T H E [ WO M E N ] M OV E R S & S H A K E R S I S S U E
THE LIFE STYLE EDIT YO U R C U R AT I O N O F L I F E & S T Y L E
IN CONVERSATION WITH
AS SEEN IN THELIFESTYLEEDIT.COM.AU
THE MOST EFFECTIVE WAY TO DO IT, IS JUST TO DO IT. - AMELIA EARHART
© Copyright 2018 The Life Style Edit. A CURATION OF LIFE + STYLE
All rights reserved. No part of this publiocation may be reproduced, distributed or trasmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, scanning or other electrical or mechanical methods, without prior written permission of the publisher, except where noted.
All imagery supplied by Interviewees. TWO | 02
IN MOVERS&SHAKERS
THECONTENT
MEET
OUR WOMEN. 04
EDITOR’S LETTER Heidi Albertiri
22
YASSMIN ABDEL-MAGIED Mumtaza
06
LISA MESSENGER Collective Hub
28
LUCY KUPER Biologi
10
VASHTI WHITFIELD Maybe McQueen
32
GABY HOWARD Flaunter
14
PRU CHAPMAN Owners Collective
36
SONYA GARDINER The Flower Seekers
18
TARYN WILLIAMS The Right Fit & WINK Models
40
TESS ROBINSON Smack Bang Designs
AND OUR TEAM. EDITOR Heidi Albertiri editor@thelifestyleedit.com.au @heidi_albertiri
THREE | 03
ART DIRECTOR Emma Cheg. emma@thelifestyleedit.com.au @emmacheg
THE APRIL ‘18 ISSUE
IRI RT BE
@H EID I_A L
IN CONVERSATION WITH AS SEEN IN THELIFESTYLEEDIT.COM.AU
HEIDI ALBERTIRI
FOUNDER + EDITOR, THE LIFE STYLE EDIT
A CURATION OF LIFE + STYLE
FOUR | 04
IN MOVERS&SHAKERS
HEIDIALBERTIRI
AND THE DAY CAME, WHEN THE RISK TO REMAIN TIGHT IN A BUD, WAS MORE PAINFUL THAN THE RISK IT TOOK TO BLOSSOM. - ANAIS NIN
I have never quite fit inside the square, I’ve always run left of centre so much so that I even have a tattoo on my body that reads “she flies with her own wings”. I never purposely set out to be different, I just seemed to see the world a little differently to most. Consequently my work and my life in general resemble the same, I listen intuitively to my inner world and gravitate towards people a bit skewiff ( you know who you are ). So when it came time to fill our digital pages with “Movers + Shakers” for our April Issue, I had no problem compiling a list of my favourite fabulous women to share with you. Running alongside International Women’s Day it seemed like a natural fit.
They all followed their inner stirrings, they acknowledgeD that “A-ha moment, they listened to their own intuition, they followed their instincts, learnt by their mistakes and got out of their own way. These women are our peers, these women hustle, every day for the greater good of themselves, their businesses, their staff, their family and humanity. They are not stopped by “NO”. These women are brave, powerful, strong, feminine and adaptable. These women are absolutely bloody awesome. And if you don’t have your hustle on by the end of reading this edition then go back to the beginning and read it again and again until you do. What I know now is that we can’t be the person we need to be without the backing, support and the positive voices of other women around us. Humanity still has a way to go, but I hear the voices of women louder than ever before and the more we stand together, with acceptance and evolve in our thinking, the faster the change and recalibration will come about.
On reading the answers to the questions as they rolled in one by one, I felt I’d found my kindred spirits. My Tribe. It was like I was reading my own story. Each one another version of the other and for each story and moment that I read and connected to I had a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes as I realised we are all speaking the same language. This extraordinary group of women who we have gathered, some I know, some I know much better now, all have wonderful stories to share, each unique and motivating in their own right, yet they all have a common thread.
Go forth and hustle with pride my ladies. It is an extraordinary time to be a woman. Love + Courage, Heidi.
