1 00:00:03,280 --> 00:00:06,600 Welcome to fellow friends in home and hosting a series where 2 00:00:06,600 --> 00:00:09,920 I sit down with fellow creators and tastemakers from around the 3 00:00:09,920 --> 00:00:13,760 world to talk about how we live, style, and share our spaces. 4 00:00:14,120 --> 00:00:16,920 Today I'm joined by someone who's aesthetic and story popped 5 00:00:16,920 --> 00:00:21,320 up very recently and who's taken the Internet by storm, Alexander 6 00:00:21,320 --> 00:00:23,880 Widener. Alexander's journey blends 7 00:00:23,880 --> 00:00:27,560 intuition, intention, and a deep love of design history. 8 00:00:27,680 --> 00:00:30,600 After years working in New York's interiors and textiles 9 00:00:30,600 --> 00:00:34,000 industry, he followed a long held dream, leaving the city 10 00:00:34,000 --> 00:00:37,400 behind to open a beautifully curated shop and guest cottage 11 00:00:37,400 --> 00:00:40,640 in coastal Maine. His style is rooted in classic 12 00:00:40,640 --> 00:00:45,280 design, layered, personal and quietly refined, with a strong 13 00:00:45,280 --> 00:00:48,440 belief in slow decorating, collecting with purpose, and 14 00:00:48,440 --> 00:00:50,720 allowing a home to evolve over time. 15 00:00:51,080 --> 00:00:54,320 Whether he's tending to his garden, styling vintage linens, 16 00:00:54,480 --> 00:00:58,400 or carving out a new creative chapter, Alexander brings a 17 00:00:58,400 --> 00:01:01,880 sense of depth and romance to the everyday that I find so 18 00:01:01,880 --> 00:01:04,599 refreshing. Be sure while you're listening 19 00:01:04,599 --> 00:01:07,200 to check out Alexander's TikTok and Instagram. 20 00:01:07,240 --> 00:01:10,200 You'll find him at Alexander Underscore Widener. 21 00:01:10,560 --> 00:01:12,480 Now let's get into today's episode. 22 00:01:15,360 --> 00:01:17,400 Hello, Alexander. Welcome to fellow friends at 23 00:01:17,400 --> 00:01:19,480 home and hosting. It's so exciting to have you 24 00:01:19,480 --> 00:01:21,560 here today. Thank you so much for having me, 25 00:01:21,560 --> 00:01:23,840 I'm really excited to chat. I've been watching your journey 26 00:01:23,840 --> 00:01:27,400 over on TikTok and it's been amazing just to watch your whole 27 00:01:27,400 --> 00:01:28,960 story come to life. Thank you. 28 00:01:29,000 --> 00:01:31,600 It's been such kind of like a surprise for me. 29 00:01:31,600 --> 00:01:34,320 I wasn't really endeavouring to become a Tik Toker. 30 00:01:34,320 --> 00:01:37,000 The last few years a few friends have been saying like, oh, you 31 00:01:37,000 --> 00:01:39,240 should really make videos that people would be interested. 32 00:01:39,560 --> 00:01:43,200 And I think I was always too insecure to, like, watch a video 33 00:01:43,200 --> 00:01:45,000 of myself or even hear my voice back. 34 00:01:45,000 --> 00:01:48,320 So that kind of held me back. And then this year, I quit my 35 00:01:48,320 --> 00:01:52,960 job to move to Maine to open an interior shop, which I've always 36 00:01:52,960 --> 00:01:55,600 wanted to do. And I quit my job on a Friday. 37 00:01:55,880 --> 00:01:59,880 And then that Monday, my horoscope said, today's the day 38 00:01:59,880 --> 00:02:01,360 to put yourself in the public eye. 39 00:02:01,560 --> 00:02:03,520 If there's something you want to share with the world, share it 40 00:02:03,520 --> 00:02:05,480 today. And I thought maybe I'll make a 41 00:02:05,480 --> 00:02:08,560 video. So I made a video, and it kind 42 00:02:08,560 --> 00:02:11,120 of, like, went wild. And now here we are. 43 00:02:11,120 --> 00:02:12,680 I feel like that happens for a lot of us. 44 00:02:12,680 --> 00:02:15,880 It's like the universe just starts cooling and you sort of 45 00:02:15,880 --> 00:02:18,560 hear it, but you kind of put it off, especially focusing in like 46 00:02:18,560 --> 00:02:21,200 a design environment. But then I think what happens is 47 00:02:21,200 --> 00:02:24,480 that if you don't take the jump, the universe will do it for you. 48 00:02:24,480 --> 00:02:27,040 Yeah, it's in it. Yeah, it was so wild. 49 00:02:27,200 --> 00:02:30,280 But it's like the moment I bet on myself, the world started to 50 00:02:30,280 --> 00:02:32,800 open up for me, and so it's been just like the craziest 51 00:02:32,800 --> 00:02:34,600 experience. I think that's the thing. 52 00:02:34,600 --> 00:02:36,560 It's like as soon as you just go, Yep, you know what, I'm 53 00:02:36,560 --> 00:02:39,280 going to do it and I'm going to figure it out, It just starts 54 00:02:39,360 --> 00:02:42,040 working and there's a sense of fearlessness that comes with it. 55 00:02:42,040 --> 00:02:44,520 But anything new is going to be uncomfortable. 56 00:02:44,680 --> 00:02:47,120 And then once you do it a couple of times, you get used to it. 57 00:02:47,120 --> 00:02:48,320 It's like anything in life, you know? 58 00:02:48,320 --> 00:02:50,720 So, totally Speaking of horoscopes, what's your star 59 00:02:50,720 --> 00:02:53,720 sign? I'm a Sagittarius with a doll. 60 00:02:54,880 --> 00:02:56,720 Wow. I don't really know what any of 61 00:02:56,720 --> 00:02:58,640 it means. I read my horoscope but I don't 62 00:02:58,640 --> 00:03:00,520 really know. I just listen to what it says. 63 00:03:00,520 --> 00:03:01,920 Yeah, well, now that's good. That's good. 64 00:03:01,920 --> 00:03:05,240 I am a triple Earth, so I'm a Virgo, which a Virgo sounds. 65 00:03:05,240 --> 00:03:07,120 OK, my husband is a Virgo. Oh. 66 00:03:07,280 --> 00:03:10,600 There we go. You are Virgos are the worst. 67 00:03:10,800 --> 00:03:12,960 Obviously. But I'm sadly in love with them. 68 00:03:13,120 --> 00:03:14,920 But honestly the perfect balance. 69 00:03:14,920 --> 00:03:16,640 But the Virgo stuff drives me nuts. 70 00:03:16,800 --> 00:03:19,520 It makes a lot of sense because Sagittarius is they're kind of 71 00:03:19,520 --> 00:03:22,200 notorious of being the person that picks their own journey. 72 00:03:22,200 --> 00:03:24,400 Like, for instance, like he's never be, I'm going to go on a 73 00:03:24,400 --> 00:03:25,520 holiday. Do you want to come? 74 00:03:25,800 --> 00:03:27,720 And the person's like, oh, no, I don't really want to go. 75 00:03:27,720 --> 00:03:29,600 You're like, OK. And like you still go. 76 00:03:29,600 --> 00:03:31,480 And I mean, like you're on your own journey and you're happy for 77 00:03:31,480 --> 00:03:33,000 people to join you. But if they're not going to join 78 00:03:33,000 --> 00:03:35,200 you, that's not going to stop you from doing what you want to 79 00:03:35,200 --> 00:03:37,240 do. And I think that really works 80 00:03:37,240 --> 00:03:39,400 with the Virgo. Look at me being the horoscope 81 00:03:39,400 --> 00:03:41,240 expert right now. But I think that really works 82 00:03:41,240 --> 00:03:44,440 with the Virgo because Earth signs, which is I'm a Capricorn 83 00:03:44,440 --> 00:03:46,880 moon and a Taurus, right? So there's no water signs in 84 00:03:46,880 --> 00:03:48,360 there. And we're very like level 85 00:03:48,360 --> 00:03:52,120 headed, very practical. We'd like things to be like 86 00:03:52,120 --> 00:03:53,960 comfortable. We like routine. 87 00:03:53,960 --> 00:03:57,600 So I think with the Sagittarius, that works kind of well to be 88 00:03:57,600 --> 00:03:59,960 honest. It's the perfect balance, yeah, 89 00:04:00,000 --> 00:04:02,320 And that's why it drives me nuts, because that's exactly 90 00:04:02,320 --> 00:04:04,440 what I need. Exactly, so I always love to 91 00:04:04,440 --> 00:04:07,960 start episode with a scent that we might be burning because as 92 00:04:07,960 --> 00:04:10,200 fellow friends at home and hosting, I think scent is really 93 00:04:10,200 --> 00:04:12,880 powerful in creating and setting the mood. 94 00:04:12,880 --> 00:04:15,040 So do you have something burning at the moment? 95 00:04:15,120 --> 00:04:18,720 I do I'm burning a candle that we carry in in our shop. 96 00:04:18,720 --> 00:04:21,480 I have a shop here in Maine called Widener Company and we 97 00:04:21,480 --> 00:04:25,360 carry this brand called C Atherly and it's this whole line 98 00:04:25,360 --> 00:04:28,680 from the UK inspired by geraniums and I'm a geranium 99 00:04:28,680 --> 00:04:31,160 fanatic and they smell so beautiful. 100 00:04:31,160 --> 00:04:33,720 They're plate and fresh so I'm burning their number one candle. 101 00:04:33,960 --> 00:04:35,680 It's absolutely divine. Amazing. 102 00:04:35,680 --> 00:04:38,840 I love. Like I feel like floral candles 103 00:04:38,840 --> 00:04:41,360 and floral notes don't get as much love as they used. 104 00:04:41,440 --> 00:04:45,160 To yeah, these ones are like a little Herbie and I don't know, 105 00:04:45,160 --> 00:04:47,800 they're quite surprising. So I definitely recommend. 106 00:04:47,880 --> 00:04:50,760 What are you burning? I'm burning a little bit of a 107 00:04:50,760 --> 00:04:54,680 bougie candle today. I've got the Laueve candle in 108 00:04:54,680 --> 00:04:56,280 Cypress Bells. It was one of the first 109 00:04:56,280 --> 00:04:58,760 purchases I did when I started doing content full time. 110 00:04:58,760 --> 00:05:00,240 I was like, you know what? We've been doing this for a 111 00:05:00,240 --> 00:05:02,080 while now. We've been doing really well. 112 00:05:02,080 --> 00:05:04,720 It's time to treat ourselves and go out and get something. 113 00:05:04,720 --> 00:05:07,320 So of course it was going to be home focused and I just really 114 00:05:07,320 --> 00:05:09,280 wanted to pick up one of the luxury fragrances. 115 00:05:09,280 --> 00:05:12,360 I'd love the vessel they're in like handmade in Spain and the 116 00:05:12,360 --> 00:05:17,360 scents are just so beautiful. Like I love scents that what 117 00:05:17,360 --> 00:05:19,000 they say they are on the jar. Do you know what I mean? 118 00:05:19,000 --> 00:05:20,960 Like if it's going to be geranium, I want to smell 119 00:05:20,960 --> 00:05:22,880 geranium. If it's going to be Cyprus, I 120 00:05:22,880 --> 00:05:26,960 want it to be Cyprus, you know, like I love sense that really 121 00:05:26,960 --> 00:05:30,760 speak and evoke to the scent that they're trying to, you 122 00:05:30,760 --> 00:05:33,920 know, bake. Yeah, and you can reuse the jar. 123 00:05:34,160 --> 00:05:36,840 You'll have, that's the thing. But this is actually me burning 124 00:05:36,840 --> 00:05:39,160 it for the first time today. I was like, you know what? 125 00:05:39,640 --> 00:05:41,320 Oh, I feel we're going to light this candle. 126 00:05:41,320 --> 00:05:42,880 So tell me more about your journey. 127 00:05:42,880 --> 00:05:45,760 Like where did your love for home and design really start? 128 00:05:45,760 --> 00:05:50,040 Yeah, ever since I was a kid, obviously gay in like a small 129 00:05:50,120 --> 00:05:54,720 rural town in Pennsylvania. So, you know, I think building 130 00:05:54,720 --> 00:05:58,640 out like a home fantasy was like my escape from the world, like 131 00:05:58,640 --> 00:06:01,720 my bedroom growing up was always like my safe place where I could 132 00:06:01,720 --> 00:06:04,760 be myself. And I like vividly remember like 133 00:06:04,760 --> 00:06:08,840 decorating it and rearranging it and picking up the sheets and 134 00:06:08,840 --> 00:06:12,000 everything. And so I think it really for me, 135 00:06:12,040 --> 00:06:14,960 home is all about like the comfort of self. 136 00:06:15,000 --> 00:06:17,480 And I think that's what really has drawn me into it. 137 00:06:17,680 --> 00:06:20,640 But I've also always been a collector and I've always been 138 00:06:20,640 --> 00:06:23,440 interested in objects. You know, my first collections 139 00:06:23,440 --> 00:06:26,520 were like Beanie Babies. And maybe your listeners, well, 140 00:06:26,520 --> 00:06:29,280 I don't know if you have this in Australia and Old Navy track 141 00:06:29,280 --> 00:06:31,280 suits, I don't know if you know what that means. 142 00:06:31,800 --> 00:06:34,880 And like, that's what I was collecting when I was little. 143 00:06:35,040 --> 00:06:38,520 And of course now it's, you know, like porcelain and baskets 144 00:06:38,520 --> 00:06:41,280 and quilts and, you know, American antiques. 145 00:06:41,520 --> 00:06:43,960 But yeah, I've always just kind of been drawn to it. 146 00:06:43,960 --> 00:06:47,760 And I would go yard sailing and to estate sales with my mom 147 00:06:47,760 --> 00:06:49,760 growing up. And, and over the years, I've 148 00:06:49,760 --> 00:06:52,280 just refined what I like. And, and then of course, I spent 149 00:06:52,280 --> 00:06:54,440 my career working in in the interiors world. 150 00:06:54,440 --> 00:06:57,240 And so, yeah, it's always been present in my life. 151 00:06:57,760 --> 00:07:02,680 So did you move to New York like in like 18/19/20 or? 152 00:07:02,880 --> 00:07:06,440 Yeah, I moved to New York when I was 18 to go to college. 153 00:07:06,480 --> 00:07:09,760 I went to FIT and I actually studied fashion and my first 154 00:07:09,760 --> 00:07:11,720 jobs were working in the fashion industry. 