The Next Chapter - Melbourne

Well as many of you know by now I have decided to move to Melbourne in May. I'm one of those people that 'follows signs in life' and it's funny how one thing happens and starts a new thought process which is followed by a few more things happening supporting that new thought process (if that makes sense!) I just realised that my blog is now two years old. My first few posts are about leaving my previous job, the big 2-5 and preparing to head overseas and two years later I find myself in a similar scenario all over again, moving overseas, leaving family, having to find a new job, house etc I never seem to do just one thing at a time! But I figure that if I can move to London where I knew less than 5 people and land a job within a month then I can move to Melbourne where I have close friends and a bit more security waiting for me. I'm definitely at a point where I am wondering what to do next. Where do I want my career to go? What do I really want to do? I have a homeware and fashion background behind me now, where do you go from there? A lot of people go through life not really knowing what they want to do where as I have the opposite problem - I want to do too many things. I have the usual nerves and 'what if' questions floating through my head but I have worked hard to achieve everything that I have and am working on a website so I will be able to freelance and gain more variety in my work. I figure if I am prepared for my move as much as I can be then the rest will follow as it is meant to.

In the weekend my Uncle asked me what I would do if I won the lotto. Apart from the usual financial securities I said I would love to open a bakeshop. I have always loved baking and find it not only relaxing but a way to create as well. So now my latest idea is to start a blog around sweet creations and also sell at a stall with my bestie Ash who has already agreed to come on board - she is a lawyer who is also at a 'where do I go from here' point in her life. So while we figure it out, we shall bake!

Along with all this change, I feel it is also time to say farewell to my big OE blog especially as I won't be doing as much travel from the land of Aus. I did think of creating a new one as I will be exploring Australia and also heading to South East Asia at the end of the year but as time goes on I feel myself becoming more private and I want to focus my blogging and future endeavours on my work projects rather than my personal life.

I am so grateful for this blog and I want to thank everyone that has followed me on my journey - I have had the best two years of my life. I may even download my blog and design a book of my big OE (there we go again, something else to work on!)

I hope you have all enjoyed my journey and maybe it has inspired you to do some more travel of your own or take a leap of faith and start something new that you have always dreamed of doing. There is no such thing as luck and as Lucius Annaeus Seneca famously quoted: “Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.”

So work hard, stop wishing and start doing! Thanks again and take care xx

Easter Weekend

I hope everyone had as much fun over Easter as I did! I got to see most of my family and spend some good quality time with them before I leave the UK. We went ice skating on the Thursday night with over 12 of us going (I lose count there are just too many!) I hadn't been on the ice since my teens but got the hang of it pretty quick with a few 5 year olds helping me along the way! I also got to see a few of my my wee cousins in their Easter play and there is a photo of Summer (top right) after she had finished her performance - so sweet! We all just had a big chill weekend really and my Auntie Ali baked up a storm for a fundraiser at her work so we went along to that to support her while they raised some serious money! I stayed with my Auntie Anne and Uncle Eric who make sure I am fed 24/7 and are always laughing at something (mainly at me when I am there!) I appreciate every minute I get with my family and I am envious of people who are always around their's because there is such a sense of security and happiness that comes from spending time with loved ones and I feel like I have finally experienced what it is like to be a part of big family. My heart was breaking when I left yesterday, all the children are just beautiful little people who welcome you with so much love every time they set eyes on you and it will be hard not seeing them as frequently as I have been. 3 more weeks in London to go!

BERLIN!

BERLIN WAS AMAZING! On my Europe trip nearly two years ago I wasn't the hugest fan of Berlin at first, just like how I had originally felt about Paris, but now I can easily say that both Berlin and Paris are two of my favourite must-see cities of Europe! Berlin feels like a really open city and it's not overcrowded it has just the right amount of people. We arrived on Thursday and were quick to work out the underground system however we ended up walking half an hour in the wrong direction when we got to the station near our apartment! One taxi ride later and we finally arrived - our apartment was gorgeous! Lots of space and a downstairs room with a pool table and drinking area it was so flash! After we had settled in we headed out to explore our area and have our first German lunch which was so delicious - Bratkartoffeln which was panfried potatoes with an egg on top and side of salad along with a German beer - so good! Then headed back to the apartment to wait (drink) until the rest of the crew to arrived (in total 9 Aussies, 3 Poms and yes, I was the sole Kiwi!)

