Sacha Strebe on Storytelling & Crafting EyeSwoon’s Magic

You see the finished rooms, the polished captions and the big-name collaborations. What you don’t see is the work that holds it all together. We’re joined by Sacha Strebe, an Australian editor and storyteller who now works behind the scenes as executive director with Athena Calderone to help craft and execute the creative vision for EyeSwoon. Sacha takes us from her Gold Coast journalism days to building a career in the US, including the mindset shifts that come with backing yourself, building relationships online, and writing your way into opportunities.

We get specific about what it takes to run a modern interior design and lifestyle brand with a small team: shaping brand voice, planning content calendars, creating newsletters, affiliate strategies, and supporting major partnerships from ideation through to contracts and production. If you’re a designer, creative, or business owner trying to grow an audience, this chat breaks down what still works across every platform: service, inspiration and entertainment, plus the discipline to stay true to your point of view.

Then the conversation turns deeply personal. Sacha shares the devastating experience of losing her home in the LA fires, the “phantom” feeling of a place that’s gone but still present, and how rebuilding becomes both grief and gratitude at once. We finish on what’s next, how Sacha defines success, and her current design obsession: brutalism, concrete, stone and light. Subscribe, share with a friend who loves design and storytelling, and leave a review to help more listeners find us.

Podcast Cover Photography Credit: Julie Guével Goldstone 

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Transcript

Welcome And Meet Sasha

Speaker 4 0:00

Welcome to Design Anatomy, the Interior Design Podcast hosted by friends and fellow designers me, Bray Batfield.

Speaker 5 0:07

And me, Lauren Lee, with some amazing guest appearances along the way. We're here to break down everything from current trends to timeless style.

Speaker 3 0:15

With a shared passion for joyful, colour-filled and lived-in spaces, we're excited to share our insights and inspiration with you.

Speaker 5 0:22

And today we have a very talented and cool guest. It's Sacha Strebe. So I've known you, Sacha, from Instagram, which is so cool. And I think, you know, you have a way of storytelling which makes people feel somewhat connected to you, but it's it's a very parasocial relationship. So I'm so excited. Yeah, so thank you for being here.

Speaker 1 0:47

Thanks for having me.

Speaker 5 0:49

So from your beginnings as the editor of the Gold Coast Bulletin to the heady heights of working with the most influential interior designer, Multi -hyphenate, in New York City. You have seen, you may have seen her recently, hard launch her home in Art Digest. So we're always so impressed to see talented Australians make it overseas. Oh no, right. Yeah. And we're, if you haven't guessed, Sacha works with Athena Calderone to craft and execute Eyeswoon brand's creative vision. So it's really fascinating to understand a little bit about what happens behind the scenes of a brand and a design powerhouse like Athena. So I'm just it's gonna be a fun chat. Thanks for being here. Yeah.

Speaker 1 1:39

Yeah, thank you so much for having me. This is my first podcast, so I'm super excited that it's two Australians. And we in America, since I've been living here for the last, oh gosh, nearly 12 years, people are really big fans of design in Australia and they look to Australia for inspiration. So it feels really exciting to have a flop. Yeah, yeah, definitely.

Speaker 4 2:02

I do think that we forget. I like when we travel to Milan, you often get um feedback about Australian designers, and you sort of forget actually that we I think there's some pretty high caliber people over here doing some pretty cool stuff. So it's nice that we actually get noticed, this little tiny flop in the world.

From Gold Coast To The US

Speaker 1 2:21

Yeah, for sure. I think we definitely like to raise our hands and be like, hey, we're down here doing cool stuff, and we leave our country to kind of prove ourselves back to ourselves at home. And then we just need to kind of understand that like the world is watching and they are really inspired by what we do, and I think we have a unique um point of view.

Speaker 4 2:42

Um well, we're really excited to talk to you a bit more about you know your work with Athena and like the amazing things that she's doing, like furniture ranges and collaborations, but we'd love to know a bit about like how did you end up in the US?