155 00:07:11,880 --> 00:07:15,480 And I think there's a lot of similarities between fashion and 156 00:07:15,480 --> 00:07:18,360 home, and a lot of fashion people make the jump into the 157 00:07:18,360 --> 00:07:20,840 home industry in New York. I've sort of noticed that it's 158 00:07:20,840 --> 00:07:22,720 interchangeable. Sometimes things that come 159 00:07:22,720 --> 00:07:26,080 through in home end up in fashion, you know, like, I 160 00:07:26,080 --> 00:07:28,080 think. Yeah, like with the recent 161 00:07:28,080 --> 00:07:31,760 resurgence of all these dark like Browns Burgundy's that's 162 00:07:31,760 --> 00:07:35,400 all really came through in interiors first I feel like and 163 00:07:35,400 --> 00:07:37,600 then moved into fashion. But it's hard to really know 164 00:07:37,600 --> 00:07:39,720 depending on where you. Are yeah, everything is so 165 00:07:39,720 --> 00:07:42,280 linked. Yeah, it's kind of cool. 166 00:07:42,280 --> 00:07:46,360 And I feel like, you know, I I did like some trend work before 167 00:07:46,360 --> 00:07:48,920 and it's like, you know, it's all about what's happening in 168 00:07:48,920 --> 00:07:51,040 the outside world. That's what's influencing all of 169 00:07:51,040 --> 00:07:53,160 these things. So it makes sense that the 170 00:07:53,160 --> 00:07:55,040 industries are so connected. Yeah. 171 00:07:55,040 --> 00:07:57,360 And I also think that that's connected to social media in a 172 00:07:57,360 --> 00:08:00,120 way, because I always say that with social media, particularly 173 00:08:00,120 --> 00:08:03,320 when you're working in content, you are analysing culture almost 174 00:08:03,320 --> 00:08:05,840 like how you would as a trend forecaster, you're seeing like, 175 00:08:05,840 --> 00:08:07,760 what's working? What are people engaging with? 176 00:08:07,760 --> 00:08:09,960 What are they liking? Like how are we navigating this? 177 00:08:09,960 --> 00:08:11,920 Where do we go from here? What you know? 178 00:08:11,920 --> 00:08:15,000 And like the trend cycle in content itself, in terms of how 179 00:08:15,000 --> 00:08:18,320 we film or what we produce, it changes just kind of the same. 180 00:08:18,320 --> 00:08:21,120 So it's interesting. Is this like unspoken world that 181 00:08:21,160 --> 00:08:23,680 speaks so closely? So I find people who go into 182 00:08:23,680 --> 00:08:27,000 content how to have that design background because you have the 183 00:08:27,000 --> 00:08:29,040 eye to pick up what's happening in the pace. 184 00:08:29,600 --> 00:08:32,159 Never thought of it that way before, but I think you're onto 185 00:08:32,159 --> 00:08:33,320 it. Yeah, yeah. 186 00:08:33,320 --> 00:08:37,039 So obviously moving to New York from Pennsylvania at 18 as well, 187 00:08:37,039 --> 00:08:39,280 I can imagine you would have started off in a rental and you 188 00:08:39,280 --> 00:08:41,840 were speaking about that, creating that safe space. 189 00:08:41,880 --> 00:08:44,520 I think that's so important, especially when you move away 190 00:08:44,520 --> 00:08:46,280 from your family. Yeah, totally. 191 00:08:46,280 --> 00:08:49,760 And for me, it was like, I was just so excited to have a space. 192 00:08:49,800 --> 00:08:52,560 You know, my first apartment in New York, I was just like 193 00:08:52,640 --> 00:08:55,240 renting a room in this apartment in Brooklyn. 194 00:08:55,360 --> 00:08:57,240 Actually, it was decorated kind of cute. 195 00:08:57,360 --> 00:09:00,200 And I posted some pictures on Instagram and there was a big 196 00:09:00,200 --> 00:09:03,600 design blog in the US at the time called Design Sponge. 197 00:09:03,600 --> 00:09:05,920 And Design Sponge was everything. 198 00:09:06,120 --> 00:09:08,160 And they reached out and they were like, can we do a feature 199 00:09:08,160 --> 00:09:10,480 on your apartment? And I had to write back and say, 200 00:09:10,520 --> 00:09:13,200 oh, I'm so sorry. It's just like one room in this 201 00:09:13,200 --> 00:09:16,280 guy's apartment in Brooklyn. But it was like, just like a 202 00:09:16,280 --> 00:09:18,720 pure expression of who I was at the time. 203 00:09:18,800 --> 00:09:21,640 And yeah, it was kind of fun. Yeah, it's like there's 204 00:09:21,640 --> 00:09:24,880 excitability towards home, which I totally resonated with. 205 00:09:24,880 --> 00:09:27,520 But to be honest, I don't feel like a lot of other people who 206 00:09:27,520 --> 00:09:29,960 are in like my age group really connected. 207 00:09:29,960 --> 00:09:32,280 Like they were like, why are you buying a cutlery set? 208 00:09:32,280 --> 00:09:34,000 Like, why do you care so much about glassware? 209 00:09:34,200 --> 00:09:36,760 Like I feel like throughout the early 20s, people didn't really 210 00:09:36,760 --> 00:09:39,200 appreciate home as much as I did. 211 00:09:39,200 --> 00:09:41,480 And I don't know whether it was because it was that first 212 00:09:41,480 --> 00:09:44,200 opportunity to create a space or whether it was because I wanted 213 00:09:44,200 --> 00:09:47,120 to have that security. Did you feel like that or? 214 00:09:47,920 --> 00:09:50,120 Yeah, Yeah. I think, I think you're touching 215 00:09:50,120 --> 00:09:53,040 on something so big. You know, I think our homes are 216 00:09:53,040 --> 00:09:56,560 so personal and the objects that we surround ourselves reflect 217 00:09:56,560 --> 00:09:59,520 who we are as people. And they give us things like 218 00:09:59,520 --> 00:10:04,440 comfort and joy and excitement and memories and nostalgia. 219 00:10:04,440 --> 00:10:08,760 I think, you know, especially as people who maybe don't fit into 220 00:10:09,240 --> 00:10:13,320 like a normal idea of what you should be, you know, our home is 221 00:10:13,320 --> 00:10:16,160 our place to create that safe world for ourselves. 222 00:10:16,360 --> 00:10:19,240 And that's how it is. Yeah, I just feel like as I've 223 00:10:19,240 --> 00:10:22,160 gotten older, like now that I'm in my early 30s, a lot of people 224 00:10:22,160 --> 00:10:25,120 that I knew from back then are like, how is your homestead put 225 00:10:25,120 --> 00:10:26,320 together? And it's like, well, babe, I've 226 00:10:26,320 --> 00:10:28,920 been collecting since 20. You've only just started, like, 227 00:10:29,120 --> 00:10:31,520 making your home come to life. It takes so much time. 228 00:10:31,520 --> 00:10:33,760 So, you know, for all those times that they were going out 229 00:10:33,760 --> 00:10:36,000 clubbing and spending all the money there, I was spending 230 00:10:36,000 --> 00:10:38,320 money on like furniture, you know, it all kind of came 231 00:10:38,320 --> 00:10:39,120 around. Me too. 232 00:10:39,600 --> 00:10:42,360 Yeah, yeah. And like I try, I try to give 233 00:10:42,360 --> 00:10:44,800 people advice about making this space for like home, you know, 234 00:10:45,040 --> 00:10:47,120 And I even do that now because a lot of my girlfriends are 235 00:10:47,120 --> 00:10:49,600 thinking about starting a family and they're like, oh, you know, 236 00:10:49,600 --> 00:10:53,280 I'll, I'll buy the sofa like once I have like a kid and 237 00:10:53,280 --> 00:10:55,320 things like, and I'm like, no, babe, buy the sofa now. 238 00:10:55,520 --> 00:10:57,080 Get it now because you'll care about. 239 00:10:57,080 --> 00:10:59,160 Ten months to be delivered, yeah. 240 00:10:59,200 --> 00:11:02,640 Literally and it's like you want to buy the thing that you love. 241 00:11:02,640 --> 00:11:04,640 You don't want to have the fear of what if they ruin it? 242 00:11:04,640 --> 00:11:06,920 Whatever they do that you know like it's you want to have the 243 00:11:06,920 --> 00:11:07,800 thing that you really. Want. 244 00:11:07,800 --> 00:11:10,080 Oh yeah, yeah. And in my house, nothing is 245 00:11:10,080 --> 00:11:12,520 precious. Like, I think people need to get 246 00:11:12,520 --> 00:11:14,960 over that. If something is too fancy for 247 00:11:14,960 --> 00:11:17,200 you to use then you shouldn't have it. 248 00:11:17,440 --> 00:11:20,640 You know, I really feel like I use my precious stuff every day 249 00:11:20,840 --> 00:11:23,680 and if something happens to it then that's life. 250 00:11:23,760 --> 00:11:25,760 That's part of it. So get the white sofa. 251 00:11:25,840 --> 00:11:27,680 Exactly. Get the white sofa 100. 252 00:11:27,680 --> 00:11:30,120 Well, when I was growing up, my parents had like Tuscan urns, 253 00:11:30,120 --> 00:11:33,160 they had samurai swords, they had like bouclet wool carpet. 254 00:11:33,160 --> 00:11:35,040 They had like a marble stone coffee table. 255 00:11:35,040 --> 00:11:38,400 And I was running around like it was just, it didn't matter, you 256 00:11:38,400 --> 00:11:41,640 know, and they've still got all those things and even my niece 257 00:11:41,640 --> 00:11:43,480 and nephew now running around my grandparents place. 258 00:11:43,480 --> 00:11:45,080 It's fine. It's just it depends. 259 00:11:45,080 --> 00:11:46,560 It all depends. Look, I can understand in 260 00:11:46,560 --> 00:11:48,800 certain circumstances senses, but like, hey, my parents are 261 00:11:48,800 --> 00:11:51,040 still about their stuff. So I think, you know, there's a 262 00:11:51,040 --> 00:11:54,200 living example there, right? So moved to New York, we studied 263 00:11:54,200 --> 00:11:57,120 fashion, then we worked into home and design space and that 264 00:11:57,120 --> 00:11:58,760 really started in the textile industry. 265 00:11:58,760 --> 00:12:00,840 Yeah. So I worked for a few textile 266 00:12:00,840 --> 00:12:04,920 brands doing a range of things from like, you know, managing 267 00:12:04,920 --> 00:12:07,720 photo shoots to working on product development. 268 00:12:07,960 --> 00:12:12,320 And in my last role I was I was heading up the marketing and PR 269 00:12:12,320 --> 00:12:15,000 for to the trade textile company. 270 00:12:15,040 --> 00:12:18,800 And this was so it was such a cool space to be in. 271 00:12:18,800 --> 00:12:21,840 I didn't grow up somewhere where I lived in a house that was 272 00:12:21,840 --> 00:12:25,360 decorated by a designer. I didn't even know that interior 273 00:12:25,360 --> 00:12:29,200 designers existed until basically I moved to New York 274 00:12:29,200 --> 00:12:32,120 and discovered this like whole other world. 275 00:12:32,240 --> 00:12:36,320 And then, you know, through my work, I was able to be exposed 276 00:12:36,320 --> 00:12:40,400 to some of the best designers working in the industry and, and 277 00:12:40,400 --> 00:12:43,760 be inside the most insane projects. 278 00:12:43,840 --> 00:12:47,800 And so, you know, it's really helped kind of inform my taste. 279 00:12:47,800 --> 00:12:51,560 And, you know, I just feel so lucky to have had that 280 00:12:51,560 --> 00:12:52,960 experience. It's kind of crazy. 281 00:12:53,000 --> 00:12:54,200 Yeah. Like when you started off in the 282 00:12:54,200 --> 00:12:56,560 space and you went into these amazing homes that were being 283 00:12:56,560 --> 00:12:59,160 designed, what were some of the first things that you noticed 284 00:12:59,160 --> 00:13:00,880 that you were like, wow, I didn't know. 285 00:13:00,880 --> 00:13:04,600 We like, you know, was it the window treatments or was it the 286 00:13:04,600 --> 00:13:07,240 furniture or was it the layout? Like what was like your first 287 00:13:07,280 --> 00:13:10,760 like OK I need to do this. I think it was just everything. 288 00:13:11,000 --> 00:13:13,920 I think, you know, when you walk into a space that's been 289 00:13:14,000 --> 00:13:19,920 intentionally be decorated, there's a feeling that you feel. 290 00:13:19,920 --> 00:13:22,240 And I don't know if it's something that's tangible. 291 00:13:22,360 --> 00:13:26,040 I think it's just, you know, a deep emotional thing, at least 292 00:13:26,040 --> 00:13:29,440 for me. And, and I'll say, like the big 293 00:13:29,440 --> 00:13:32,360 turning point for me was visiting this museum in 294 00:13:32,360 --> 00:13:35,760 Massachusetts called Beauport. And it was decorated by Henry 295 00:13:35,760 --> 00:13:38,080 Davis Sleeper in the early 20th century. 296 00:13:38,080 --> 00:13:40,840 And he was one of America's first, like, celebrity 297 00:13:40,840 --> 00:13:43,280 decorators. And in the house is exactly how 298 00:13:43,280 --> 00:13:46,600 he left it, with his collections and all of his artefacts. 299 00:13:46,600 --> 00:13:49,560 It's the most inspiring place that I've ever been. 300 00:13:49,560 --> 00:13:54,640 And I remember walking in there and feeling this deep emotional 301 00:13:54,640 --> 00:13:57,240 connection. I suddenly felt like I was 302 00:13:57,240 --> 00:13:59,400 looking at myself reflected back. 303 00:13:59,400 --> 00:14:01,760 And, you know, it totally changed my perspective on the 304 00:14:01,760 --> 00:14:03,480 world. And yeah, and that was, you 305 00:14:03,480 --> 00:14:05,720 know, maybe 10 years ago. Yeah, yeah. 306 00:14:05,720 --> 00:14:07,920 Well speaking. So moving to New York and then 307 00:14:08,200 --> 00:14:10,040 you're now based in Coastal Main. 308 00:14:10,040 --> 00:14:14,440 Yeah, we moved out of New York for the first time in, I want to 309 00:14:14,440 --> 00:14:19,280 say like 2017. And we bought a little house in 310 00:14:19,280 --> 00:14:22,600 Rhode Island, which is a tiny little state like an hour away 311 00:14:22,600 --> 00:14:25,040 from Boston. And we lived there for a few 312 00:14:25,040 --> 00:14:26,680 years. We bought this fabulous house 313 00:14:26,680 --> 00:14:29,200 that used to be a house museum. We bought it from a Historical 314 00:14:29,200 --> 00:14:31,200 Society. And that was kind of like my 315 00:14:31,200 --> 00:14:34,440 first project where I could really do what I wanted, the 316 00:14:34,440 --> 00:14:37,840 first space that I owned. And so we we decorated that and, 317 00:14:37,880 --> 00:14:40,280 you know, worked on some restoration projects and it was 318 00:14:40,280 --> 00:14:42,480 wonderful. And then we went back to New 319 00:14:42,480 --> 00:14:45,680 York and we were kind of living in between both places, which 320 00:14:46,240 --> 00:14:49,040 everyone talks about as being so glamorous and fabulous. 