When we made the move to Central Otago, I knew I wanted to start something new. Five years building our home staging business in Oamaru had taught me a lot, about growth, about grit, and eventually about knowing when it was time to sell and start the next chapter close to family.
Sydney George was created from my love of fashion, interiors, architecture and all things creative. I have always been the person drawn to the different, the unique, the pieces with a bit of quiet confidence about them, and opshopping has been a lifelong habit of mine too (I just love it all).
Having a creative outlet as a mum has been my saving grace. Staging gave me that outlet and the flexibility I needed while my kids were younger, and now Sydney George is letting me learn and grow through expressing that same creativity in this new season of life.
Being creative brings all the fun, the energising and the doing. But it comes with its challenges too. When life gets hard, busy or unsettled, that shows up as a foggy mind, a bit of chaos, and a real lack of ability to be creative. Life is full of those seasons, and I have had to work out how to recentre myself to get my focus and passion back.
For me, that is exercise (girly pilates is my choice these days, kind to a bad back, with biking or the exercycle thrown in depending on the weather) and it is travel. Visiting a friend and laughing again is the best therapy there is. Booking a trip, trying new food, new places and new cultures, gives me something to look forward to and a fresh perspective when things get hard. Money comes and goes, but the experiences I have had with my friends, kids, husband and our families over the last decade have been vital.
Regaining that perspective from a distance resets my mind every time. When you hit a creative block, it is worth stepping back and trying something different. If you are not changing with the seasons, the seasons will change without you, and that has been as true for Sydney George as it was for staging.
Katie