FIVE | 05
THE APRIL ‘18 ISSUE
IN CONVERSATION WITH
AS SEEN IN THELIFESTYLEEDIT.COM.AU
VASHTI WHITFIELD FOUNDER, MAYBE MCQUEEN EXECUTIVE COACH, FACILITATOR, SPEAKER.
A CURATION OF LIFE + STYLE
TEN | 10
VASHTIWHITFIELD
[TLSE] I KNOW YOU AS A FEARLESS LEADER, A SEEKER OF TRUTH WITH A FILTHY SENSE OF HUMOUR, AND AN EXTRAORDINARY MOTHER… DESCRIBE TO ME, WHO VASHTI IS IN 2018.. AND WHAT LIFE LOOKS LIKE TODAY.
IN MOVERS&SHAKERS
AS A 40 SOMETHING WOMAN, WHAT WOULD YOU SAY TO YOUR 20 SOMETHING SELF ? Dear Vashti…… you’ll always be too big, too loud, too tender, or too creative with your spelling for someone, SO learn to understand what your unique strengths are and what it is that YOU as an individual bring to the table and the world! Find a purpose, as it is EVERYTHING!
[VASHTI] Well the humour hasn’t changed, I’m still known for my unrelenting ability to always lower the tone …. My intention these days, which differs from how I have historically run the show, is my ever determined desire to integrate my life, so that my work, time with my cubs (my kids) and what I love most in life, are all rolled into one. My time is currently split as a facilitator, an executive coach and as a speaker - or as a conversationalist, as I like to call myself. I work in five very distinct areas - life, resilience, leadership and legacy. The fifth is the area that people find the hardest to wrap their heads around, and that is the evocative area of death - grief and loss. It’s an area that I am absolutely passionate about re – educating people around - and as strange as it may sound – is a topic that when opened up, in and out of context, has the ability to instantly create clarity, opportunity and a fearlessness that the usual human ego is unable to access without a larger lead up. As you can hear I’m passionate about turning what we fear most into a catalyst for growth and personal legacy. At heart I am a creative, so whatever hat I am wearing it is most often delivered and facilitated in a fairly unconventional way, which along with my ‘unusual’ humour, promises an experience that is not only far from predictable, but keeps all on their toes. North America is my other passion and like a lover you can’t let go of, I know that at some point in the near future, the relationship will have to advance from wonderfully intense but fleeting, into something with a little more commitment and structure. My cubs, who for those of you that don’t know, are my two children Jesse and Indi. They are like food and water to me and who along with the ever present values, from the very inspiring life once shared with my late husband/best friend, fuel me, inspire me and remind me on a daily basis, who I not only want to be in the world, but what actions I need to take to honour the legacy I’d like to leave behind.
When we be of service to others, the noise in your head of dissatisfaction, unworthiness and fear, will silently slip away and make way for the real potential of you and what you have to offer. Life is shorter than you will ever imagine, so don’t waste a single moment fostering self limiting beliefs, instead try everything, go for it all and TRUST that by simply trying, you will end up exactly where you are supposed to. And lastly but most important of all…… remember that everyone and everything, that comes in and even out of your life, happens FOR you, as an opportunity to grow and learn. Don’t live your life according to the rules of another, live them only ever by the values that truly reflect YOU. WHAT IS THE MEANING OF LIFE ACCORDING TO VASHTI WHITFIELD? At the risk of sounding repetitious, the meaning of life to me, is hugely lead by understanding the meaning of death. When we are gifted with the opportunity of staring down the barrel of no foreseeable future, whether it is your own or that of someone you passionately love or care for in your life, the ability to then live in the depth and breadth of any given moment explodes into something wonderful. From a coaching perspective, the route of all frustration, anxiety and potential blocking, is because we either live filtering our thinking through the past, and/or our imploding anxiety, driven by our fear of the unknown future – I try to live, squeeze and lean into every moment as if it is, as it independently holds the value that we so often structure into an end result that might be years away…. And lastly EVERYTHING HAPPENS FOR YOU ( ~ Byron Katie) and not to you, be an opportunist versus a victim and watch what becomes available to you…