321 00:14:49,040 --> 00:14:52,840 But newsflash, it's really freaking hard unless you can 322 00:14:52,840 --> 00:14:56,240 like hire someone to care for the house when you're not there, 323 00:14:56,320 --> 00:14:59,760 which obviously we could not do. And so it was kind of a 324 00:14:59,760 --> 00:15:02,080 nightmare. And so we knew that we didn't 325 00:15:02,080 --> 00:15:05,400 want to be in New York anymore and that having two houses was 326 00:15:05,400 --> 00:15:07,640 too much. And we've been coming in and 327 00:15:07,640 --> 00:15:11,880 visiting Maine for, you know, four or five years and staying 328 00:15:11,880 --> 00:15:13,680 at this property that we now own. 329 00:15:13,680 --> 00:15:17,280 And we would come up every summer and I would, I would 330 00:15:17,280 --> 00:15:20,600 leave and tell my husband that the woman who who was running it 331 00:15:20,600 --> 00:15:24,480 and her name was Francoise, that Francoise was living the dream. 332 00:15:24,560 --> 00:15:27,560 And I want want to do that. I want to have a little shop and 333 00:15:27,560 --> 00:15:32,480 a little guest cottage and live in this charming town in coastal 334 00:15:32,480 --> 00:15:34,360 Maine. And my husband's like, OK, keep 335 00:15:34,360 --> 00:15:36,440 dreaming. And last year, when we were on 336 00:15:36,440 --> 00:15:38,840 our way up, I said to him, I was like, I think when we get there, 337 00:15:38,840 --> 00:15:42,000 Francois is going to sell us the property. 338 00:15:42,000 --> 00:15:44,600 And we get here, and my husband's like, you're so crazy. 339 00:15:44,760 --> 00:15:47,480 And then we arrive and she's like, I'm moving back to France, 340 00:15:47,480 --> 00:15:49,800 I'm selling the property. And you know, the rest is 341 00:15:49,800 --> 00:15:52,120 history. It's kind of, it's been a wild 342 00:15:52,120 --> 00:15:53,920 journey. Look, it's either the universe 343 00:15:53,920 --> 00:15:56,360 or you have some fifth sense psychic ability. 344 00:15:57,560 --> 00:16:00,400 Yeah, I don't know. I think it's, I sound like a 345 00:16:00,400 --> 00:16:03,680 cuckoo, like woo woo Gwyneth Paltrow person. 346 00:16:03,680 --> 00:16:06,520 But yeah, I think it's the universe and there were all of 347 00:16:06,520 --> 00:16:09,680 these crazy signs. Yeah, like I feel like it's 348 00:16:09,680 --> 00:16:12,120 everybody's dream, especially when people land, like a lot of 349 00:16:12,120 --> 00:16:14,600 my friends who are in rentals or houses that they absolutely 350 00:16:14,600 --> 00:16:17,320 love, they always dream of the idea that that the landlord is 351 00:16:17,320 --> 00:16:19,160 going to turn around and be like, hey, do you want to buy 352 00:16:19,160 --> 00:16:21,120 the property? Everyone's like, you know, so 353 00:16:21,120 --> 00:16:22,720 like there's a lot of people who will listen to that and 354 00:16:22,720 --> 00:16:25,960 completely resonate and hoping that one day they can purchase 355 00:16:25,960 --> 00:16:28,920 the home that, you know, they currently live in or even that 356 00:16:28,920 --> 00:16:31,760 holiday destination that, you know, you speak about and having 357 00:16:31,760 --> 00:16:33,880 this thing. So it's I think it's great. 358 00:16:34,440 --> 00:16:37,120 Keep manifesting everyone, it worked for me. 359 00:16:37,640 --> 00:16:39,440 Yeah. And what I love so much about 360 00:16:39,440 --> 00:16:41,520 your style, which is what I wanted to speak to you about 361 00:16:41,520 --> 00:16:46,320 today, is that it's so based in, like, that classic American 362 00:16:46,320 --> 00:16:49,560 style, you know, which is so refreshing because I feel like 363 00:16:49,720 --> 00:16:52,160 at the moment, there's almost this resistance to wanting to 364 00:16:52,160 --> 00:16:55,840 fully go all in on a style. There's this thing where people 365 00:16:55,840 --> 00:16:59,240 caught kind of really always want to mishmash styles or are 366 00:16:59,240 --> 00:17:01,240 too afraid to commit to something and say, you know 367 00:17:01,240 --> 00:17:03,000 what? I love this in fear of that. 368 00:17:03,000 --> 00:17:05,119 It's too restrictive. Whereas I was speaking to my 369 00:17:05,119 --> 00:17:06,319 friend about this on the phone the other day. 370 00:17:06,319 --> 00:17:08,720 And let me know if you agree or not, but I think if there's a 371 00:17:08,720 --> 00:17:11,960 style that's been around for a long time and you get involved 372 00:17:11,960 --> 00:17:14,800 in it, there's so much to learn about that style and there's so 373 00:17:14,800 --> 00:17:16,760 many variations within that aesthetic. 374 00:17:16,760 --> 00:17:18,920 It's like, for instance, Martha Stewart, which I know you 375 00:17:18,920 --> 00:17:21,000 resonate with because originally like your TikTok handle had 376 00:17:21,000 --> 00:17:24,599 Martha Stewart. She has so many books and so 377 00:17:24,599 --> 00:17:27,119 many magazines and so many different hosting styles. 378 00:17:27,119 --> 00:17:29,440 Like if you think that you're going to create this really 379 00:17:29,440 --> 00:17:32,840 unique idea with a tablescape, I'm sorry, but Martha's done it. 380 00:17:32,840 --> 00:17:36,080 Like I think she, like, I think she's such a great example of 381 00:17:36,080 --> 00:17:39,520 like following that traditional American style and doing it in a 382 00:17:39,520 --> 00:17:43,280 way that's in so many different ways that it's never old, you 383 00:17:43,280 --> 00:17:44,880 know, you'd never get tired of it. 384 00:17:44,880 --> 00:17:47,640 So I think that's why I wanted to catch up with you because I 385 00:17:47,640 --> 00:17:49,800 love that it's almost like you've committed to this style 386 00:17:49,800 --> 00:17:52,440 and this aesthetic and you're showcasing that there's so much 387 00:17:52,440 --> 00:17:54,360 variety found within there, you know? 388 00:17:54,400 --> 00:17:58,320 Yeah, I mean, I'll say like, I'm just really inspired by the past 389 00:17:59,200 --> 00:18:02,400 and I'm not someone who's so interested in, in like the trend 390 00:18:02,400 --> 00:18:06,160 cycle or I sell some new things in my shop, but I really don't 391 00:18:06,160 --> 00:18:09,120 buy anything new. Everything in my home is antique 392 00:18:09,120 --> 00:18:12,120 or vintage or from a thrift store or an estate sale. 393 00:18:12,120 --> 00:18:15,440 And you know, the guiding thing for me is do I love it? 394 00:18:15,440 --> 00:18:17,880 Doesn't make me happy, you know, doesn't make me feel something 395 00:18:17,880 --> 00:18:20,760 when I look at it. And, and if I can answer the 396 00:18:20,760 --> 00:18:24,080 question positively, then then the thing comes home. 397 00:18:24,080 --> 00:18:27,680 And, you know, I, I'm not someone who will sit down and 398 00:18:27,680 --> 00:18:32,360 sketch out a design plan. I, I really love watching it 399 00:18:32,360 --> 00:18:36,320 evolve organically over time. And you know, I am trying to 400 00:18:36,320 --> 00:18:38,200 just be really intentional about what I buy. 401 00:18:38,200 --> 00:18:41,640 I, I don't really share this on my social media, but like, I am 402 00:18:41,720 --> 00:18:46,200 like very eco conscious and you know, I'm really, I only use 403 00:18:46,200 --> 00:18:48,880 natural materials. Like there's no polyester fabric 404 00:18:48,880 --> 00:18:52,360 in my wardrobe or in my house. I, you know, even like 405 00:18:52,360 --> 00:18:55,920 upholstery and furniture all has to be like wool and cotton and 406 00:18:55,920 --> 00:18:57,880 horse hair. And, you know, I'm very 407 00:18:57,880 --> 00:19:01,560 particular about this sorts of things and you find them in old 408 00:19:01,560 --> 00:19:04,960 furniture and, and that that furniture is made so much 409 00:19:04,960 --> 00:19:07,520 better. And, you know, I, I think when 410 00:19:07,520 --> 00:19:10,360 you talk about this like a classic American look, it's like 411 00:19:10,720 --> 00:19:14,160 it's just stuff from all over the world mixed together. 412 00:19:14,160 --> 00:19:18,440 And, but I feel like if something was made before 1920, 413 00:19:18,560 --> 00:19:20,400 then it will never go out of style. 414 00:19:20,520 --> 00:19:23,800 I think like it wasn't until like the 30s that we started to 415 00:19:23,800 --> 00:19:26,080 see rapid trend cycles happening. 416 00:19:26,320 --> 00:19:29,720 And I think anything before then is just like classic and 417 00:19:29,720 --> 00:19:31,520 timeless. No, of course anyone can 418 00:19:31,520 --> 00:19:33,920 decorate their house however makes them happy. 419 00:19:34,080 --> 00:19:37,120 But for me, you know, I love traditional interiors. 420 00:19:37,880 --> 00:19:39,720 That's how I like to live. Yeah, you bring up such a good 421 00:19:39,720 --> 00:19:42,280 point in that like so many of my friends have bought their first 422 00:19:42,280 --> 00:19:43,680 property and they're looking to renovate. 423 00:19:43,680 --> 00:19:47,240 And nine times out of 10, my friend, like my girlfriend, 424 00:19:47,240 --> 00:19:49,480 she'll be like, I want to do something that's like classic. 425 00:19:49,480 --> 00:19:52,240 And then the boyfriends always like, no, I wanted to be new. 426 00:19:52,240 --> 00:19:55,720 And I was only saying this yesterday is that this idea of 427 00:19:55,720 --> 00:19:58,760 new, IT is going to date in 10 years. 428 00:19:58,760 --> 00:20:00,640 And that's the thing where is if you go down that more 429 00:20:00,640 --> 00:20:03,760 traditional classic route, it's not going to date because we all 430 00:20:03,760 --> 00:20:05,960 just value those things that have just stood the test of 431 00:20:05,960 --> 00:20:07,320 time. Like I'm going to tell you to go 432 00:20:07,320 --> 00:20:09,600 with the subway tile because people are going to be still 433 00:20:09,600 --> 00:20:12,240 drawn to the subway tile in 10 to 15 years. 434 00:20:12,240 --> 00:20:15,240 And that $25,000 that you put in there, you're only going to have 435 00:20:15,240 --> 00:20:18,760 to spend maybe two to five in like 15 years time versus having 436 00:20:18,760 --> 00:20:22,280 to do it all over again because you wanted to do that really new 437 00:20:22,280 --> 00:20:23,760 option, you know? Yeah. 438 00:20:23,760 --> 00:20:26,840 And I think it's also like sustainability, like, you know, 439 00:20:26,840 --> 00:20:28,880 you should, you should be putting things in your home that 440 00:20:28,880 --> 00:20:32,080 you're we're gonna enjoy for a really long time and that, you 441 00:20:32,080 --> 00:20:34,760 know, possibly could be the last version of that thing that you 442 00:20:34,760 --> 00:20:36,280 buy. Yeah. 443 00:20:36,280 --> 00:20:39,800 And I know that's not like exciting for everyone to, to not 444 00:20:39,800 --> 00:20:43,240 have like a fancy shiny new thing every every couple weeks. 445 00:20:43,240 --> 00:20:46,040 But you know, there's something kind of nice about about that, 446 00:20:46,240 --> 00:20:47,720 at least for like. I agree. 447 00:20:47,720 --> 00:20:49,320 I agree. I think there's something really 448 00:20:49,320 --> 00:20:53,120 nice and having those traditional classic things that 449 00:20:53,120 --> 00:20:56,600 standard because like that's what we like, you know, I think 450 00:20:56,600 --> 00:20:57,880 we think we're going to live forever. 451 00:20:57,880 --> 00:21:00,400 So these things get to live on forever, and isn't it nice to 452 00:21:00,400 --> 00:21:02,760 have those things, you know? Yeah, totally. 453 00:21:02,760 --> 00:21:06,040 And we're just stewards of objects in our houses, like 454 00:21:06,040 --> 00:21:09,280 we're, we're not permanent, but everything that we make is kind 455 00:21:09,280 --> 00:21:11,640 of permanent. So I encourage people to just be 456 00:21:11,640 --> 00:21:13,680 really thoughtful about how they live. 457 00:21:13,760 --> 00:21:16,360 I think it it enriches my life so much. 458 00:21:16,440 --> 00:21:18,360 Yeah. And see, so when we speak about 459 00:21:18,360 --> 00:21:20,120 this style, like a lot of Australians throw around the 460 00:21:20,120 --> 00:21:22,680 word Hamptons like I mentioned a little earlier in our 461 00:21:22,680 --> 00:21:26,920 conversation prior to recording, but not many understand what 462 00:21:26,920 --> 00:21:31,480 makes that New England or Maine coastal design aesthetic. 463 00:21:31,520 --> 00:21:34,400 So how would you describe the differences between say, the 464 00:21:34,400 --> 00:21:36,520 Hamptons verse like classic Maine? 465 00:21:36,600 --> 00:21:40,640 Yeah, I think there's something just really paired back about 466 00:21:40,960 --> 00:21:43,200 people in Maine. There's nothing flashy. 467 00:21:44,400 --> 00:21:50,120 You know, it's really a lot of the houses here are, you know, 468 00:21:50,280 --> 00:21:54,160 obviously very old. My house was built in 1785 and, 469 00:21:54,640 --> 00:21:58,200 and the houses in the Hamptons, there are lots of old houses in 470 00:21:58,200 --> 00:22:01,480 Long Island as well. But I think, you know, people, 471 00:22:01,640 --> 00:22:04,000 people in the Hamptons are trying to impress you when you 472 00:22:04,000 --> 00:22:06,880 come in, whereas people in Maine, they just want to welcome 473 00:22:06,880 --> 00:22:11,320 you and enjoy their quiet lives. So I think there's kind of a 474 00:22:11,320 --> 00:22:13,840 difference in terms of that. And I think, you know, when you 475 00:22:13,840 --> 00:22:16,960 look at design, it's about how people live in their houses, and 476 00:22:17,080 --> 00:22:19,720 I think that influences a lot. Yeah, 100%. 