrown around by Ashley and Ryan. A small community had formed elsewhere, prior to the birth of Family Style. And there was so much potential with that community, and so many ideas. Unfortunately, many of these ideas never came to fruition because there simply wasn't a good home for them. Family Style was born from the necessity of that community having a home that was a hundred percent theirs to build, and nurture, and grow as it saw fit. And Family Style was born so that the community would have it's forever home, no matter what happened outside of the community.
At it's core, Family Style is all about this community; this family. But in addition to that, Family Style is about building a network of different people who can collaborate on creative projects together. What does that mean? Well, at launch, the Family Style Network has the Family Style Podcast, the Blog, and there are several other podcasts coming down the pipe as well. But that's just the beginning. Have an idea for a podcast? Want to start writing for the blog? Have other creative ideas? Pitch them! We can figure out the logistics of it, and get it on the network!
There are no stupid ideas. There is nothing that is "too crazy." We want it all. Family Style, in addition to being your home away from home, can also be your creative outlet.
WHERE is Family Style?:
As mentioned previously, this is the Family Style NETWORK. The word network implies that Family Style has a lot going on, and yes. This is very much the case. There's this blog, hosted at Blogger, but imbedded in the website: www.familystylenetwork.com. There's also the Family Style YouTube, and Facebook, and Instagram and..... you get the point.
Ultimately though, as has been previously mentioned, the core of Family Style is the community. And that community lives on Discord, in the Family Style Server:
Welcome Home.
Capital One. (2019, March 28). What is Family-Style Dining? Capital One Learn and Grow. Retrieved December 4, 2022, from https://www.capitalone.com/learn-grow/more-than-money/family-style-dining/
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