“i really love the ephemerality of flowers. i like that it’s not something that you can hold onto forever. i like that it’s something that you have to be present for,” says floral artist and entrepreneur maurice harris, the man behind @bloomandplume . maurice explores and celebrates black identity in his work by including people of color of all ages in his pieces. that includes his niece! (pictured.) “she’s such a dynamic little lady,” he says.
photo by @bloomandplume

#hellofrom tulum, mexico. “beaches always stir up a lot of reflections for me,” says film director daniel mercadante (@danielmercadante ). “this place where land meets water, calm and chaotic. the endless distance puts the impossibly huge and tiny light of life into a new perspective.” 🌈
use the hashtag, and say #hellofrom your part of the world. ❤️
photo by @danielmercadante

Rainbows are not found in the shadows, and for lisa and bianca (@lisbia_ ), neither is their love. 👭🌈🤩 their message this pride month? “love whomever you wish. life is too short to hide in the shadows,” says the couple from vienna, austria.
this june, we celebrate the lgbtq+ community by sharing stories of #untoldpride. follow along as we shine a spotlight on people who are making a difference just by being themselves, and check out @lgbt_history to see even more stories of #untoldpride.

photo of @lisbia_ by @fotografie_franziskabittermann

Mustard-capped mushrooms. wide-eyed turtles. sheep wearing backpacks? melbourne-based textile artist cat (@cat_rabbit ) designs and sews adorably intricate characters and creates stop-motion videos of their colorful worlds. no doubt about it, cat’s account is a hidden gem.
every saturday, we’re diving down the 🐇🕳 to uncover unique and treasured accounts — the real #hiddengems of instagram. ✨ 💎 learn more about cat’s world(s) on our story and igtv now.

video by @cat_rabbit

Melbourne-based textile artist cat (@cat_rabbit ) takes us behind the scenes of her world in our first installment of our new weekly series that uncovers unique and treasured accounts — they’re the real #hiddengems of instagram. 💎 ✨

Come on in! the water’s purr-fect. 🐈💧🐥 today’s #weeklyfluff is 3-year-old baron (@baron.0723 ), a white ragdoll from the city of yokohama in japan. under the watchful eye of his human eriko, the very fluffy baron loves to make a splash with his floaty friends.
video by @baron.0723

“i just can’t imagine having my stuff made across the world,” says jemma swatek, the founder and designer behind lykke wullf (@lykkewullf ), a women’s clothing line handcrafted in los angeles. “every collection is inspired by what i would wear,” says jemma. “we really pay attention to the details.” watch our story to step into the lykke wullf studio, then see jemma’s styling tips and shop the designs over on @shop — a new account where you can discover and buy goods from up-and-coming designers. 🌈✨ photo of @lykkewullf by @saamuelrichard

Meet greta thunberg (@gretathunberg ). she’s a 16-year-old advocate for climate change activism and founder of the school strike for climate movement. 🌍🌱 “when i was younger, i decided to start striking every friday until sweden was in line with the paris agreement,” says greta, who was nominated this year for a nobel peace prize. “if we all do something, we can accomplish anything.” today on our story and our igtv, learn more about greta in our new weekly series #advocates, highlighting people around the world who are sparking positive change. ✨

At just 16, activist greta thunberg has been nominated for the nobel peace prize for her advocacy work around the effects of climate change. learn more about greta and her vision for the future today on #advocates, our new weekly series that highlights people around the world who are sparking positive change. ✨

Ready for your day to get a whole lot better? the one and only donté colley (@donte.colley ) is here with his emoji-filled dance videos. “the message behind my videos is ultimately, ‘i hope this can make you smile today,’” says the 22-year-old from toronto.
with that mission in mind, we’ve asked donté to help us kick off our brand-new weekly series #yougotthis, which promises to make your wednesday better — one 😂🙌😻💫 at a time. watch now on our story, then share it with a friend who might need some motivation.
video by @donte.colley

“mixing in my doodle illustrations with a little more than average makeup is a creative outlet from my day-to-day life,” says wen neale (@sippystraw ), who works as a cook. “i took inspiration from my friend haku (@hakukaze ). only the blush and red liner is actual makeup. the white heart and dots were drawn from my drawing tablet, so most of the actual process was me hunched over my laptop drawing the hearts on my face.” ♡ ♡
photo illustration by @sippystraw

“i’ve had moments of makeup inspiration that come in the middle of the night. if the urge is strong enough, i’ll paint it at 3 a.m.,” says 22-year-old makeup artist, filmmaker and musician kiko nafig (@kikopaint ). “i use my face as a canvas because it’s convenient, but the intent is to create something outside of my own self. it’s almost an attempt at an ‘anti-selfie.’”
photo by @kikopaint