477 00:22:19,880 --> 00:22:22,240 I also think there's like an element because you're on 478 00:22:22,240 --> 00:22:25,000 coastal Maine, but I'm sure Maine goes further inland and it 479 00:22:25,000 --> 00:22:27,200 has that rural farmland aesthetic too. 480 00:22:27,200 --> 00:22:29,520 But I think sometimes in Australia, a lot of people want 481 00:22:29,520 --> 00:22:31,840 to create a Hamptons aesthetic, but they're literally nowhere 482 00:22:31,840 --> 00:22:34,320 near the ocean. So it's this coastal reference 483 00:22:34,320 --> 00:22:37,440 versus farm reference. And I think that there's 484 00:22:37,440 --> 00:22:41,520 something in that style where I think people could go further 485 00:22:41,520 --> 00:22:44,920 into that, a traditional main classic American look with the 486 00:22:44,920 --> 00:22:48,640 white weather board that speaks to something that's more inland 487 00:22:48,640 --> 00:22:51,240 versus something that feels so coastal, if that makes sense. 488 00:22:51,240 --> 00:22:54,320 Yeah, I think, you know, my advice always is when you're 489 00:22:54,320 --> 00:22:58,080 decorating your house to kind of like lean into, into what your 490 00:22:58,080 --> 00:23:00,600 house actually looks like and instead of trying to like, 491 00:23:00,600 --> 00:23:03,080 change it or disguise it. I was on a project with a 492 00:23:03,080 --> 00:23:06,680 stylist once and she's someone that I really respect and 493 00:23:06,680 --> 00:23:08,320 admire. And she gave me this piece of 494 00:23:08,320 --> 00:23:10,400 advice that has really stuck with me me. 495 00:23:10,400 --> 00:23:14,240 And she said when when I'm doing flowers at a shoot, I always go 496 00:23:14,240 --> 00:23:17,480 into the garden and pick some things from the garden to put in 497 00:23:17,480 --> 00:23:20,200 the vase because it gives you a sense of place. 498 00:23:20,200 --> 00:23:23,120 And this is actually what's happening when you open the 499 00:23:23,120 --> 00:23:25,200 door. And this is where the house is 500 00:23:25,200 --> 00:23:27,560 in the world. And I think having that sense of 501 00:23:27,560 --> 00:23:29,520 place in your home is really important. 502 00:23:29,520 --> 00:23:31,640 Absolutely. And it also speaks to something 503 00:23:31,640 --> 00:23:34,360 I speak about often too, which is like living in the moment. 504 00:23:34,640 --> 00:23:36,800 And so speaking to place. And like getting flowers, you 505 00:23:36,800 --> 00:23:40,080 know, they only last like a week, but you get to appreciate 506 00:23:40,160 --> 00:23:42,360 them and you tend to them. Because I think tending to the 507 00:23:42,360 --> 00:23:45,360 home is very much about what creates that sense of home. 508 00:23:45,600 --> 00:23:47,960 It's not necessarily always about the stuff that we're 509 00:23:47,960 --> 00:23:50,040 putting inside and whether it reflects us, but I think it's 510 00:23:50,040 --> 00:23:52,000 about the way that we care about those things. 511 00:23:52,040 --> 00:23:55,320 And I think reminders like flowers, plants, pets, really 512 00:23:55,320 --> 00:23:58,000 remind us to be in that moment. And they're the things that 513 00:23:58,000 --> 00:23:59,680 connect us to the space that we're in. 514 00:23:59,680 --> 00:24:01,760 So that's such a good point. Yeah, totally. 515 00:24:01,880 --> 00:24:03,360 Yeah. So how would you say that your 516 00:24:03,360 --> 00:24:07,320 style has evolved since like since shifting from the city to 517 00:24:07,320 --> 00:24:09,600 Country Life? Yeah, can I be honest? 518 00:24:09,800 --> 00:24:11,680 Yeah. I haven't started decorating my 519 00:24:11,680 --> 00:24:14,480 house. Yet Oh my God, that's but like, 520 00:24:14,640 --> 00:24:17,400 take your time. I've been buying some things, 521 00:24:17,400 --> 00:24:21,240 I've been, I've done a few small projects, but I want to see 522 00:24:21,240 --> 00:24:23,840 every season in the house. I want to see how the light 523 00:24:23,840 --> 00:24:25,920 shifts. I want to see how I live in the 524 00:24:25,920 --> 00:24:28,480 rooms and what my life looks like. 525 00:24:28,760 --> 00:24:31,840 And then I'll, I think I'll have a better idea of what I want the 526 00:24:31,840 --> 00:24:33,960 rooms to do and how I want them to look. 527 00:24:33,960 --> 00:24:37,800 I recently acquired this like incredible 18th century quilt 528 00:24:37,960 --> 00:24:40,360 and it's like nothing I've ever seen before. 529 00:24:40,360 --> 00:24:42,640 And for the first time, I was like, OK, I have the direction 530 00:24:42,640 --> 00:24:45,920 for our bedroom. Like this quilt is, is what what 531 00:24:45,920 --> 00:24:48,560 the bedroom needs to feel like. And so I have that. 532 00:24:48,560 --> 00:24:51,840 So the bedroom might be my first, my first project. 533 00:24:51,880 --> 00:24:56,560 But yeah, I think our apartment in New York was very colourful 534 00:24:56,560 --> 00:24:59,560 and kind of bold. We had, like a bright yellow 535 00:24:59,560 --> 00:25:02,000 bedroom. I don't really envision a bright 536 00:25:02,160 --> 00:25:05,440 yellow bedroom here. I think I'll do something more 537 00:25:05,440 --> 00:25:08,680 subdued and quiet. And so I think it's little 538 00:25:08,680 --> 00:25:10,960 things like that. You know, the apartment in New 539 00:25:10,960 --> 00:25:14,960 York, I wanted to bring like, a lot of green and like, I brought 540 00:25:15,200 --> 00:25:17,960 a lot of plants into the space. I wanted a lot of natural 541 00:25:17,960 --> 00:25:19,600 elements. Since we were in the city, I 542 00:25:19,600 --> 00:25:21,440 wanted to have sort of that balance. 543 00:25:21,560 --> 00:25:24,840 But then it was, you know, it was still a city apartment. 544 00:25:24,840 --> 00:25:27,240 And here, you know, it's kind of like a country house. 545 00:25:27,240 --> 00:25:29,760 So. Yeah, I think it'll feel totally 546 00:25:29,760 --> 00:25:32,240 different even if some of the same pieces overlap. 547 00:25:32,240 --> 00:25:34,200 Yeah, absolutely. But like you bring up such a 548 00:25:34,200 --> 00:25:36,200 good point, which is what I always try and tell people, 549 00:25:36,200 --> 00:25:39,240 which is developing a home and making a home takes time. 550 00:25:39,320 --> 00:25:42,360 And I know you want it done now, you want everything now. 551 00:25:42,400 --> 00:25:45,200 But the problem is, is that you will end up resorting to going 552 00:25:45,200 --> 00:25:47,120 to one shop and buying everything from one shop, 553 00:25:47,120 --> 00:25:49,320 waiting a long time. And then before you know it, 554 00:25:49,320 --> 00:25:52,480 before 12 months has even gone by, that space isn't working the 555 00:25:52,480 --> 00:25:54,640 way that it was going to work. The lighting didn't really that 556 00:25:54,640 --> 00:25:56,360 it should have been. Oh, I don't think the sofa 557 00:25:56,360 --> 00:25:58,680 actually really fits in this room, You know, it's, I think 558 00:25:58,920 --> 00:26:01,720 also the idea that you speak about we're getting that quilt, 559 00:26:01,720 --> 00:26:05,640 it's inspired you to then create a room around something that 560 00:26:05,640 --> 00:26:08,160 felt special. It's just such a different 561 00:26:08,160 --> 00:26:11,720 approach that I think people don't appreciate, but it makes 562 00:26:11,720 --> 00:26:15,440 such an impact when it comes to making a space and making 563 00:26:15,440 --> 00:26:18,360 something feel like home. And I mean, your house will tell 564 00:26:18,360 --> 00:26:20,880 you what it wants to be. I mean, I've never lived 565 00:26:20,880 --> 00:26:23,760 somewhere where I didn't, you know, one day wake up and 566 00:26:23,760 --> 00:26:26,080 realise like, oh, yeah, it needs to be this. 567 00:26:26,120 --> 00:26:29,440 Like, I always feel that. And it just takes some time to 568 00:26:29,440 --> 00:26:32,240 find out. So people listen to your houses. 569 00:26:32,480 --> 00:26:34,120 They'll tell you exactly what they want. 570 00:26:34,320 --> 00:26:36,560 Yeah. Yeah, I think it does come with 571 00:26:36,560 --> 00:26:39,640 the added benefit that your house is, you know, a period 572 00:26:39,640 --> 00:26:40,640 home. It's beautiful. 573 00:26:40,640 --> 00:26:42,760 You know, I think, I think people struggle when it's more 574 00:26:42,760 --> 00:26:45,160 they're in a new build where they're like, well, the house is 575 00:26:45,160 --> 00:26:47,240 telling me nothing, where do I go from here? 576 00:26:47,240 --> 00:26:49,240 Which I think is. Yeah, maybe I didn't think about 577 00:26:49,240 --> 00:26:51,400 that. No, but like, no, but like, I 578 00:26:51,400 --> 00:26:53,680 think it's, that's why I bring it up now because I think some 579 00:26:53,680 --> 00:26:56,800 people will probably be sitting in a new space being like, OK, 580 00:26:56,800 --> 00:26:59,240 how do I do this? You know, like I 'cause I do 581 00:26:59,240 --> 00:27:02,320 think it's a different approach. I think with new builds, they're 582 00:27:02,320 --> 00:27:05,040 built just to put you in there as quickly as possible. 583 00:27:05,040 --> 00:27:07,920 And then it's up to you to have to navigate and figure out how 584 00:27:07,920 --> 00:27:09,720 you're going to make that space come to life. 585 00:27:09,920 --> 00:27:11,280 So there. That's when you hire a 586 00:27:11,280 --> 00:27:13,400 decorator. Absolutely. 587 00:27:13,400 --> 00:27:16,040 I thought there's a different kind of pressure like to make 588 00:27:16,040 --> 00:27:18,520 that space work, whereas you know, you can be in your space 589 00:27:18,520 --> 00:27:21,320 now and it can feel beautiful with almost nothing in it 590 00:27:21,320 --> 00:27:23,720 because of the architecture and the time that it's been in 591 00:27:23,720 --> 00:27:25,400 there. The energy just feels different. 592 00:27:25,480 --> 00:27:27,800 I think you touched on something that's really special. 593 00:27:27,800 --> 00:27:30,400 If people do buy this period homes and there's older homes 594 00:27:30,600 --> 00:27:33,080 because some people might not want to and I think they're 595 00:27:33,080 --> 00:27:34,520 fantastic. It's the same as some people 596 00:27:34,520 --> 00:27:37,360 don't love weather board homes. I think they're beautiful. 597 00:27:37,640 --> 00:27:40,400 Other people want brick and I'm more like, and it depends on the 598 00:27:40,400 --> 00:27:43,320 kind of brick because The thing is sometimes people like I say 599 00:27:43,320 --> 00:27:45,160 this because people are looking to buy their first home around 600 00:27:45,160 --> 00:27:47,680 my age group and people like, oh, you know, and I'm not going 601 00:27:47,680 --> 00:27:49,520 to buy the weather board home. There's more maintenance and 602 00:27:49,520 --> 00:27:51,080 things like that. I want to do the brick, but 603 00:27:51,080 --> 00:27:53,240 they're not going for brick that's like beautiful with like 604 00:27:53,240 --> 00:27:55,120 an Ivy on it. They're just going for like any 605 00:27:55,120 --> 00:27:57,840 old brick that was like built in the 80s or the 90s versus a 606 00:27:57,840 --> 00:28:00,000 weather board that was built in the 60s. 607 00:28:00,000 --> 00:28:03,800 And it's like, I would pick that over the east brick any day. 608 00:28:03,920 --> 00:28:07,200 You know, like timber windows, like windows are huge. 609 00:28:07,200 --> 00:28:10,240 If you can get timber windows on a home, like my God, keep them 610 00:28:10,240 --> 00:28:12,840 because so many houses, like when my dad, he was young 611 00:28:12,840 --> 00:28:15,120 growing up, he talks about how all the houses were swapping to 612 00:28:15,120 --> 00:28:17,760 aluminium windows. And if you live in an area 613 00:28:17,760 --> 00:28:21,160 that's sort of built around that time and you drive through and 614 00:28:21,160 --> 00:28:23,840 you go past those houses, you can see how much more beautiful 615 00:28:23,840 --> 00:28:26,560 those homes look when they have their original windows versus 616 00:28:26,560 --> 00:28:29,760 the square aluminium ones that were put in after the fact or 617 00:28:29,760 --> 00:28:31,720 like. Yeah, we're so lucky here. 618 00:28:31,720 --> 00:28:35,360 We have a lot of our original 18th century windows with, you 619 00:28:35,360 --> 00:28:39,200 know, WAVY bubbly glass and yeah, they're so beautiful. 620 00:28:39,320 --> 00:28:41,640 Absolutely. So you might not have furnished 621 00:28:41,640 --> 00:28:43,800 the house, but you have the guest cottage that you've got, 622 00:28:43,800 --> 00:28:47,240 which looks so beautiful. I love watching those videos on 623 00:28:47,240 --> 00:28:49,120 your profile. And I think there's such a 624 00:28:49,120 --> 00:28:50,960 beautiful reflection of your taste. 625 00:28:50,960 --> 00:28:54,960 And I love your use of antiques and custom bed hangings and 626 00:28:54,960 --> 00:28:57,720 frame botanicals. So like, what was your intention 627 00:28:57,720 --> 00:28:59,640 in designing that space for guests? 628 00:28:59,640 --> 00:29:02,120 And like, how do you want people to feel when they stay? 629 00:29:02,160 --> 00:29:05,320 Yeah, well, we first of all, we inherited really good bones. 630 00:29:05,320 --> 00:29:08,840 It's a sort of like a 19th century structure and it's 631 00:29:08,880 --> 00:29:11,880 really beautiful. Each room has a fireplace and 632 00:29:12,280 --> 00:29:14,920 these like, beautiful plaster bathrooms. 633 00:29:14,920 --> 00:29:19,000 And, you know, I really wanted to keep it very simple and pared 634 00:29:19,000 --> 00:29:21,200 back. I wanted anyone to be able to 635 00:29:21,200 --> 00:29:23,960 come into the room and understand it and feel 636 00:29:23,960 --> 00:29:27,480 comfortable and relaxed. And so, you know, there's not a 637 00:29:27,480 --> 00:29:31,000 lot of colour. There's no like pattern or print 638 00:29:31,200 --> 00:29:33,480 in the bathroom. I did a blue and white gingham 639 00:29:33,480 --> 00:29:36,440 shower curtain and sink skirt. And that's kind of like the 640 00:29:36,520 --> 00:29:39,040 only, you know, dose of colour in the room. 641 00:29:39,280 --> 00:29:42,200 We did custom bed linens. They're all white with white 642 00:29:42,360 --> 00:29:46,080 tone on tone embroidery. I actually made myself these bed 643 00:29:46,080 --> 00:29:48,920 hangings for the bed actually inspired by the house museum 644 00:29:48,920 --> 00:29:52,000 that I was speaking about earlier before I did these sort 645 00:29:52,000 --> 00:29:56,040 of ruffled bed hangings, quarter tester kind of style. 