Speaker 1 2:56

Yeah, well, actually, I grew up on the Gold Coast and a lot of my family still live there now. And I have always loved to travel. So as soon as I finished university, I went straight overseas. I actually studied a languages and linguistics course at Griffith University in Brisbane. Um, I always thought maybe I'll be an interpreter or you know, really something that could be. Yeah, no, it was okay. I studied Spanish and Japanese, don't really know much of it now. I've always wanted to get back into it. And I also studied applied linguistics, which is like the study of second language learning. Um, so very nerdy. And then went overseas as soon as I could after school and um started traveling. I was an au pair in London working for a family in Hampshire Garden suburbs, and I was there for about two years. And during that travel, they would go to Portugal for the summer for like two months every year. And so I had the house to myself. One year I just put on a backpack and went by myself, went traveling overseas, like through Europe, and kind of made my way down from Spain through Italy, down to Greece to see a friend, and actually met my now husband along the way.

Speaker 5 4:08

Yeah, that's how it goes. That's cute.

Speaker 1 4:11

So yeah, and that that's that story is another podcast episode, but um, because I met him, we had this relationship that obviously blossomed, and then over time he ended up coming to Australia. We got married, he lived with me in Australia for eight years, and we had our son there. And so I think it was always in the back of my mind to say to leave uh Australia and come and live in the States. And my husband loves Australia, and we lived in Melbourne for five years, and he did.

Speaker 5 4:41

Oh my gosh, you have had such a full life, and we run it.

Speaker 1 4:48

I'm pleasing over because there's a lot of details that will like take a long time. Of course. Um, yeah, he lived with me there for eight years, and it was such a great time. But I think there was a job that I had in Melbourne, and the company shut down, and so we all got laid off. And it ended up being a blessing because we all got payouts, and so that payout ended up being what helped pay for us, finance us to come out here. And our son was I think he was in grade one, so he was like six years old when we moved out here, and so that's when all the views of process and everything started. So we've they've been in LA for about 12 years now. Oh, fair.

Speaker 4 5:24

So that's kind of how I made my way. Um, you've just got like this accent that kind of just sometimes I think people would be going, What is where are you from? Like it's sort of American and it's not your people think you're Canadian a lot.

Speaker 1 5:37

Yeah, people ask because they don't know, which is so funny. But when I'm around Australians, it comes back to Australian. But yeah, I have, and then I'll do random words that have the R rolled when they don't need to be rolled. Like I'll say fetter instead of fetter, and I don't even say fetter here, but it's like I'll get kind of like mushed together.

Speaker 5 6:00

So you were footloose and fancy-free in Europe traveling, like how cool is that stage of life? And yeah, you you meet you met your husband and and then off you went. Um, so you moved to America. Um, did you move to California straight away, or is that where your husband was from?

Speaker 1 6:19

He's from Arizona. So we actually came out. We had probably, you know, four or five suit cases, and then we had um a shipping container of stuff. But that was that took like three or four months to get over here. And we had no idea. We just knew we wanted to live in LA because my husband's a denim designer. And at the time I was a writer and I wanted to work for uh who what wear and had always wanted to work for who what wear. And I used to like apply from Australia just so that they knew my name one day when I would like eventually apply. That's kind of like manifesting it. Yeah, no, a hundred percent. I used to always tweet Hilary Kerr, one of the co-founders, and she would come out sometimes back then for Fashion Week, and so I would always like tweet her, and like she's always so friendly. She seems really cool because she has a podcast, is it's the best? Yeah, second life. Yeah, yeah. And then she had a podcast for whootware as well, which I think they're both incredibly successful. She is such a great storyteller. But um, we were in Arizona for probably two months, and then we both applied for workout here, and I ended up getting a job at my domain, which was the design site sister site of who what wear. Um, and then they launched Bertie later on, which was their beauty sister site. And um, yeah, and we moved out here in our worked for my domain for five years.

unknown 7:41

Yeah.

Speaker 4 7:41

On the who what wear thing, like he was sort of adjacent at least.