On the second day we were up and out by 10am to check out what we thought was 'an underground world' but turns out they were Nazi bunkers and if they called the tour 'Nazi Bunkers' they think no one will go... so it was interesting like seeing where everyone tried to hide while the bomb raids were happening and seeing where they would have had to live for days at a time but at the same time my imagination had run wild and I was actually expecting an underground city.... still I would recommend it if your interested and haven't seen too much on the war before - a few that were with us really enjoyed it and thought it was great! http://berliner-unterwelten.de/tour-1.13.1.html

Then we visited the Holocaust Memorial and Museum but to be honest I think there is no need to re-visit these kind of museums if you have already seen them as it is a very emotional experience and second time round I left half way through because it seemed to hit me a lot harder. We continued walking and saw some amazing sites before heading out for a really fun dinner (more fried potatoes and amazing meatballs) and you could get up and dance as well - like proper couple back-in-the-day dancing - so fun! The next day everyone was still sleeping as they stayed out till the early hours, I had a sneaky earlier night and headed out to explore the city by myself and had SUCH an amazing day! I love nothing more than walking around a new city by myself and discovering so many new things. I had a general idea of what direction to go in and just walked and walked coming across really funky shops, cool cafes and markets as well as a visit to the Berlin wall which is really stunning. That night we headed to a restaurant that I highly recommend to anyone visiting Berlin called The Bird - http://www.thebirdinberlin.com - where I had the best burgers and chips of my life. I actually couldn't move after and didn't really eat for the next two days!! The next morning we headed to the Mauerpark flea market - http://www.visitberlin.de/en/spot/fleamarket-at-mauerpark - where I picked up some cool prints and postcards. Great markets to visit with so much to see and choose from - food and drink was mainly German and Turkish and they had a whole range of items from door knobs and dinnerware to clothing and accessories. We finished off the trip with a traditional currywurst before heading back to the apartment to relax for a few hours before the flight home.

I was so inspired by this incredible city and have so many ideas for a new collection of prints that I can't wait to get started on. I have now convinced myself that I will be learning German and moving in a few years time! Lets see!

Christmas Trip Home

It's been a while so I have a bit of an essay - a big coffee is recommended! 

First of all apologies for the lack of blogging recently, combine Xmas with traveling to the other side of the world, coming back to London winter and fashion week / work travel - you have a neglected blog page! I recently read an article on moving overseas - you can read here at http://thoughtcatalog.com/2012/what-happens-when-you-live-abroad/. It inspired me to write what I am wanting to write today, instead of writing about everything I got up to (which was running round like a headless chicken catching up with people along with camping, the beach and all things Kiwi) I thought it would be good to write about how differently I see things now I have been away for nearly two years, so, here goes.

When I was living in NZ I always wanted something more and always knew there was more out there for me. I literally waited for years for my opportunity and after 5 years of study and 2 1/2 of working I was more than ready to take the leap. Home is comfortable, easy and safe. It is all you have ever known. The furthest I had ever gone was Australia, twice and never went alone. I was quite loud and outgoing around family and friends but was really quite shy meeting new people in social situations. I was perfectly capable of living away from my parents but still heavily relied on them for support in all areas of my life so when I boarded that plane to England, alone, I think it is safe to say that I experienced every emotion out there, fear, excitement, sadness, anticipation - every 'what if' had crossed my mind again and again - this was it, no turning back. I was in such a state - in my whole life I had been away from my parents for 3 weeks and when I left I had no idea when I would see them again - in the end it was 20 months. 

Fast forward two years and I barely recognise the young women that left NZ that day. Everything I had ever dreamed and hoped for came true even though I ended up taking a path I never saw myself taking. If you had told me on that day 21 months ago that I would visit over 20 countries, land an exciting job in fashion within a month of arriving in London and be behind the scenes at London Fashion Week another month later I just wouldn't have believed you. You grow up watching movies of small town American girls moving to NY or somewhere similar to try and make it in the big city and it wasn't until I moved to London that I realised I was the small town girl. When you move to a city as big as London with barely any money, no job and few people you can call a friend something starts to change within you. You feel the need to survive. Its scary yet profoundly motivating at the same time. Mum and Dad aren't around the corner to feed you, chuck you $20 to last you till payday, give you a kiss or hug when you really need one. In the early days I struggled greatly with being separated from my family but this only made me more determined to make my new life work as I was sacrificing a lot back home to make my dream a reality.