646 00:29:56,040 --> 00:29:59,480 And they're made from antique 19th century French linen 647 00:29:59,480 --> 00:30:01,400 sheets. And so they have just like this 648 00:30:01,440 --> 00:30:05,040 beautiful tactile quality and but they're pure white. 649 00:30:05,200 --> 00:30:08,880 And so the rooms are really, you know, kind of like a sanctuary. 650 00:30:08,880 --> 00:30:12,200 And I wanted people when they entered to just feel that like 651 00:30:12,320 --> 00:30:14,840 tail moment. And yeah, I think we kind of did 652 00:30:14,840 --> 00:30:16,880 it. And we've had a bunch of people 653 00:30:16,880 --> 00:30:20,080 staying so far and everyone seems to have really enjoyed it. 654 00:30:20,200 --> 00:30:23,080 And you know, the best thing about the guest cottage is our 655 00:30:23,080 --> 00:30:25,200 garden. We have this really beautiful 656 00:30:25,200 --> 00:30:27,560 garden. And one of the first projects we 657 00:30:27,560 --> 00:30:31,760 did when we purchased this property was to put in a waddle 658 00:30:31,760 --> 00:30:34,640 style fence. And so I worked with a local 659 00:30:34,720 --> 00:30:36,720 waddler. And for those who don't know, 660 00:30:36,720 --> 00:30:40,040 waddle is like is one of the earliest pieces of architecture. 661 00:30:40,040 --> 00:30:43,280 This DOB and waddle was being done like in Roman times. 662 00:30:43,520 --> 00:30:46,200 And it's basically sticks that are interwoven together. 663 00:30:46,360 --> 00:30:49,560 And then, you know, the DOB would be like mud and that would 664 00:30:49,560 --> 00:30:50,800 create the structure of the wall. 665 00:30:50,960 --> 00:30:54,760 But we just use the waddle to make fencing and it's made from 666 00:30:54,760 --> 00:30:57,720 locally harvested saplings. We've a lot of forest here in 667 00:30:57,720 --> 00:31:03,640 Maine and it creates this the most beautiful organic kind of 668 00:31:03,640 --> 00:31:06,880 structure to the garden. And so guests can sit in the 669 00:31:06,880 --> 00:31:10,400 garden at our tables and kind of enjoy the beautiful weather. 670 00:31:10,560 --> 00:31:13,400 So it's been in such a treat this summer. 671 00:31:13,480 --> 00:31:16,040 Yeah, well, it's kind of like speaking back to like what I was 672 00:31:16,040 --> 00:31:18,800 saying earlier, having such an appreciation for design and 673 00:31:18,800 --> 00:31:21,920 history, you're creating a space for people to feel really 674 00:31:21,920 --> 00:31:24,560 enveloped in a space. Like not only are you bringing 675 00:31:24,560 --> 00:31:27,880 people into a home for them to discover something, but them to 676 00:31:27,880 --> 00:31:31,440 discover something about you, but also to feel like they're in 677 00:31:31,440 --> 00:31:33,080 the environment that they've travelled to. 678 00:31:33,080 --> 00:31:35,520 Because, you know, people are escaping from the city or 679 00:31:35,520 --> 00:31:37,360 whatever, and they're coming to you and they want to feel like 680 00:31:37,360 --> 00:31:39,800 they're a part of that story. Like, say, had you gone down? 681 00:31:40,040 --> 00:31:43,760 I'm going to do this really contemporary, beautiful build in 682 00:31:43,760 --> 00:31:46,200 the middle of Maine. Like it wouldn't tell the same 683 00:31:46,200 --> 00:31:49,120 story, you know, Like, I think that's what I love is that it's 684 00:31:49,120 --> 00:31:52,560 about how can I approach this in a way that people feel like 685 00:31:52,560 --> 00:31:55,440 they're getting the whole experience when coming to this 686 00:31:55,440 --> 00:31:58,200 destination. And it isn't all about the 687 00:31:58,200 --> 00:32:01,040 individual who owns the space. It's about creating that 688 00:32:01,040 --> 00:32:04,480 environment and that experience that people want to feel, which 689 00:32:04,520 --> 00:32:06,560 I think is so special. Yeah. 690 00:32:06,560 --> 00:32:09,720 And I think, you know, anytime, you know, if you're a designer, 691 00:32:09,720 --> 00:32:12,480 you know this, if you're decorating for yourself, but you 692 00:32:12,480 --> 00:32:14,920 should always think the first thing you should think is how do 693 00:32:14,920 --> 00:32:16,400 you want to feel when you walk in the room? 694 00:32:16,400 --> 00:32:19,200 And that's kind of the was the guiding principle for this 695 00:32:19,200 --> 00:32:22,520 project and for, you know, every other space I've decorated 696 00:32:22,560 --> 00:32:25,120 because at the end of the day, it's not really about the stuff. 697 00:32:25,240 --> 00:32:27,560 It's about how it how you feel at home. 698 00:32:27,560 --> 00:32:30,720 Yeah. And so you also have, like you 699 00:32:30,720 --> 00:32:33,680 mentioned, a beautiful store. And how do you feel like what's 700 00:32:33,680 --> 00:32:36,480 it been like going through? Well, one, I would love to talk 701 00:32:36,480 --> 00:32:38,840 more about the gardening because I think gardening and 702 00:32:38,840 --> 00:32:41,400 landscaping is so different to approaching interiors. 703 00:32:41,400 --> 00:32:43,960 And also I would love to talk about how you've navigated 704 00:32:43,960 --> 00:32:47,640 doing, you know, a commercial space from residential. 705 00:32:47,640 --> 00:32:50,680 You know, having a store is very different to how it like how it 706 00:32:50,680 --> 00:32:53,600 works and how it flows versus like a guest cottage. 707 00:32:53,800 --> 00:32:55,360 So which one would you like to go through 1st? 708 00:32:56,280 --> 00:32:58,800 Well, they're kind of intertwined because we do have a 709 00:32:58,800 --> 00:33:02,240 garden section at the shop. And, but I can talk about the 710 00:33:02,240 --> 00:33:05,720 approach to designing the shop, which is a little bit different 711 00:33:05,720 --> 00:33:09,280 than doing an interior because you kind of, you do have to plan 712 00:33:09,280 --> 00:33:13,520 a lot of things You need to, you know, you can't run the shop 1st 713 00:33:13,520 --> 00:33:15,520 and learn how you want to use the rooms. 714 00:33:15,520 --> 00:33:18,000 You kind of have to go in with what you want to do. 715 00:33:18,160 --> 00:33:22,040 And so I knew that I knew that I wanted to have, I've kind of two 716 00:33:22,040 --> 00:33:24,960 rooms in the shop and I knew that I wanted colour in one and 717 00:33:24,960 --> 00:33:27,280 then the other one to be more neutral. 718 00:33:27,480 --> 00:33:30,960 And so we worked with paint from little green, which they were so 719 00:33:30,960 --> 00:33:33,800 generous to send to us. And I did, you know, I painted 720 00:33:33,800 --> 00:33:36,080 the floors white. I did one room with yellow 721 00:33:36,080 --> 00:33:38,160 walls. I did the other room the same 722 00:33:38,160 --> 00:33:41,280 white as the floor and the trim was all that same white too. 723 00:33:41,280 --> 00:33:43,720 And then I just played with the different levels of Sheen to 724 00:33:43,720 --> 00:33:45,920 give a little bit more dimension to the walls. 725 00:33:45,960 --> 00:33:48,840 And the idea here is that like kind of any colour can go with 726 00:33:48,840 --> 00:33:51,720 yellow and certainly any colour can go with white. 727 00:33:51,960 --> 00:33:55,440 So it didn't really matter what kind of product I bring in over 728 00:33:55,440 --> 00:33:58,400 time, everything will kind of be able to sit in the space. 729 00:33:58,400 --> 00:34:00,120 And so that was really important. 730 00:34:00,280 --> 00:34:03,520 And then the next thing was I selected drapery for both rooms 731 00:34:03,520 --> 00:34:07,040 that matched so that I had this sort of like connecting element. 732 00:34:07,040 --> 00:34:11,560 And I used a really beautiful old chintz fabric that has like 733 00:34:11,639 --> 00:34:14,560 tonnes of colours in it. So, you know, you can really 734 00:34:14,560 --> 00:34:19,159 pull a lot out of it and make the space feel cohesive, even 735 00:34:19,159 --> 00:34:22,760 though it's filled with like a constant rotation of different 736 00:34:22,760 --> 00:34:25,040 objects. Our shop has a mix of a lot of 737 00:34:25,040 --> 00:34:28,639 antique things, some vintage things and, and new things. 738 00:34:28,639 --> 00:34:31,719 So I never quite know what's going to be on the floor. 739 00:34:31,800 --> 00:34:34,880 And so I wanted a space that could kind of like take it with 740 00:34:34,880 --> 00:34:37,520 a grain of salt and everything would kind of work together. 741 00:34:37,520 --> 00:34:40,520 And so far so good. And I'm really happy with how it 742 00:34:40,520 --> 00:34:43,159 came out. And in terms of gardening, we we 743 00:34:43,159 --> 00:34:47,400 sell some topiary and geraniums in the shop, along with the most 744 00:34:47,400 --> 00:34:51,639 beautiful hand thrown pots from, from a Potter called Ben Wolff. 745 00:34:51,880 --> 00:34:54,280 He actually makes all of the pots for Martha Stewart's 746 00:34:54,280 --> 00:34:58,160 greenhouse and he makes pots for me, which is so mind blowing. 747 00:34:58,160 --> 00:35:01,120 And, and so we have a little garden section and we're really 748 00:35:01,120 --> 00:35:03,480 fortunate. The guest cottage garden was 749 00:35:03,480 --> 00:35:07,320 planted a long time ago and it's mature and it's so beautiful. 750 00:35:07,520 --> 00:35:09,800 But when you're starting a garden from scratch, I feel like 751 00:35:09,800 --> 00:35:14,400 the learning curve is so high. And so I'm still a novice 752 00:35:14,400 --> 00:35:18,080 gardener myself, even though, you know, I love my geraniums 753 00:35:18,080 --> 00:35:21,560 and topiary and and I've some big trees and olive trees 754 00:35:21,560 --> 00:35:24,560 outside, gardening is still something I'm working on. 755 00:35:24,640 --> 00:35:27,800 It's new territory, yeah, but it's so important, like you 756 00:35:27,800 --> 00:35:30,680 said, that mature garden, that's my parents always have instilled 757 00:35:30,680 --> 00:35:33,400 this in me because my origin, like my parents had a nursery 758 00:35:33,400 --> 00:35:35,320 growing up. But since moving away from the 759 00:35:35,320 --> 00:35:38,080 property that they have for 45 years and moving into this new 760 00:35:38,080 --> 00:35:40,160 property, one of the first things they did, they bought 761 00:35:40,160 --> 00:35:43,680 mature trees, not huge mature trees, but good enough like 762 00:35:43,880 --> 00:35:45,600 large trees. And they put them in because 763 00:35:45,600 --> 00:35:49,240 they were like, you just cannot get the time back on these 764 00:35:49,240 --> 00:35:51,640 trees. And that people don't folk like 765 00:35:51,680 --> 00:35:54,960 around here anyway, Gardens have really lost their spark. 766 00:35:54,960 --> 00:35:57,040 A lot of people don't have gardens because they don't want 767 00:35:57,040 --> 00:35:59,840 to do the maintenance of them or they don't appreciate a garden 768 00:35:59,840 --> 00:36:02,120 because they never give it enough time to come to life. 769 00:36:02,200 --> 00:36:04,720 And I just do think there's something about having a 770 00:36:04,720 --> 00:36:06,520 beautiful garden. It's like what Martha's do is 771 00:36:06,520 --> 00:36:08,720 that obviously like, you know, if you want to be happy for a 772 00:36:08,720 --> 00:36:11,160 year, get married. If you want to be happy for 10 773 00:36:11,160 --> 00:36:12,680 years, get a dog. And if you want to be happy for 774 00:36:12,680 --> 00:36:15,640 a lifetime, do a garden and. Yeah. 775 00:36:15,960 --> 00:36:17,640 Yeah, thank God. I'm like, I like, I'm like 776 00:36:17,640 --> 00:36:22,360 testing myself now, my trivia. But there's just something about 777 00:36:22,360 --> 00:36:25,360 those mature trees that really just have such an impact that I 778 00:36:25,360 --> 00:36:27,920 don't think people appreciate as much as they should when it 779 00:36:27,920 --> 00:36:29,560 comes to home. Because people will lock down 780 00:36:29,560 --> 00:36:31,680 trees when they're building or renovating and it's like, you're 781 00:36:31,680 --> 00:36:33,200 never going to get that tree back. 782 00:36:33,320 --> 00:36:36,800 You need to think more heavily about how you want to navigate 783 00:36:36,800 --> 00:36:39,880 those spaces and stick up and stand up for the trees that are 784 00:36:39,880 --> 00:36:41,720 there that a builder might be like, hey, you know what? 785 00:36:41,720 --> 00:36:44,200 It's easier to chop it down. Like if you can work around it. 786 00:36:44,320 --> 00:36:47,360 Like, my parents built decking around trees and like, well, 787 00:36:47,360 --> 00:36:50,080 like the tree can just come out of the deck and you know. 788 00:36:50,400 --> 00:36:52,120 Make it. I mean, it's all about like 789 00:36:52,360 --> 00:36:55,320 integrating with the natural landscape and then also being 790 00:36:55,320 --> 00:36:58,640 thoughtful about like, you know, that our garden, our guest 791 00:36:58,640 --> 00:37:01,960 cottage garden has, you know, things that bloom at different 792 00:37:01,960 --> 00:37:04,080 times. And so anytime you go out, 793 00:37:04,080 --> 00:37:06,760 there's something happening. And I think that's something to 794 00:37:06,760 --> 00:37:09,840 think about too, is to make sure that, you know, you're planting 795 00:37:09,840 --> 00:37:13,160 with intention so that your garden always has a moment of 796 00:37:13,160 --> 00:37:15,320 beauty. Now, of course, the winter is 797 00:37:15,360 --> 00:37:19,360 really cold and snowy in Maine, and so our garden looks pretty 798 00:37:19,360 --> 00:37:23,480 bad half the year. But when when plants can grow, 799 00:37:23,480 --> 00:37:26,280 it's really beautiful. Yeah, but you guys are lucky 800 00:37:26,280 --> 00:37:28,280 though, because in your winter, the northern Heber, so you've 801 00:37:28,280 --> 00:37:31,480 got like Thanksgiving, you've got Christmas, you've got New 802 00:37:31,480 --> 00:37:34,000 Year's, you've got Halloween, which is that you guys kind of 803 00:37:34,000 --> 00:37:35,960 being. Yeah, like we, we have the end 804 00:37:35,960 --> 00:37:37,880 of financial year in Australia. You know what I mean? 805 00:37:37,880 --> 00:37:42,040 It's just cold and yeah, Hooray. Like it's a new financial year 806 00:37:42,040 --> 00:37:44,600 cycle. But I totally resonate with what 807 00:37:44,600 --> 00:37:47,320 you're saying because it doesn't get so cold in Melbourne. 