Speaker 1 7:44

Yeah. And actually, when I got the job, I was so excited because my domain was still a new site. And I was brought on as a lifestyle editor because my background was working at Gochrus Bulls and as a journalist. So I'd worked across so many different fields. So they're like, Oh, you'll be great, you can write about anything. And I remember my first day, I walked in the office and Hillary recognized me straight away. Oh, and she pulled me into her office and she was like, Wow, I'm so excited for you. Like, we're we can't wait to see what you can bring to my domain and tell me everything. And I I remember you tweeting me, and it was just such an like incredible moment to have someone who is so busy and has so many things going on and knows so many people to remember me and to take the time out. It was incredible. That is truly impressive.

Speaker 5 8:27

That would have been a huge moment. That is a huge kudos to you. You must have been able to cultivate a lovely connection, you know, online, which is like it can happen, but it it's hard to kind of yeah, really connect with someone and be memorable. So you must have been just like such a thrill.

Speaker 1 8:44

It was amazing. Because I mean, we were tweeting back then, so it wasn't even like there was the images that you see now on Instagram making it easier to kind of recognize someone. Yeah. But um personally kind of person she is.

Speaker 4 8:57

You must have been there, must have been some really cool tweets.

Speaker 1 9:00

Yeah. Well, I would follow her tweets, and like when she came out for Sydney, um, so Sydney for the for Fashion Week one year, I was working as the editor for Tuesday magazine, which is now defunct, but it was their the Gold Crist Bulletins beauty fashion lifestyle publication that came out every Tuesday. And I went down to Sydney and would report on fashion for that publication. So I would try and tweet her and like catch her. And so that's kind of how we connected, but very briefly.

Early Career And First Design Work

Speaker 4 9:31

Yeah, but that's all it's amazing to have like manifested that really, but and then also put in the work and you know, sort of put the energy out there, and that's kind of where you ended up. Um and is that sort of how you I guess that was your first sort of forte into something more directly about interiors?

Speaker 1 9:47

Yes. In that role? I actually before that, when we were living in Melbourne, I worked for a trade show company and they did a show called Decor and Design. Yes, we know it. I it was very, very early digital content. And because you know, I'm old enough to have seen when newspapers went from print to digital and that whole transformation and getting Facebook accounts and in and Instagram wasn't even a thing, and like going into emails and had I had a little bloggy and I would like film people. And I was I was actually the person that kind of oversaw all the social and content, and I did all of it. Just me posting it, creating it, yeah. They had a decor and design show, and they also had a fashion trade show, blanking on the name, but they would do a seminar series, and I would help with the seminar series, and I would also create content around them. And so I think on YouTube there's still like old videos of me, like interviewing. They would bring guests, um, like Martin Lawrence Bullard. They still do, you know, he was on Million Dollar Decorate. Yeah. So I would interview him and then work on like questions and things like that. So that's kind of my initial foot into design. And what years are we talking about?

Speaker 4 11:00

Here would that have been? I'm I'm having this moment where I'm going, yes, we both met before, because I've done a few of the seminars at Decorum Design.

Speaker 1 11:09

Probably years. They were quite being shows. There will be shows. Yeah. Um I must say, how old was Neon? He was the early 2000s because Neon was or mid mid-2000s. Neon was born in 2008, and he was about five then. So 2012, 2013.

How She Joined Athena Calderone

Speaker 5 11:27

Oh, yeah, wow. I think there was a pretty strong era for that trade show. I mean, it's it was still it's still going strong now, but I think that that was there's been a big shift. Yeah, it's been a bit of a there's been a few of them change and and move around. Yeah. Okay, so you had that knowledge of the interior design industry through decor and design. And how did you transition to working with um Athena Calderon? How do you what did that path look like?

