The Rose Tinted team
Welcome to the first post in our ‘Conversations With’ series. It’s our way of connecting with friends and peers in the wedding and floral industry. Gaining insight into what makes them tick and finding a little bit more about them. I wanted to start at the heart of Rose Tinted and talk to our team and find out how they’ve coped with the strange, strange world we’re all experiencing.
It felt right starting with our team. These ladies are the backbone of our business. Without them, it (and I) would fall apart. If you’ve been into our Ponsonby Central store, you will have some across their smiling, sassy faces.
Lockdown was a very different experience for everyone and I wanted to find out how they coped with a very unusual time.
So read on friend and learn what makes our flower fam tick x
What's something you've learnt about yourself during Lockdown
I’ve learnt that I’m my ‘best self’ when I’m not stressing about what other people are doing. that the uncontrollable happens and adapting is key, as someone to loves structure and routine finding new ways to go about my day with my little ones and Tom at home has been lovely, we’ll never get time like that again so I’m holding onto those special memories!
I also learnt/was reminded how much I love playing with flowers every week!!!
What habits or rituals have you formed (the weirder the better)
Cooking dinner!!!! Tom I took turns cooking throughout the week, we planned out our ‘food week’ on a Sunday night while drinking wine and reading cookbooks, it was fun & definitely something we’ll carry on doing! I also become addicted to plunger coffee and probably watched one too many crime dramas..
I also started doing ‘body balance’ once or twice a week in and amongst other exercise which was a good chance to ‘escape’ from the go-go-go of having two one year olds and nowhere to hide!
Were there any blogs, resources or fun things you discovered
Yes!! I discovered a great ‘blog’ / online magazine called ‘Hello lunch lady’, a community of people who love to be creative in all aspects of their lives! It had amazing craft ideas for the little ones and for me, as well as creative food ideas for my girls, so I loved that! I even started subscribing to the quarterly magazine send out (oops).
What were you most looking forward to at the end of lockdown
Hugging my extended family & my friends again!! And a kebab, I bloody missed kebabs
Did lockdown change your perspective or the world / life / people in any way?
Lockdown changed a lot for me, I look at the way I work differently - I now don’t put so much weight of the world or other people issues/stresses onto my shoulders. it’s been a good exercise in clearing out my mind and realising who we, as a family, make time for, and making sure we prioritise that family time, and the people you value will always be there, even if it’s not physically but holy moly it’s nice to hug my people again!!!
What's something you've learnt about yourself during Lockdown
That my body was designed for slow & simple living.
What habits or rituals have you formed (the weirder the better)
Bird watching and shell collecting. I now have three bird friends, Fran the Fantail and a pair of kereru, Wisha and Washa ( named after the sound they make when they fly.
Were there any blogs, resources or fun things you discovered
To be honest, I kind of clocked off technology and just took my paints down to the sand dunes. I also met my extended neighbours and their neighbours.
What were you most looking forward to at the end of lockdown
Opp shopping :)
Did lockdown change your perspective or the world / life / people in any way?
Absolutely it did, I spent a lot of time listening to a podcast centred around ‘ ruthlessly eliminating hurry from your life’. It made me realise that we live in a chronic state of restlessness or, worse, angst, anger, anxiety, disillusionment, depression—all of which lead to a life of hurry, a life of busyness, overload, shopping, materialism, careerism, a life of more…which in turn makes us even more restless. I stole most of that from the podcast, but I guess to sum it up, all the professors gurus, life coaches, priests authors and generally peaceful people had it right all along, to live slowly, in the present is the key to a beautiful life.
What's something you've learnt about yourself during Lockdown
I was absolutely able to confirm the introvert inside of me, spending so many hours alone with many thoughts and inner conversations were somewhat heavenly. Along with that self-discovery, as a creative, every day was consistently testing my limits of inspiration and productivity. The under-appreciated treasures of taking the dog for a walk or baking! To reset the thoughts and getting back down to earth has been so valuable to take in.
What habits or rituals have you formed (the weirder, the better)
I now subconsciously expect my phone to buzz each day at 1 pm for the New Zealand Herald's live stream. How lame I've genuinely been sitting there at 12:55 pm with my cuppa ready for some quality politics, who have I become... I'm also now obsessed with rearranging furniture. The sheer amount of 'live changing' joy as a result of rearranging the homes of my scented candles. Incredible.
Were there any blogs, resources or fun things you discovered
YES, how good is The Twenties Club! Serving you realness through conversations, culture and beauty. Also, maybe it's a bit 'stalkery' of me but, I've been addicted to reading into the thousands of artist's and designer's portfolios at Working Not Working. A platform where next level creators are showcasing their best work from all across the world. I sit there in my sweats and acne cream in total awe of how beyond amazing humans can be.
What were you most looking forward to at the end of the lockdown?
The opening of the first bottle of wine shared between my girls may have brought tears to my eyes. Zoom calls weren't quite filling the void. I couldn't wait to rerun errands, I had some film to be developed, I planned to purchase a comfortable desk chair and couldn't wait to begin thrifting again.
Did lockdown change your perspective or the world/life/people in any way?
With family in South Africa and England, it was pretty heartbreaking listening to the long list of their current struggles. So many governments lacking vital communication adding to people's fears for food and job security.
I was brought up to always be aware of my privilege. In these past weeks living within our country's 'togetherness' attitude and the significance of being kind, I've been emotionally grateful for. Being kind and positive makes the biggest difference during these times, and New Zealand has been just that. Jacinda is my queen.
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