808 00:37:47,320 --> 00:37:50,160 Like there are places that snow, but most places don't. 809 00:37:50,160 --> 00:37:53,360 But in the area that I live in, it's a more older suburb with a 810 00:37:53,360 --> 00:37:55,520 lot of terrace houses. And they have those traditional 811 00:37:55,520 --> 00:37:58,920 gardens and seeing the flowers come to life, like in winter 812 00:37:58,920 --> 00:38:01,160 now, like camellias. Like camellias are all out 813 00:38:01,160 --> 00:38:04,080 because it's cold, you know, and it's just so beautiful to see 814 00:38:04,080 --> 00:38:05,600 them. And then as we head into August, 815 00:38:05,600 --> 00:38:08,200 all the bulbs will come out, all the daffodils will come to life. 816 00:38:08,200 --> 00:38:11,200 And seeing all those gardens come to life, which I otherwise 817 00:38:11,200 --> 00:38:15,000 wouldn't see in a region that's like half an hour away or if I 818 00:38:15,000 --> 00:38:17,720 lived in an apartment. It's, you know, and at the front 819 00:38:17,720 --> 00:38:21,080 of my house we have azaleas and the azaleas come to life, life 820 00:38:21,080 --> 00:38:24,040 in spring, summer. And I've got some figs out the 821 00:38:24,040 --> 00:38:26,280 front which have this, it's called backapa. 822 00:38:26,360 --> 00:38:29,240 And it's like a little vining plant that has flowers. 823 00:38:29,240 --> 00:38:33,120 But luckily it last year round. And it's so nice as us to come 824 00:38:33,120 --> 00:38:36,840 home and be greeted by these big urns that have the lollipop fig 825 00:38:37,080 --> 00:38:41,360 with the Ivy and the flowers. Like when we moved in, they had 826 00:38:41,360 --> 00:38:43,240 succulents in there. For some reason there's an 827 00:38:43,240 --> 00:38:46,040 obsession where people are obsessed with succulents and 828 00:38:46,040 --> 00:38:46,800 they Chuck them. Everywhere. 829 00:38:46,800 --> 00:38:49,960 I am not a succulent curly. Yeah, same. 830 00:38:50,040 --> 00:38:52,320 And I was like, no, you know, we're getting rid of these and 831 00:38:52,320 --> 00:38:55,160 we're doing like a ficus fig with this, like on a stick with 832 00:38:55,160 --> 00:38:57,000 like a lollipop. We're going to do some English 833 00:38:57,040 --> 00:38:59,200 Ivy and we're going to do the baca part, which was like a 834 00:38:59,200 --> 00:39:01,200 happy mistake because I hadn't used it before. 835 00:39:01,320 --> 00:39:05,120 But the neighbours were just like, wow, this looks amazing. 836 00:39:05,120 --> 00:39:07,120 And I'm like, and I'm like, oh, no, I didn't really. 837 00:39:07,120 --> 00:39:09,200 Like, I look after it and I water it. 838 00:39:09,200 --> 00:39:11,360 That's the one thing I tell my partner every time I go away. 839 00:39:11,360 --> 00:39:13,000 I'm like, you need to water the plants. 840 00:39:13,200 --> 00:39:15,440 But then they won't water out the back. 841 00:39:15,440 --> 00:39:17,800 They only water the front ones. So I come home and the earns are 842 00:39:17,800 --> 00:39:20,240 incredible. The backyard suffering, but 843 00:39:20,240 --> 00:39:21,880 yeah. These beans are good. 844 00:39:22,240 --> 00:39:25,200 Yeah, what people can see when they will buy, but no, I love 845 00:39:25,200 --> 00:39:27,800 that. And then so with the store, when 846 00:39:27,800 --> 00:39:30,400 you opened one, was there pressure because it was a store 847 00:39:30,400 --> 00:39:31,920 before? Like what did the locals think 848 00:39:31,920 --> 00:39:33,040 of the store when you opened? Did you? 849 00:39:33,040 --> 00:39:34,360 Were you nervous? Yeah. 850 00:39:34,360 --> 00:39:36,240 So we've been open for three weeks now. 851 00:39:36,240 --> 00:39:38,840 So it's all still new. I'm still kind of adjusting. 852 00:39:39,160 --> 00:39:42,880 But yeah, there this was sort of like a really well known antique 853 00:39:42,880 --> 00:39:44,960 store. If if you know, if you're an 854 00:39:44,960 --> 00:39:47,680 antique collector in New England, you've definitely been 855 00:39:47,680 --> 00:39:50,600 there before. And they specialised, you know, 856 00:39:50,800 --> 00:39:53,440 early on they specialised in Americana. 857 00:39:53,680 --> 00:39:56,880 And then, you know, they brought more European antiques over not, 858 00:39:56,880 --> 00:39:59,160 not to make this a Martha Stewart episode, but like, she 859 00:39:59,160 --> 00:40:01,880 used to come and shop really regularly and she featured the 860 00:40:01,880 --> 00:40:03,920 store in her magazine. Yeah. 861 00:40:05,720 --> 00:40:09,400 So I did, I do feel kind of in one way this kind of pressure, 862 00:40:09,600 --> 00:40:13,000 but I also know that I'll never be able to recreate what they 863 00:40:13,000 --> 00:40:17,160 had and my taste is different. And so I'm trying to just kind 864 00:40:17,160 --> 00:40:20,960 of leave all of that aside and kind of throw perfection to the 865 00:40:20,960 --> 00:40:24,400 wind and just kind of, you know, follow what I want to do. 866 00:40:24,400 --> 00:40:28,440 And, you know, when when I decided to leave my design 867 00:40:28,440 --> 00:40:32,120 marketing job and move to Maine, I thought that I was just doing 868 00:40:32,120 --> 00:40:35,520 the shop and guess cottage and that's all I had planned for. 869 00:40:35,640 --> 00:40:39,560 And then the Internet stuff happened and, you know, I, I 870 00:40:39,560 --> 00:40:42,720 made the video on TikTok and, and that kind of spiralled out 871 00:40:42,720 --> 00:40:45,320 of control. So I wasn't expecting any of 872 00:40:45,320 --> 00:40:47,000 that. I thought I was just doing this. 873 00:40:47,120 --> 00:40:53,360 And so I because of all of that, we've been extremely busy and I 874 00:40:53,360 --> 00:40:57,520 felt a lot of pressure to like get open and, and do it right. 875 00:40:57,520 --> 00:41:00,760 And, you know, so far the reaction has been really 876 00:41:00,760 --> 00:41:02,840 positive. And you know, it's an amazing 877 00:41:02,840 --> 00:41:06,040 problem to have to be so busy and running out of stuff, but 878 00:41:06,040 --> 00:41:09,600 it's still a problem. So, you know, we're kind of 879 00:41:09,600 --> 00:41:13,160 taking it day by day and, and it's just been the the most 880 00:41:13,160 --> 00:41:16,280 exciting season of my life. Yeah, it sounds and like, have 881 00:41:16,280 --> 00:41:18,720 you noticed, has it been interesting to see how people 882 00:41:18,720 --> 00:41:20,800 navigate like what they buy, like what they're buying? 883 00:41:20,800 --> 00:41:23,720 Did you have a good idea about what was going to move quickly? 884 00:41:23,800 --> 00:41:26,440 Yeah. So my benchmark for having 885 00:41:26,440 --> 00:41:29,360 something in the store is I asked myself, do I want to sell 886 00:41:29,360 --> 00:41:31,320 it? And if the answer is no, I want 887 00:41:31,320 --> 00:41:34,080 to keep it, then I buy it for the shop. 888 00:41:34,280 --> 00:41:37,320 So everything that I have is stuff that I love and that I 889 00:41:37,320 --> 00:41:41,200 believe in and that has a story or something special that draws 890 00:41:41,200 --> 00:41:43,760 me into it. And so there there isn't really 891 00:41:43,760 --> 00:41:48,000 any like filler stuff. And I will say, I thought that 892 00:41:48,000 --> 00:41:51,000 like certain things would would sell and certain things would 893 00:41:51,000 --> 00:41:53,200 not sell. But I'm kind of just seeing, you 894 00:41:53,200 --> 00:41:56,640 know, no like clear leader. It's kind of a mix of different 895 00:41:56,640 --> 00:41:58,360 things. One thing that I'm really 896 00:41:58,360 --> 00:42:00,440 excited about. Yeah, it's kind of cool. 897 00:42:00,440 --> 00:42:04,160 And one thing I'm excited about that have have been selling are 898 00:42:04,160 --> 00:42:07,160 we're working with a local basket Weaver in our village and 899 00:42:07,160 --> 00:42:11,040 we kind of developed this small collection of Shaker inspired 900 00:42:11,040 --> 00:42:13,120 baskets. And for those who don't know, 901 00:42:13,120 --> 00:42:16,800 the Shakers were this religious community in New England, but 902 00:42:16,800 --> 00:42:21,080 they had amazing style and taste and their design principle was 903 00:42:21,080 --> 00:42:23,840 all around functionality and simplicity. 904 00:42:24,040 --> 00:42:26,840 And they kind of took these traditional forms and boiled 905 00:42:26,840 --> 00:42:30,200 them down to, you know, only the essential elements. 906 00:42:30,360 --> 00:42:32,320 And their work is really inspiring. 907 00:42:32,320 --> 00:42:35,840 If you ever have the chance to go to a Shaker village, there 908 00:42:35,840 --> 00:42:38,600 are still a lot preserved to cure in New England there So 909 00:42:38,600 --> 00:42:40,760 freaking cool. And so but they were known for 910 00:42:40,760 --> 00:42:43,280 their basket making. And so there's a big New England 911 00:42:43,280 --> 00:42:46,720 tradition of making baskets. And so we're excited to kind of 912 00:42:46,800 --> 00:42:49,160 be a part of that. And and we have some really 913 00:42:49,160 --> 00:42:51,920 traditional Shaker style. And then I've also developed 914 00:42:51,920 --> 00:42:55,880 like some beach baskets that are more like, you know, tote bags. 915 00:42:55,920 --> 00:42:57,920 It's kind of fun. Oh my God, I love that. 916 00:42:57,920 --> 00:43:00,600 I love the getting involved with the like the local community as 917 00:43:00,600 --> 00:43:02,120 well. And again, like I said, it's 918 00:43:02,120 --> 00:43:05,400 just this, it's just this appreciation for design and, you 919 00:43:05,400 --> 00:43:08,120 know, design history and reaching out to people who are 920 00:43:08,120 --> 00:43:12,320 like local makers that really just, it's just not as common 921 00:43:12,320 --> 00:43:13,280 anymore. And it's not. 922 00:43:13,320 --> 00:43:16,960 But The thing is, and I think the reason why the wave of 923 00:43:17,000 --> 00:43:20,440 influx of people coming to you on social media is that we're 924 00:43:20,440 --> 00:43:23,920 all yearning for it in a way. Like people love when you talk 925 00:43:23,920 --> 00:43:26,800 about design history. So it's there, people want it. 926 00:43:26,800 --> 00:43:30,800 People want to learn about these these things, but we just 927 00:43:30,800 --> 00:43:33,040 haven't had the opportunity to look at it because I think we've 928 00:43:33,040 --> 00:43:36,440 had such a strong focus on by the new, what's the trend here? 929 00:43:36,440 --> 00:43:39,040 What's that happening? And I, and I really feel like, I 930 00:43:39,040 --> 00:43:41,120 don't know if you feel the same, but especially when you go and 931 00:43:41,120 --> 00:43:44,200 study design, you're asked the question like, oh, I like this. 932 00:43:44,200 --> 00:43:46,680 And they go why? And you have to go, oh, OK. 933 00:43:46,680 --> 00:43:48,440 And it's sort of one of the first times where you have to 934 00:43:48,440 --> 00:43:50,640 sit down and figure out why you like something. 935 00:43:50,880 --> 00:43:53,360 And I feel like, and I've like when I speak to people who 936 00:43:53,360 --> 00:43:56,000 aren't in design and when I speak to social media, there's 937 00:43:56,000 --> 00:44:00,360 this big lack of understanding as to why someone likes 938 00:44:00,360 --> 00:44:02,520 something. Why do you love it, you know? 939 00:44:02,560 --> 00:44:05,760 Yeah, yeah, totally. And I think it's like back to 940 00:44:05,760 --> 00:44:08,040 what I was saying about being thoughtful about what you bring 941 00:44:08,040 --> 00:44:09,600 into your home and being intentional. 942 00:44:09,600 --> 00:44:13,440 And you know, the other thing I think is that these things that 943 00:44:13,440 --> 00:44:16,400 I'm talking about this like decorative art history, these 944 00:44:16,400 --> 00:44:19,200 design history, Tik Toks I'm making all of this stuff has 945 00:44:19,200 --> 00:44:23,800 been purposefully kept from people to elevate it and to make 946 00:44:23,800 --> 00:44:26,600 sure that the people at the top have something that no one else 947 00:44:26,600 --> 00:44:29,040 has. True, I really believe that 948 00:44:29,040 --> 00:44:30,920 everyone deserves to have something beautiful in their 949 00:44:30,920 --> 00:44:33,000 life. You know, maybe you can't go out 950 00:44:33,000 --> 00:44:38,800 and spend $5000 on bed sheets. Like, I don't blame you, but you 951 00:44:38,800 --> 00:44:41,960 can learn about the history and what makes them special and, and 952 00:44:41,960 --> 00:44:45,440 you can have a piece of that story that brings you joy. 953 00:44:45,720 --> 00:44:50,200 And so that's kind of my goal in making this content is to A, get 954 00:44:50,200 --> 00:44:53,800 people interested in antiques and, and becoming collectors, 955 00:44:54,040 --> 00:44:58,560 and B, to let people have some beauty and joy in a world that 956 00:44:58,600 --> 00:44:59,960 doesn't have a lot of it right now. 957 00:45:00,080 --> 00:45:02,720 That's yeah, I really like that. That's really lovely. 