Speaker 1 11:54

Yeah. Well, because I was the lifestyle editor at My Domain, and then I moved up to a managing editor, and then I became the editorial director. And because I was there for five years, I, you know, built out that website and grew it into this incredible. We did home tours with celebrities, and then we had a great content strategy where we had so much service-oriented content. And Athena was always someone that I interviewed. And that's really the crux of it. That I met her through interviewing her. She would come to town. I remember when Beautiful launched, and we did a story with Chef Ludo in his house, and we went and photographed her and did some video and like super early on, and then she did a dinner around Live Beautiful here in LA on her book tours. So we would connect there. And so over the years, we just got to know each other really well. So when I was in New York, I would visit and we'd go and have dinner together, or vice versa. And we always just from the beginning had a mind meld. Like we just understood this, we had the same tastes, we spoke the same language. And she would always say to me, Oh, I wish I could bring you on, but I'm just not there with my business. And I would always be like, Yeah, well, I can't work a little bit for you. I have a son, I have a family, like, you know, so financially didn't make sense for me. And then it wasn't until COVID, probably late 2020, early 2021, her business was exploding. And I was working for Create and Cultivate at the time. And I we had turned the business from trade to digital. So we were doing all digital shows and we were doing multiple of them a month. And I was just burnt out. And I thought, I need to leave and I just need to consult. And so I started consulting and I worked for I reached out to Athena and I said, hey, look, I'm in a position now where I can help you if I see that your business is growing and ice wound is doing amazing things and I think I have a lot to offer. And she was like, okay, amazing. Write down what you could do. What's your what's your rate? Let's figure it out. And so I just kind of put a job description together and I said, these are the things that I think I can help you do. Like she was doing so well with her content, but she wasn't monetizing her content in a way that I knew we could do based on my experience at my domain. We did a lot of content and commerce and kind of merging those two worlds together. So I was like, you could be doing that. Your audience is right to buy from you. They love your taste. So you need to monetize it. And so that's kind of how I came in and worked with her. I helped build out the Ice Moon website and the content model, taking things like, you know, Room Swoon, which was a series she started and really building that out with every single room in Brooklyn. Everyone wanted to know the sources. She's been known for years as being like an oversharer at heart. She's not gatekeeping, like I think in the past, designers were like, I don't want to share. Like, this is my IP, my taste is my IP, where she's the opposite. You know, I've seen her self-educate and grow and research and then just push that out through her lens and be like, okay, now here's how I see that. And I'm I'm I want you to also use that and do it in your own way. So um, and that really, you know, coming from storytelling and from my domain, that like resonated with me because that's what we did as well. Like service and you know, inspiration and entertainment can all be combined together to create really engaging and you know, shareable content. And so yeah, I helped build out her newsletter, her website, um, then moved into social. And we had a huge uptick in affiliate sales because affiliate was really big back then. Now ShopMai has really taken over that. But um, yeah, it was amazing. She was like, I can't believe. And then we started growing it out in the way that I would at my domain. And eventually I became sort of part of a business. Now I'm at her executive director, so that's kind of an umbrella title for so many different things. I kind of helped with business strategy and language is still a huge part of my role. But then, you know, a lot of what I do with Athena is thinking about what are the next things that she could pursue in her business and how she could approach that in tandem with her manager. Um, and then I help run the team as well. My background, I love managing a team, I love working with people. And so I help kind of keep things moving.

Speaker 5 16:01

I keep the ship moving. Oh, it's so cool. It's just very impressive. So if somebody, if you're listening and you're like, who who is Athena? What does she do? How would you describe what she does and all the facets of being a multi-hyphenate, which I I love that term, by the way, that I stole from her.

Speaker 1 16:17

Yeah, yeah, definitely. I mean, I feel like that's what people resonated with as Athena as a multi-hyphenate. I think, especially as women, we are so multifaceted. We are more than one thing. And so to be able to have someone speak to that and also speak to the vulnerability of that. Like, I don't know if I'm an expert yet, but I'm figuring it out and that's okay. Oh, and that's so good to hear that about her. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. Because I think Athena has like this perfection trope that sort of surrounds her. Like everything's, you know, of course, everything we do is beautiful, but it takes a lot to get to that stage. And she's okay with it not looking perfect along the way and sharing those vulnerabilities. And I think over the years, people really have felt connected to her more because of how much she shares and takes us behind the scenes. I guess in recent years, we've kind of pivoted away from doing as much of that content on Icewim because we've been so focused on her apartment and getting ready for Tribeca and also working on a soon-to-launch furniture collection of her own. Amazing. So I think um, I think that's taken up so much of our time because we're such a small team. But um, now that she has Tribeca out, we really want to get back to that. Because I think at the heart of it all, getting back to your question, Athena is a storyteller. And she really loves to dissect and research and educate. And she's so curious and she wants to explore as soon as she gets on a topic, she's like hyper-focused and obsessed, and she will dive down all the rabbit holes until she feels competent enough. And then she starts to ideate and create through that, and then she starts putting out the creative into the world. And um, yeah, it's just it's inspired me a ton and changed my point of view on design and how you can approach design and how you can get into design. I think for a lot of people to you know her background, her formal background. I mean, she did study interior design, but it wasn't as if she was out there as an interior designer designing people's homes. She sort of started with her own home and then kind of progressed from there. So I feel like that's an inspirational path for a lot of people.