I recently went home for the first time in 20 months. A lot of my friends are now married, buying / bought houses, have kids / are pregnant. I still need my parents but in a different way - I feel like parents want you to grow and become your own person yet part of them will always want to take care of you. It's surreal returning to the place where I grew up for 18 years and feeling like an outsider looking in - NZ is not my life anymore but it will always be my home. Everything was the same apart from the person that returned. Change is not a bad thing - I think its one of the best things that can happen to someone but not everyone will agree - there will be people that think you've changed too much but that's OK. You have to live the life you want to live - not the life that others want you to. I came back home calm, confident, relaxed, fulfilled, successful, but most importantly,happy. My Mum has said to me that its ironic I moved to one of the busiest cities in the world and learnt to chill out and relax. Things I used to lye awake and worry about in NZ don't even get a second thought now. There is so much to see and learn about life - I used to hesitate when an opportunity arose and weigh up all the pros and cons - now I jump at any chance I get! I have to come to realise how short life really is - you just don't know when your time is up and the older you get, the faster the years seem to go. There is a whole world of opportunity out there, new cultures to experience, historical places to see and learn about, fun times with your friends and loved ones to be had. Most of the time the only thing stopping you from experiencing these things is yourself. 

And so I leave you with a quote from Mark Twain. Thanks for reading and I promise the next update won't be as far away!

20 years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than things that you did. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.

Milan / Lake Como / Italy

One of the highlights of my year has to be my trip to Italy this week - I don't even know where or how to start expressing how important this trip was for me. I was given the opportunity to visit one of the largest and oldest design archives in Europe to research and pull fabrics for work but more importantly to put my Coronation scarf line into development. I was sitting in this incredible building, on Lake Como with my scarf designs on the table surrounded by Louis Vuitton and Hermes scarf samples as examples of the type of quality we can expect. I sat there and just told myself to really really remember and enjoy this moment. When I left uni all I wanted was to have something I designed in a shop and that happened pretty quickly after I graduated so I just let the rest happen in its own way. If someone had told me when I left uni that all of these incredible things would happen in my life within 4 years of graduating I don't know if I would have believed them - mainly because this is the type of thing I read about in magazines or saw on TV - I guess working in the fashion industry was never on my radar in the first place which has really taught me not to plan life and just take it as it comes.

I left for Milan on Sunday morning and arrived in the freezing cold and rain - a random cold blast hit Europe over the weekend! But still I ventured out and saw the Duomo di Milano which literally took my breath away - it was an incredible sight! Inside was stunning as well and after I had warmed up a bit I left and made my way to the Castello Sforzesco which had beautiful grounds to walk around and explore. I couldn't help but think that in NZ I could barely make it to Wellington from Auckland without someone helping me at the airport and now I travel around Europe solo and quite enjoy it really. Only hassle I had in Milan was local people hanging around the ticket machines trying to help and then ask for money but other than that it was very safe and easy to get around.

The next morning I boarded a train for a half hour journey to Lake Como and spent the next two days there for work - it was still chilly but the sun was out and the lake was stunning, really reminded me of Queenstown actually. I finished work then headed to the airport and 
got home round 11:30pm and was up bright and early for work the next day!

I worked out that over the last 10 weekends I have had two full ones in London and one of them was working at the fashion show so I am looking forward to chilling out a bit this weekend and checking out some fireworks - next Thursday I fly up to Scotland to spend some time with my family before heading to the All Blacks game near Edinburgh! 

TOKYO!

Wow, where to start with Tokyo?? Was it everything I had imagined it to be? I feel like it was such a whirlwind trip and I worked long days but on the whole I really did love Japan and would definitely plan to go back in the future especially to Kyoto or Osaka where its more historical and traditional. For the first time in my life I had serious culture shock! Whenever I have travelled around Europe most people speak English and there are English signs around for restaurants or travel or the wording is similar enough for you to figure out what it says - even travelling to Turkey I was with a bus full of Aussies and Kiwis with a tour guide that organised everything for us so this was my first experience being the sole traveler in a completely different country to anything I had experienced before. Of course I was looked after by the team in Japan who were so hospitable - in general the Japanese culture are incredibly polite and respectful, everything they do is done with a touch of natural elegance. 

It was also my first official business trip - I have traveled to Paris for work to look for prints and fabrics and do market research but this time round I went by myself and had to meet a lot of people and learn a lot about what our company does in Japan - I feel it went very well and I was so nervous before I went but I just got on with it and did the best I could. I didn't experience any jet lag which was a bonus - I arrived around lunch time on the Monday and then had a nap before wandering around the area near my hotel it was so exciting and I ordered a Ramen noodle dish through a vending machine system - you select what you want then pay then the receipt is taken to the kitchen and the food is made in front of you! It was a small, loud, fast paced Japanese diner and I was the only foreigner in there - over my travels I have learnt to eat down the side streets where all the locals are hidden!

The Japanese have so much respect for their country and each other - the subway stations are five times the size as London one - literally - and still people line up at each door to get on the tube where as here everyone just pushes and shoves. The streets are so clean, to think that there are 130 million Japanese people in a similar sized landmass to New Zealand which has 4 million people and their busiest city is so much cleaner - it was really something. I thought that the London stations were confusing when I first got here - even if your a local in Tokyo it can still be tricky to figure out which line to go on - even if you have a smart phone! So many exits, platforms and train lines I would have honestly just taxied if I was by myself!