958 00:45:02,800 --> 00:45:04,120 I think. I think it's really good. 959 00:45:04,120 --> 00:45:06,320 I think when people learn more about the things that they like 960 00:45:06,320 --> 00:45:09,920 and why they like it, they're also able to adopt ways in which 961 00:45:09,920 --> 00:45:12,200 they can access it. If something's too expensive, 962 00:45:12,240 --> 00:45:15,640 they can find something that's similar, you know, to what it is 963 00:45:15,640 --> 00:45:18,040 because they know the history behind it or they know the 964 00:45:18,040 --> 00:45:20,600 surface like you know. Exactly. 965 00:45:20,600 --> 00:45:22,960 It might, yeah. It could be like Burlwood for 966 00:45:22,960 --> 00:45:26,240 example, like a Burlwood table can be can cost you thousands 967 00:45:26,240 --> 00:45:27,480 and thousands of dollars, but. You might be. 968 00:45:27,480 --> 00:45:29,920 Able to get a beautiful side table or a beautiful lamp but 969 00:45:29,920 --> 00:45:32,760 because you know and understand Burlwood and you learnt about 970 00:45:32,760 --> 00:45:34,880 it, you can adopt it whereas if you. 971 00:45:35,000 --> 00:45:36,760 You know what to learn when you're out in the market. 972 00:45:36,760 --> 00:45:38,640 Exactly you. You would be like, oh, well, I 973 00:45:38,640 --> 00:45:40,680 can't get that table. And it's like, well, why did you 974 00:45:40,680 --> 00:45:43,720 want that table? Oh, because someone, so X person 975 00:45:43,880 --> 00:45:45,640 has this table, so I've got to have that one. 976 00:45:45,640 --> 00:45:47,600 It's like, no, you need to look at why? 977 00:45:47,600 --> 00:45:49,800 Because, like, the person who has that table is probably being 978 00:45:49,800 --> 00:45:52,040 told by a designer to get that table. 979 00:45:52,040 --> 00:45:55,000 So, like, you need to know why the table's special, not just 980 00:45:55,000 --> 00:45:57,800 because the person has it. You know, it's doing that next 981 00:45:57,800 --> 00:45:59,600 step that I think it's ultimately going to help people 982 00:45:59,600 --> 00:46:02,640 develop their taste. Well, yeah, it's been amazing to 983 00:46:02,640 --> 00:46:05,120 get to know you more and understand what's happening. 984 00:46:05,840 --> 00:46:08,080 Likewise. Yeah, this is so special. 985 00:46:09,320 --> 00:46:11,720 Move on to our speed round which I love because I've got a speed 986 00:46:11,720 --> 00:46:13,520 round but it it never is, you know what I mean? 987 00:46:13,560 --> 00:46:17,920 So be like feel free to extend upon any of these as we go 988 00:46:17,920 --> 00:46:20,200 along. So what I've said here is my 989 00:46:20,200 --> 00:46:22,720 first one which is a favourite room in the house and why? 990 00:46:22,880 --> 00:46:25,080 Which I think I want to leave over because even if it isn't 991 00:46:25,080 --> 00:46:27,400 furnished, there could be a reason why it's your favourite 992 00:46:27,400 --> 00:46:31,400 1. Yeah, I would say our primary 993 00:46:31,400 --> 00:46:34,720 bathroom it, I haven't redecorated it, but it has a 994 00:46:34,720 --> 00:46:39,360 big, you know, 100 year old bathtub and a fireplace and 995 00:46:39,360 --> 00:46:42,880 white painted wood floors and you know, the plaster is kind of 996 00:46:42,880 --> 00:46:44,840 crumbling. I probably need to do something 997 00:46:44,840 --> 00:46:47,680 about that. But it has this enormous shower 998 00:46:47,680 --> 00:46:51,360 and I love it and I love taking. A bath and my God, it sounds 999 00:46:51,360 --> 00:46:53,520 incredible. Like I cannot wait to see it. 1000 00:46:53,520 --> 00:46:54,960 It's like, it's like I want to see it now. 1001 00:46:55,120 --> 00:46:56,920 But anyway though, that's so good. 1002 00:46:56,920 --> 00:46:59,360 I'm glad. It's probably a little more like 1003 00:46:59,360 --> 00:47:01,640 Mrs Havisham than you I can imagine, but. 1004 00:47:01,640 --> 00:47:04,000 No, but I think I'm into it. I'm into it. 1005 00:47:04,000 --> 00:47:09,920 I mean, yeah, yeah, so #2 is slippers, socks or barefoot at 1006 00:47:09,920 --> 00:47:11,960 home? Cashmere socks all the way. 1007 00:47:12,160 --> 00:47:14,920 I love them. I go through so many pairs of 1008 00:47:14,920 --> 00:47:17,720 cashmere socks. As soon as they go on sale, I 1009 00:47:17,720 --> 00:47:20,600 buy them up. It's all I ask for for Christmas 1010 00:47:20,600 --> 00:47:22,120 and I. Love them. 1011 00:47:22,120 --> 00:47:24,760 That's a good one. OK, so your most used item in 1012 00:47:24,760 --> 00:47:27,600 your kitchen. Most used item in my kitchen. 1013 00:47:30,480 --> 00:47:33,280 Our friend here in Wiscasset, the village that we're in. 1014 00:47:33,880 --> 00:47:39,680 He is an artist and he makes, he mostly makes brooms by hand, 1015 00:47:39,680 --> 00:47:44,040 traditional brooms, but he's also a spoon Carver and he made 1016 00:47:44,040 --> 00:47:47,840 he's made me a few spoons and the most beautiful cutting board 1017 00:47:47,880 --> 00:47:51,200 for years there was this image of an 18th century cutting board 1018 00:47:51,200 --> 00:47:54,160 that I had burned into my mind and of course it was like, you 1019 00:47:54,160 --> 00:47:56,920 know, in a museum or something. And so I sent him a picture of 1020 00:47:56,920 --> 00:48:00,240 it and he recreated it for me. And that cutting board is like 1021 00:48:00,240 --> 00:48:03,480 my prized kitchen thing. I am so with it. 1022 00:48:03,480 --> 00:48:06,640 So I would say my cutting board from Village Handcraft here in 1023 00:48:06,640 --> 00:48:08,360 Maine. It sounds incredible, honestly. 1024 00:48:08,360 --> 00:48:10,200 I'm definitely because the reason why I brought it up is 1025 00:48:10,200 --> 00:48:13,000 because I love your tick tocks where you're making a meal, you 1026 00:48:13,000 --> 00:48:14,360 know, to mean like they're so good. 1027 00:48:14,360 --> 00:48:16,120 So I'm. Going to be keeping on the topic 1028 00:48:16,120 --> 00:48:16,920 board. Yeah. 1029 00:48:17,000 --> 00:48:18,840 He's not making them for anyone else though. 1030 00:48:18,840 --> 00:48:23,400 It's just for me. Just for me, Oh my God. 1031 00:48:23,720 --> 00:48:26,400 OK, so the next one I have here is because I think we're so good 1032 00:48:26,400 --> 00:48:29,160 over mantasizing this idea of home and putting things together 1033 00:48:29,160 --> 00:48:31,680 and doing beautiful things. What's 1 home task that you 1034 00:48:31,680 --> 00:48:34,120 dread doing? Cleaning. 1035 00:48:34,160 --> 00:48:37,560 I'm such a bad cleaner you would think put 2 homosexuals in a 1036 00:48:37,560 --> 00:48:41,040 house and it would be spotless. That is not my husband and I. 1037 00:48:41,920 --> 00:48:45,680 The moment that I have any kind of real income, I'm hiring a 1038 00:48:45,680 --> 00:48:47,640 house cleaner. I'm horrible at it. 1039 00:48:47,640 --> 00:48:50,760 I don't want to do it. I often just don't. 1040 00:48:50,760 --> 00:48:52,120 And you're. Going to have to get yourself a 1041 00:48:52,120 --> 00:48:54,080 robovac, like one of those robo cleaners. 1042 00:48:54,080 --> 00:48:56,080 It's going to be at this beautiful main home and then 1043 00:48:56,080 --> 00:48:57,920 just like a robovac sitting on the side. 1044 00:48:58,440 --> 00:49:01,840 Mine's great individually, mops and vacuums every day and I'm 1045 00:49:01,840 --> 00:49:04,200 like this is perfect. Yeah, yeah. 1046 00:49:04,320 --> 00:49:06,640 But I hate cleaning. I love decorating. 1047 00:49:06,760 --> 00:49:09,200 I hate cleaning. Yeah, I'm the same with like 1048 00:49:09,200 --> 00:49:11,360 different tasks, like me and my partner go between things, like 1049 00:49:11,360 --> 00:49:13,520 Carrie always stacks the dishwasher. 1050 00:49:13,520 --> 00:49:17,000 I always do like the washing and the drying, but I hate the 1051 00:49:17,000 --> 00:49:18,920 folding. I always make the bed. 1052 00:49:18,960 --> 00:49:21,600 Carrie always does the beans. Like it's always like you have 1053 00:49:21,600 --> 00:49:22,800 to like go. You know what? 1054 00:49:23,040 --> 00:49:25,720 And the reason, 9 times out of 10, the reason why the folding 1055 00:49:25,720 --> 00:49:28,320 and the dishwasher action happens is because Carrie's just 1056 00:49:28,320 --> 00:49:30,920 annoyed at the way that I do it, which is really surprising me 1057 00:49:30,920 --> 00:49:32,000 being the Virgo. You think? 1058 00:49:32,240 --> 00:49:35,400 You being the Virgo, I was going to say my husband will reload 1059 00:49:35,400 --> 00:49:37,280 the dishwasher after me. Yeah. 1060 00:49:37,440 --> 00:49:38,520 And that's. The thing properly. 1061 00:49:38,880 --> 00:49:40,320 Exactly. And even when you do do it 1062 00:49:40,320 --> 00:49:42,680 properly, it's still not proper. I'm like, OK, Ray, that's your 1063 00:49:42,680 --> 00:49:44,520 job now. Like that is your like. 1064 00:49:44,560 --> 00:49:47,000 I will say I love making the bed. 1065 00:49:47,000 --> 00:49:52,480 I love washing and ironing my sheets and I worked for like a 1066 00:49:52,480 --> 00:49:56,800 bedding brand for a few years. And so I'm very spoiled with my 1067 00:49:56,800 --> 00:50:00,200 linens and that's kind of one of my obsessions. 1068 00:50:00,200 --> 00:50:06,480 So my floor might be dusty, but my sheets are perfectly. 1069 00:50:06,480 --> 00:50:07,400 Pressed. Amazing. 1070 00:50:08,840 --> 00:50:12,240 That's also my real. Housewives. 1071 00:50:13,880 --> 00:50:16,560 Entrance line. My sheets are perfectly pressed. 1072 00:50:16,600 --> 00:50:19,000 I do it every week. Yeah, on Sundays. 1073 00:50:19,000 --> 00:50:20,680 Yeah. Yeah, sometimes. 1074 00:50:20,680 --> 00:50:23,560 I love that lately my life's been a little crazy and I have 1075 00:50:23,560 --> 00:50:26,800 gone two weeks. Don't tell anyone, but yeah. 1076 00:50:27,040 --> 00:50:30,640 It's kind of a 7 to 10 day mark is fine. 7 to 10 days is good. 1077 00:50:30,680 --> 00:50:32,760 Some people like they do it every three to five days. 1078 00:50:32,760 --> 00:50:34,640 I'm like, babe, that's way too much washing for me. 1079 00:50:34,640 --> 00:50:35,760 That's. Too much, yeah. 1080 00:50:35,920 --> 00:50:38,640 As long as it's as long as it's not like 3 months months, I 1081 00:50:38,640 --> 00:50:41,040 think we're all good. You know, we're all good, yeah. 1082 00:50:41,200 --> 00:50:45,400 Yeah, so wallpaper or paint? Well, it totally depends on the 1083 00:50:45,400 --> 00:50:48,360 room, but you know, most rooms can take wallpaper. 1084 00:50:48,360 --> 00:50:50,920 I agree, I think we need to bring back like wallpaper is 1085 00:50:50,920 --> 00:50:52,640 having a moment and I want to see more of it. 1086 00:50:52,640 --> 00:50:54,560 It's like people are getting more experimental with their 1087 00:50:54,560 --> 00:50:57,520 tiles as well, and I think it's because of the wallpaper 1088 00:50:57,520 --> 00:51:00,800 resurgence. Yeah, yeah, I like wallpaper. 1089 00:51:00,840 --> 00:51:02,840 I feel like I could answer this one for you where I've got 1090 00:51:02,840 --> 00:51:04,720 monogrammed linens. Love or leave? 1091 00:51:04,920 --> 00:51:08,840 Obviously love. Obviously love, like obviously 1092 00:51:08,840 --> 00:51:11,040 put the question on here like, you know what I mean? 1093 00:51:11,120 --> 00:51:15,440 Like no, it is really beautiful and it also depend, but mind 1094 00:51:15,440 --> 00:51:17,120 you, it does depend on where it's at though. 1095 00:51:17,120 --> 00:51:19,480 Do you know what I mean? Like where you are in the guest 1096 00:51:19,480 --> 00:51:21,400 cottage and in Maine, it's stunning. 1097 00:51:21,520 --> 00:51:24,120 I don't know if it works in every scenario. 1098 00:51:24,200 --> 00:51:26,600 Well, it depends on the monogram style. 1099 00:51:26,600 --> 00:51:31,040 It can look very like sorority girl, but it can also look 1100 00:51:31,040 --> 00:51:32,680 really beautiful. My tip? 1101 00:51:32,680 --> 00:51:35,320 If you want to monogram your pillowcases and you're afraid of 1102 00:51:35,320 --> 00:51:39,520 it looking to do like college dorm is do a tone on tone 1103 00:51:39,520 --> 00:51:42,680 embroidery. So if you have white sheets, get 1104 00:51:42,680 --> 00:51:45,800 a white thread for the monogram. And I feel like that always 1105 00:51:45,800 --> 00:51:48,080 makes it look a little a little more sophisticated. 1106 00:51:48,080 --> 00:51:50,680 Another thing is I love vintage linens. 1107 00:51:50,680 --> 00:51:53,560 So the way that cotton is processed today is so different 1108 00:51:53,560 --> 00:51:55,600 from the way the cotton used to be processed. 