Speaker 5 18:19

Did you hear that word curiosity, Brie? We talk about that a lot. That's my favorite. Yeah, yeah. Um, I think that from what I can gather from um Athena's work, it was funny because I realized I have an image that I found in my folder and it's of Athena in her Brooklyn penthouse. It's from 2013. Like, I don't think I wasn't following her back then, but she's always been, you know, in interior design and she looks super cute. She's like standing in her walk-in rope surrounded by shoes and and gorgeous, you know, fashion and everything. Anyway, but then I actually invited Athena to come into the design society. So that's a platform that I um just sort of mentor and run courses and help interior designers run a better, better business. And um that was probably about 2001, 2002. And she mentioned you, she or mentioned that she's starting to work with you. And and I was like, Oh, I think I know who that is. Like, you know, it's just like it's a big world, but it's a small world as well. So so many. Oh, we're family now.

Speaker 1 19:20

Athena's family.

Speaker 5 19:21

Like we're yeah, we're so many great things that you oh, it's uh you get you get that really nice sense. I also think that what's really interesting about Athena is that she has a very, a very elevated aesthetic. It's um it's very thoughtful, and she is right on the cusp of that trend, like she is she's setting the trend in some way. Definitely. Um, but then there's that other flip side where that there is that relatability. And I saw recently on the feed on her Instagram was her in New York coming up to a newsstand on the street and finding her magazine and the excitement, you know, that she showed. It was very um, it was very genuine, and that was very quite sweet actually to see. Um, so there's those two sort of things going on at once, that really high-end kind of aesthetic, but then there's that real approachability and that multi-hyphen it, because I think there was a podcast um during COVID, I remember listening to it called More Than One Thing. And I found that really interesting because as an interior designer, I feel that there is a focus on just doing one thing. You're only allowed to do interior design if you're serious about it. And I was like, I like variety, I like doing more than one thing. And just somebody to kind of say it's okay to do more than one thing. I found that really like quite freeing in a way.

Running A Multi Hyphenate Brand

Speaker 1 20:40

Oh, that's so nice. Yeah. Yeah, I think for Athena, it's like the umbrella is home, you know, everything within the home. Yeah, right. She's like the business of home. Like she touches all of the worlds that are within home. You know, she started as a mom at home and very young, and her friends didn't have kids yet. And her husband was this successful DJ, and she would travel around with him. And she's like, What is my calling? What is the thing that I'm meant to do? And felt so much insecurity at not knowing. And I think we've all been there. We've all felt that where we're like, wait, what is it? What is my calling? What am I meant to do? And I think just trying all of the different things and seeing what sticks. And in her case, it was all of those things within the home that made her feel because she was a little bit shy back then. Now she's obviously come out of a shell. A lot of things have stuck, beyond to be honest.

Speaker 5 21:27

Like she's doing well at a lot of things. So with your involvement, I liked what you said before about a mind meld, like you had that that connection. So could you unpack a little bit of you know, what's your role? Like you mentioned, you know, setting up a uh creating a beautiful website, which is stunning. And are you yeah, with involved with the furniture or how how do you kind of and especially you you don't work in the same city? So how does that work as well?