One of my favourite things in Japan was Kakigori - its literally crushed ice with amazing syrups and whipped green tea ice-cream oh my god I had one every day I was there! It was so humid during the day and it poured down on one of the nights to the point where I had to empty my shoes! My favourite day was spent with my dear friend Maiko who used to work at Daks. We visited Asakusa where there was a temple and huge market - my eyes teared up a bit when I saw the temple, I have never seen a Japanese temple in real life and have always dreamed of visiting one. When we were leaving Maiko spotted a 'Monjayaki' traditional restaurant, barely any signs and no tourist would have noticed it or wanted to go in cause it didn't look very appealing but inside was amazing and we sat on the floor and had our own BBQ table, you order the ingredients and cook your own food, was so cool! Then we headed to Kappabashi which was a road full of amazing cheap shops at wholesale price so I bought some chopsticks, miso bowls and cups. We then visited Meigi Zinguu temple but had to look through the gates as we got there too late! But it was round the corner from Takesita Douri which was a really cool young fun shopping district, so colourful and exciting! We went to the Sky Tree but no tickets were available (was still amazing to see from the outside) so we decided to head to Roppongi Hills where you get one of the best views of all of Tokyo city - it was as high as the sky tower in Auckland. It was a really breath taking moment just standing there staring out at the biggest city I have ever seen - it was dark by this point and the lights were amazing, it was like something from the Matrix, just building after building it stretched on and on. It was 9pm by the time we finished there so we headed out for a traditional dinner - in Japan restaurants some have separate areas / rooms so they slid open this door for us and our table was in there, then they closed the door we had our own room it was such an experience! We ate traditional food and it was so good - I want to go back!! Of course I had some Saki too then we headed back to the hotel, had a few hours sleep then headed to Tokyo station for my bus.

Because I travel so much around Europe it never occurred to me that my debit card wouldn't work in Japan... luckily I had my credit card but that could have even been cancelled cause I didn't tell my bank I was traveling out of the EU. It was quite stressful on the last day cause I literally just made the bus to the airport (I did leave with plenty of time but couldn't figure out where the bus stop was!) then I had to pay for my ticket on the way - if my card had declined I would have literally had no money or any access to money and I wouldn't have been able to get to the airport.... the thought alone makes me feel ill! But I made it in the end so all good! Before I left NZ I was sooo super organised with all things travel but now I'm so chilled out about it, probably a bit too much though!

I didn't get jet lag when returning either so, bonus number 2! All in all it was such an amazing adventure, it all went so quick I have to really tell myself it actually happened! Next work trip is to Lake Como at the end of October so I can't wait to go and see all the design archives and work with the designers there. Will update when I return!

Daks Fashion Show SS2013 / PV Paris Trip

This years show was my favourite so far and we had great reviews from the likes of Vogue UK and Style.com. I don't think the excitement will ever fade even when your working crazy hours and up at the crack of dawn (well, before dawn and thats if your one of the lucky ones that gets some sleep!) arriving at Somerset House when everything is still dark and quiet - its really special moment. I loved the sequin fabrics and accessories!

The following Thursday we were up at 4:45am to get a train to Paris to visit Premiere Vision once more - again I can't see myself getting over being surrounded by the most beautiful prints and fabrics that Europe has to offer! The next day consisted of market research and then a few of us stayed on for the weekend as there are some markets that are only on a Saturday. Instead of staying at a hotel over the weekend we found an apartment on www.airbnb.com which I can't recommend enough - theres a different story behind each apartment and the one we got was through a women that lived there and hired it out sometimes in the weekends while she was away - it was so cool and in a very safe courtyard right near the Notre Dame and you can't really get more central than that. Prices are very affordable as well, so much nicer than staying in a hotel. We would get up in the morning and play the French radio while we got ready - so much fun! If you are ever in Paris you must eat at a restaurant called Fish la Boissonnerie. I walked in and saw paua shells and a Pukeko which was quite odd in the middle of France! Some of the most beautiful food I have ever eaten (French cuisine) and half of the restaurant is owned by a Kiwi and the chef is from Japan! Perfect combination if you ask me! We asked for some bread and its so fresh that they walk across the road to a night bakery and it comes in hot from the oven, how cool is that. Will definitely be returning there at some point!

I really have grown to love Paris and it is one of my favourite cities, once you know the city a bit more and avoid the touristy areas its the perfect city for a weekend getaway.