ELEVEN | 11
THE APRIL ‘18 ISSUE
IN CONVERSATION WITH
AS SEEN IN THELIFESTYLEEDIT.COM.AU
I KNOW YOU LOVE EARLY MORNING RUNS AND A SWIM BEFORE THE REST OF THE WORLD SURFACES, MOST PEOPLE ARE JUST RISING WHEN YOU HAVE BEEN UP FOR HOURS. JUST HOW IMPORTANT HAS THAT BEEN FOR YOU, AND HOW IMPORTANT IS IT TO HAVE SOMETHING THAT IS JUST FOR YOU? I am at my most creative from about 5am and also LOVE watching the day unfold. I love the duality of sharing that with others and at the same time doing it in silence. A run and a swim on Sydney’s Bondi Beach with a coffee first at the Republic Bakery is my daily ritual, rain or shine. Without that hugely necessary time I not only become too overly involved with some of my less constructive thinking but I also notice how far less productive my day is. Oh and the fact that my cubs start saying things like, ‘MUM I’m not sure what’s going on for you but you’re clearly taking out your own frustrations on us.??!!!’ There was whole decade around small babies and enabling my husband’s growth where I neglected making this space for myself that was needed at that point in time more than ever, and in retrospect didn’t serve any of us. Sometimes we have to rethink the relationship with time or the story that we are running in order for us to enable it to magically appear.
FOR SOMEONE FEELING STUCK AND UNINSPIRED, WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO GET THEM INTO ACTION AND BACK ON TRACK ? When we feel stuck it is more than often because of what we are choosing to focus our attention on and the fact that we haven’t taken the time to clarify what it is we most want. If we focus only on the problem or the fact that we are STUCK, we begin to feel unmotivated, overwhelmed and often hugely distracted. The first step is to get clear on what it is you most want and then very openly and honestly clarify where you are getting in the way of it eventuating. The second is to run through what it is exactly you would have to let go of in order for your want to become possible. And finally if you really want traction in moving forward, after you’ve described what your vision of the outcome really looks like in as much detail as possible, break it down into manageable bite sized pieces and work through one patient and committed step at a time! I’ll leave you with one of my favourite quotes [below].... @VASHTIWHITFIELD
WHAT IF I FALL? OH MY DARLING, WHAT IF YOU FLY! A CURATION OF LIFE + STYLE
TWELVE | 12
VASHTIWHITFIELD
THIRTEEN | 13
IN MOVERS&SHAKERS
THE APRIL ‘18 ISSUE
IN CONVERSATION WITH AS SEEN IN THELIFESTYLEEDIT.COM.AU
DOES MY GUT, SAY YES?
A CURATION OF LIFE + STYLE
FORTY-TWO | 42
TESSROBINSON
IN MOVERS&SHAKERS
WHAT IS A NON NEGOTIABLE IN THE WAY YOU RUN YOUR LIFE AND YOUR BUSINESS ? Does my gut say yes? It might sounds cliche, but following my intuition is by far my biggest non-negotiable. I’m a sucker for casting all notions of risk, logic and rational thought to the side to chase down whatever it is that my gut is telling me to do. To be honest, I’ve built my entire business this way.
HOW DO YOU KEEP EVOLVING AND STAYING ON TRACK WITH YOUR GOALS AND INNER STIRRINGS? I’ve always had an innate sense of drive and hunger to be the very best I can. Sometimes this insatiable quest for perfection or immense amount of pressure on myself to succeed actually comes at my detriment - I just try too bloody hard. I’ve started to learn how to balance that ‘never doing enough’ feeling with slowing down and chilling out. I’m trying my best to remind myself that I’m in my late 20s - there’s no need for a midlife crisis… just yet! WHAT IS YOUR WORD FOR 2018 ? Spaciousness. So far, so good! But maybe ask me in a few months and things might be different.
FINISH THIS SENTENCE…. My name is Tess….. But my first name is actually Sophie. @SMACKBANGDESIGNS | @TESS__ROBINSON
FORTY-THREE | 43
THE APRIL ‘18 ISSUE