Speaker 1 21:55

Yeah, I've been remote with her in LA since the beginning for five, I think I've Working with her for five years, going on six years, and it's just always worked. I think um obviously my role started out as language working on the website and the newsletter and growing that out, and now it's kind of evolved where you know I'm working with her manager who will then you know talk to us about hey, we're talking to a Saratoga. We did a huge partnership with them uh a couple of years ago, and they will ideate with us. How do you think you want to work with them? This is kind of the creative they're thinking, that they really want to lean on Athena, and we'll get together as a team of like, okay, this is what we think we could do. They're launching this series. How can Athena help? What's you know, what's the um amazing creative drive that we can bring to this brand that really feels aligned with us as well, so that doesn't feel too foreign, and our audience will also feel like it relates to them. And so I work a lot on the ideation side. I also help to once that I oversee contracts. Uh so I'm redlining.

Speaker 5 22:54

That's and then I'm yeah, you oh my gosh, work a lot on the contract side. Walking into her world, you must have been like an angel. Imagine, like, I know. And oh, I mean, yeah, as you said, or you're multi-hyphen it yourself. Like, this is the thing.

Speaker 4 23:09

You're doing all these different things and wearing it.

Speaker 1 23:11

Yeah, one minute I'll be in a contract redlining, the next minute I'll be in a spreadsheet, the next I'll be working on like with the furniture, all of the different captions, then I'm working on an Instagram post, like the caption and the carousel and how that's all going to work together. Then I'm letting the team know, hey, there's a shoot coming up next week. Do we have everything that Athena needs? Does she have clothes? Does she have, you know, props, stylists? You know, I'm reaching out to stylists and agents and makeup and hair. And we have a Chanel shoot coming up on Friday, you know. So, like I'm working with the whole team across all different things because we're a very small team, very mighty team. But um, and we get a lot done at a very high level, but it's constantly on the go all day. So I'm a Gemini and I feel like I need lots of different things at different times and lots of irons in the fire. So it's nice, yeah, nice to have a lot of things.

Speaker 4 24:00

And I've always had more than yeah, the same thing. You've got to you can't sit and do the same thing every day, like you could have all the different things.

Speaker 1 24:06

Yeah, no, totally get that. Yeah. So um, and I also feel like I love putting my hand up and and being challenged and saying, hey, I'll I'll let me have a go at that and see if I can figure that out before we have to pay a lawyer, you know, hundreds of dollars per hour.

Speaker 5 24:23

It's amazing. How clever.

Speaker 1 24:25

So and it's so interesting. I work across many facets.

Speaker 5 24:29

Yeah, it's because when you think about it, okay, so Gold Coast Bulletin, like you would never have imagined a role like this. It did not even exist. So it's like you've just carved out something. Yeah, as you said, you wrote your own job description.

Speaker 1 24:41

Yeah. Even my current job description is very, and even my title is like something that we wrote together and figured out together because my role has changed so much, continues to change, which is what makes it exciting. And I think because we're such a small team and you know, Athena's career has changed so much, and we move and roll as as the change comes. And I think being flexible is is the key thing.

What Good Content Still Needs

Speaker 5 25:05

Well, yes, completely. And I think as you said, you know, it comes down to Athena being a storyteller. And I think there's some aspects of content creation that will be the same. But do you have any insights on where content and is that even the right term, content creation? I mean, it's a encompasses so much. Do you have any like insights to where you see that going?