1109 00:51:55,840 --> 00:52:01,400 And so old sheets from like the 70s and 80s are really, really 1110 00:52:01,400 --> 00:52:03,960 nice. And so when I find them in good 1111 00:52:03,960 --> 00:52:06,280 shape, out of state sales, sometimes they're monogrammed 1112 00:52:06,280 --> 00:52:08,640 and I use those for my guest beds at home. 1113 00:52:08,640 --> 00:52:11,000 And it's kind of fun. And then you can, you know, 1114 00:52:11,000 --> 00:52:13,840 whatever the monogram is, you can kind of like make up what 1115 00:52:13,840 --> 00:52:16,240 the letters stand for. And so we've come up with some 1116 00:52:16,240 --> 00:52:19,680 funny and sometimes dirty phrases for, you know, our 1117 00:52:19,680 --> 00:52:21,320 second hand monogram sheets. So. 1118 00:52:21,320 --> 00:52:24,080 Oh. My God I'm obsessed anyway it's 1119 00:52:24,080 --> 00:52:27,160 like almost like ex mothers. Yeah. 1120 00:52:28,520 --> 00:52:30,840 Oh, my God, I love that. It's like, oh, that's Thelma 1121 00:52:30,840 --> 00:52:32,600 Louise. Like you like, you know, it's 1122 00:52:32,800 --> 00:52:35,760 like the name of like the guest cottage actually isn't the 1123 00:52:35,760 --> 00:52:37,080 cottage name. It's actually, well, you could 1124 00:52:37,080 --> 00:52:39,160 just say it's the guest cottage name and they'll be like, that's 1125 00:52:39,160 --> 00:52:40,840 why Linen is that name. Yeah. 1126 00:52:41,000 --> 00:52:43,680 Exactly. Yeah, I think also the font 1127 00:52:43,680 --> 00:52:45,960 choice is very important too. Like, stick with more of those 1128 00:52:45,960 --> 00:52:48,920 traditional serif fonts versus a sans serif font. 1129 00:52:49,880 --> 00:52:52,200 Yeah, I think so. What's your most played artist 1130 00:52:52,200 --> 00:52:53,960 When you're pottering at home? Do you listen to music? 1131 00:52:53,960 --> 00:52:57,320 Are you a podcast or music time? OK, so here's the deal. 1132 00:52:57,440 --> 00:53:00,720 I have really good taste. I'm very confident in that. 1133 00:53:00,720 --> 00:53:03,680 I'm kind of joking, but also I kind of do. 1134 00:53:03,680 --> 00:53:05,680 I have a horrible taste in music. 1135 00:53:05,680 --> 00:53:09,600 I have such bad taste in music and so I often listen to a 1136 00:53:09,600 --> 00:53:14,200 playlist on Spotify, but I also love Broadway show tunes and so 1137 00:53:14,640 --> 00:53:18,040 usually singing off tune to something from Broadway. 1138 00:53:18,040 --> 00:53:21,040 The shop and it's like all the door and you can just hear this 1139 00:53:21,040 --> 00:53:23,160 music, show tunes just pumping out. 1140 00:53:24,160 --> 00:53:26,120 Yeah, literally. Yeah. 1141 00:53:26,320 --> 00:53:30,000 It drives my husband wild. He is so annoyed with me but I 1142 00:53:30,000 --> 00:53:32,720 can't help it. So do you make the bed 1143 00:53:32,720 --> 00:53:35,040 immediately or do you leave it till later? 1144 00:53:35,200 --> 00:53:37,440 If you love making the bed, this is a good question. 1145 00:53:37,640 --> 00:53:40,520 That is a good question. I think I'm not someone who's 1146 00:53:40,520 --> 00:53:44,040 very good at routine, and so oftentimes I forget to make the 1147 00:53:44,040 --> 00:53:44,640 bed. Yeah. 1148 00:53:44,920 --> 00:53:46,160 Which I think is actually good. I think I. 1149 00:53:46,160 --> 00:53:48,320 Believe I'm listening. Would be like, no, I think it's 1150 00:53:48,320 --> 00:53:50,360 good because it's refreshing because I think some people do 1151 00:53:50,360 --> 00:53:53,400 feel the pressure around the routine and people do associate 1152 00:53:53,400 --> 00:53:55,520 the thing where it's like everything has to be perfect all 1153 00:53:55,520 --> 00:53:58,120 the time, but I don't think so. You know you can have. 1154 00:53:58,200 --> 00:54:00,360 A No, sometimes we make the bed. Yeah. 1155 00:54:00,360 --> 00:54:02,240 Sometimes we make it right before we get in there that 1156 00:54:02,240 --> 00:54:04,200 night. And that's totally fine and 1157 00:54:04,200 --> 00:54:06,320 totally OK. I also think people look at 1158 00:54:06,320 --> 00:54:09,040 content creators and they are like, Oh my God, they have these 1159 00:54:09,040 --> 00:54:11,520 perfect lives. Everything is in order. 1160 00:54:11,520 --> 00:54:15,560 No, we just, we just edit out the parts that, you know, are 1161 00:54:15,560 --> 00:54:18,560 ugly. And so, yeah, I don't make my 1162 00:54:18,560 --> 00:54:19,480 bed every day. Yeah. 1163 00:54:19,880 --> 00:54:23,240 Yeah, my bed is not made at the moment, but that's because my 1164 00:54:23,240 --> 00:54:26,280 dog is having a sleep in and I don't want to wake him up and 1165 00:54:26,280 --> 00:54:29,520 to. So if you last one would be if 1166 00:54:29,520 --> 00:54:32,280 you had a signature cocktail that you were going to serve at 1167 00:54:32,280 --> 00:54:34,600 either event or at home, what would it be? 1168 00:54:34,600 --> 00:54:37,280 Yeah, so I'm actually not a big drinker. 1169 00:54:37,640 --> 00:54:39,600 I think I'm like allergic to alcohol. 1170 00:54:39,600 --> 00:54:40,960 Sometimes they break out in hives. 1171 00:54:41,120 --> 00:54:43,280 Most times I just fall asleep immediately. 1172 00:54:43,440 --> 00:54:48,160 But I do love, I do love to like I call them cocktails. 1173 00:54:48,160 --> 00:54:50,560 My husband, he hates them. He thinks they're weird. 1174 00:54:50,800 --> 00:54:54,400 But I love to just take like a seltzer and pineapple juice and 1175 00:54:54,400 --> 00:54:57,600 lime and ginger and make a little cocktail. 1176 00:54:57,600 --> 00:54:59,440 So I would do something like that. 1177 00:54:59,440 --> 00:55:01,040 No, I love that. That's amazing. 1178 00:55:01,920 --> 00:55:05,040 Yeah, I like, I like sweet. So extra pineapple juice. 1179 00:55:05,080 --> 00:55:07,280 Yes, that's really gross. OK. 1180 00:55:07,520 --> 00:55:10,360 Well, and I'm crazy enough, I don't need any alcohols. 1181 00:55:10,440 --> 00:55:12,000 Yeah, the pineapple juice is enough. 1182 00:55:12,800 --> 00:55:14,080 Absolutely. Look, I think more and more 1183 00:55:14,080 --> 00:55:16,760 people are stepping away from alcohol as time goes on anyway. 1184 00:55:16,760 --> 00:55:19,720 Like since I started training a lot more now, like alcohol is 1185 00:55:19,720 --> 00:55:22,080 one of those big things where it interrupts with your sleep and 1186 00:55:22,080 --> 00:55:24,960 recovery. So I kind of went off alcohol. 1187 00:55:24,960 --> 00:55:27,280 I was a huge drinker to begin with anyway. 1188 00:55:27,280 --> 00:55:30,040 But I do it for like occasions and things like birthdays. 1189 00:55:30,040 --> 00:55:32,120 And if we're out for dinner, I might have a glass of wine, but 1190 00:55:32,240 --> 00:55:34,840 I'm not a huge drinker. Well, we've already established 1191 00:55:34,840 --> 00:55:36,680 this. We spent all our money on our 1192 00:55:36,680 --> 00:55:38,040 houses. There's nothing left. 1193 00:55:38,040 --> 00:55:40,440 To buy booze, yeah, yeah, I'm just going to buy and I'm a. 1194 00:55:40,440 --> 00:55:44,000 Princess, I need my sleep. If something up sleep it's not 1195 00:55:44,000 --> 00:55:45,680 for me. Well, I always like to finish 1196 00:55:45,680 --> 00:55:48,960 the podcast with a question from the previous guest and this 1197 00:55:48,960 --> 00:55:51,640 one's related around content creation. 1198 00:55:52,480 --> 00:55:54,600 OK. It's kind of really, kind of 1199 00:55:54,600 --> 00:55:57,960 really speaks to your journey in terms of like, what helps you 1200 00:55:57,960 --> 00:56:00,600 stay consistent when posting online? 1201 00:56:00,640 --> 00:56:03,680 Yeah, that's something that I'm trying to navigate. 1202 00:56:03,760 --> 00:56:06,800 I think, you know, that's all still very new for me and I'm 1203 00:56:06,800 --> 00:56:11,480 trying to figure out, you know, what type of content I want to 1204 00:56:11,480 --> 00:56:14,960 create, what type type of content creator I want to be, 1205 00:56:15,000 --> 00:56:17,560 what kind of messaging I want to share with the world. 1206 00:56:17,600 --> 00:56:20,520 Yeah. And so I'm trying to go slow and 1207 00:56:20,520 --> 00:56:24,400 one thing at a time. And you know, I, the shop is 1208 00:56:24,400 --> 00:56:27,320 closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. And so I've been using those 1209 00:56:27,320 --> 00:56:31,440 days to kind of film a couple videos or at least like get 1210 00:56:31,440 --> 00:56:36,080 ideas or, or edit videos. And so by having like a block of 1211 00:56:36,080 --> 00:56:39,040 them done early in the week, then I can kind of parse them 1212 00:56:39,040 --> 00:56:41,840 out over the course of the week and then fill in with like in 1213 00:56:41,840 --> 00:56:43,920 the moment things. And so that's kind of been 1214 00:56:43,920 --> 00:56:46,480 helping me stay consistent. Yeah, no, 100%. 1215 00:56:46,480 --> 00:56:47,520 That's a great answer. I like. 1216 00:56:47,520 --> 00:56:48,880 That's something that I feel like we all do. 1217 00:56:48,880 --> 00:56:52,200 We all have to do a certain element of batch and filming, 1218 00:56:52,200 --> 00:56:55,320 especially when collaborations appear as well. 1219 00:56:55,520 --> 00:56:58,960 You don't want to have a series where you're posting back to 1220 00:56:58,960 --> 00:57:01,760 back collaboration. There definitely has to be that 1221 00:57:01,760 --> 00:57:04,720 organic content found within and sprinkled throughout. 1222 00:57:04,720 --> 00:57:08,080 So always having a little batch just there is good. 1223 00:57:08,080 --> 00:57:11,280 And also I think like having a few different things that you do 1224 00:57:11,280 --> 00:57:14,160 in terms of like, you can call them series, but really they're 1225 00:57:14,160 --> 00:57:16,560 just kind of like pillars that you always go back to where it's 1226 00:57:16,560 --> 00:57:17,920 like you might be cooking in the kitchen. 1227 00:57:17,920 --> 00:57:20,480 That's something that you do all the time and then it could be a 1228 00:57:20,480 --> 00:57:23,720 design history video and then you'll be out in the garden and 1229 00:57:23,720 --> 00:57:25,920 it's like there your 3 or 4 videos. 1230 00:57:25,920 --> 00:57:28,160 You're like, right, I know what I've got now with that formula. 1231 00:57:28,160 --> 00:57:31,240 I'm going to stick with that. But yeah, yeah, it's you know, 1232 00:57:31,240 --> 00:57:32,960 and you also go through different phases, but it's so 1233 00:57:32,960 --> 00:57:35,200 refreshing to hear you speak about how you really want to 1234 00:57:35,200 --> 00:57:37,040 think about what brand you want to be online. 1235 00:57:37,040 --> 00:57:38,560 What do you want to say? What do you want to do? 1236 00:57:38,560 --> 00:57:41,000 Because I feel like a lot of people fall into it and kind of 1237 00:57:42,080 --> 00:57:45,240 arbit hap has it, you know, they don't really have much direction 1238 00:57:45,240 --> 00:57:47,480 and they get a bit lost. So it's good to start off early 1239 00:57:47,480 --> 00:57:51,320 and think about what I like, what is my mission statement, I 1240 00:57:51,320 --> 00:57:53,640 guess because it is a business or what I really always think of 1241 00:57:53,640 --> 00:57:56,960 it as a business. Yeah, truly, you know, yeah, I'm 1242 00:57:56,960 --> 00:57:58,840 trying to just be really thoughtful about it. 1243 00:57:59,040 --> 00:58:02,120 And, you know, like with partnerships, I've, I've done a 1244 00:58:02,120 --> 00:58:04,280 couple, I'll do a few more, I'm sure. 1245 00:58:04,360 --> 00:58:07,040 But I'm trying to be really intentional about what I say yes 1246 00:58:07,040 --> 00:58:08,840 to. And, you know, I'm trying to 1247 00:58:08,840 --> 00:58:12,960 shift my mindset from like chasing after things and chasing 1248 00:58:12,960 --> 00:58:16,880 after dollars and success and, and more, you know, being open 1249 00:58:16,880 --> 00:58:20,040 to what comes and, and, you know, you know, being able to, 1250 00:58:20,200 --> 00:58:23,240 to see if it feels right or not. Absolutely amazing. 1251 00:58:23,240 --> 00:58:25,520 Well, it's been so good to catch up with you today. 1252 00:58:25,520 --> 00:58:29,600 I thought people have learned so much about your story and what 1253 00:58:29,600 --> 00:58:32,400 an amazing and inspiring story. I feel like everyone's like, OK, 1254 00:58:32,400 --> 00:58:35,800 we all, we all need to get a psychic reading from Alexander 1255 00:58:36,000 --> 00:58:37,840 and. Yeah, downloadable scope of. 1256 00:58:38,080 --> 00:58:41,000 This literally where you'll be doing readings of people. 1257 00:58:42,240 --> 00:58:44,680 I don't know if you want me to, but I could try. 1258 00:58:44,760 --> 00:58:48,120 I can make some stuff up. You've got a great track record 1259 00:58:48,120 --> 00:58:50,080 so far. Yeah, so far so good. 1260 00:58:50,400 --> 00:58:52,000 Anyway, yeah, this has been so lovely. 1261 00:58:52,000 --> 00:58:53,560 Louis, thank you so much for having me. 1262 00:58:53,560 --> 00:58:56,280 And that was my chat with Alexander Wagner, and what a 1263 00:58:56,280 --> 00:58:58,720 story. I loved hearing how his journey 1264 00:58:58,720 --> 00:59:02,000 has unfolded with so much intention, creativity and heart. 1265 00:59:02,160 --> 00:59:04,920 From leaving New York to opening his dream shop and guest cottage 1266 00:59:04,920 --> 00:59:07,800 in coastal Maine, to the way he approaches design history, 1267 00:59:07,800 --> 00:59:10,760 vintage collecting, and slow living, there's just something 1268 00:59:10,760 --> 00:59:13,280 so grounding and inspiring in the way he brings it all 1269 00:59:13,280 --> 00:59:15,480 together. If you'd like to see more of 1270 00:59:15,480 --> 00:59:18,320 Alexander's world, be sure to check him out on TikTok and 1271 00:59:18,320 --> 00:59:21,160 Instagram. He's at Alexander Underscore 1272 00:59:21,160 --> 00:59:23,360 Widener. And as always, if you enjoyed 1273 00:59:23,360 --> 00:59:26,960 this episode, please do follow the podcast, leave a review and 1274 00:59:26,960 --> 00:59:29,000 a rating, and come and say hi on Instagram. 1275 00:59:29,080 --> 00:59:32,120 I'm at the Weberk. Thank you again for listening 1276 00:59:32,120 --> 00:59:34,640 and I'll see you next time on Fellow Friends in Home and 1277 00:59:34,640 --> 00:59:35,080 Hosting.