Speaker 1 25:27

Yeah, I mean, I think obviously the algorithms and the type of channels that content is being pushed out from are always changing. Like Substack today, but maybe do we go back to newsletters tomorrow? You know, Subsex owned by an algorithm. Owning a newsletter isn't, you own your audience. So Instagram is always changing, you know, people don't use Facebook as much, but that used to be the big thing. So I think the channels will always change, but what people want to read or listen to or watch is pretty much the same. I think from my experience on the internet back in the day, what used to resonate then still resonates now. People either want service, like it has to provide some kind of information or something that they can use in their own life. It feels approachable, it's tools, it's ways of living or ways of applying something to their life that, you know, they can enhance their lives, or it can be inspirational. And that can also be serviceable. You know, you can be something that's like a beautiful image, just makes your heart sing, it makes your eyes light up, and you're like, oh my gosh, I absolutely love this. I don't know why, but the beauty of it speaks to me. And that's something that I think we discount a lot because Instagram has turned into videos. And I think people just love the beautiful image. Like seeing light spill across a room with a flower leaning out of a vase, like for some reason we don't know why, but that just makes my skin tingle. And that is a service to a lot of people. Well, that we're in the business of beauty, so that that definitely feels to me. And then I think it needs to be entertaining. So if it's not one of those first two things, I think it needs to be entertaining. It needs to be something that makes people laugh, makes them feel good, feel shareable, what they want to share with their friends. It's like a lighthearted moment in the middle of the day when things feel really stressful. So I don't I don't think so true. Um type of content has changed that much. I think that yeah, it's still very much the same. And I think if we keep to those kind of core attributes and also staying true to who you are and the type of content you create instead of changing who you are to just speak to an algorithm. And even if your audience is small but they're engaged, it doesn't matter, you know? So I think um it's hard not to jump on every trend and look at someone else's feed and say, oh my gosh, like wow, they got 30,000 views for that. And mine is 5,000. Well, look at all their other posts. Maybe it's because they jumped on the trend or they used a a trending sound. But I think the more you can stay true to you and to not deviate too much, there might be some trends that are fun to jump on. Like we did the 90s one recently about mom, what were you like in the 90s? Because Athena has so many amazing 90s photos, and we're like, finally we get to share these. Um, she's sometimes ways that make sense. Yeah, like with her and Vic and in the nightlife and you know, nightclubs. I think we can all resonate with that time and miss dancing in nightclubs without phones.

Speaker 5 28:07

I don't think my 90s rear would be that cool.

Speaker 1 28:12

The 90s were cool regardless for everybody.

Speaker 4 28:15

Yeah, that that trend is really cool, but I actually can't stand that song.

Speaker 5 28:19

Oh my god, driving me crazy. That was not my 90s.

Speaker 4 28:23

And then it's in my head, and I'm like, oh no, like I don't want to have the goo goo in my head all day. That was not my vibe in the But I think I'd have to dig out printed photos for like to find like really good 90s photos. Yeah. I thought that I'll be in printed pieces.

Speaker 1 28:37

She had she's dug out the box before and shared things with us. Um so we had some that we could pull from.

The Reality Behind Instagram Posts

Speaker 5 28:44

Yeah, and I think it comes back to that relatability. Like, even if I didn't like the goo-goo dolls at that era, I can still relate to the time, hearing it in the car radio, uh, hearing it starting in blockbuster, trying to find a video. Like, yeah. So funny. Um love doing that. I know. Um, is there something about working behind, you know, such a major personal brand like Athena that people would be surprised by?

Speaker 1 29:11

Yes. I think the main thing is how long it takes to put one Instagram post together. Okay, few. I don't think it just doesn't realize.

Speaker 4 29:18

Oh no, thank you. Actually, that's made me feel better.

Speaker 1 29:21

So much work. So much work. I mean, we don't post every day. And I think that's because we're we want to be more intentional. And I don't think people expect to see posts every day. I think there was a period of time where it was like you've got to keep up with the algorithm, you've got to keep pumping out content. Whereas now I think it really does need it is about the engagement and the shareability of a post versus just yeah, getting likes. So I know for a fact that since we've scaled back and just really focused on being more intentional around our posts, but we spend a lot of time on the posts themselves, from mapping out a calendar, we always are at least a week to two weeks in advance, even if it's just a shell for the second week. And then it's getting together as a team internally, figuring out what each of those posts are, presenting it to Athena, then putting it together, getting Athena to oversee the carousel, whether that's a mix of videos or images or a reel and editing, and then you know, the music. And there's just so much that goes into editing. And then there's the caption, and I I still work a lot on the captions because I work with Athena across language for everything from writing her bios to press to furniture collections or lighting up collaborations, brand collaborations, creative direction, all of that. I'm I'm the one that works with her on the language, so I'm still very much in it with the social captions as well. And so everything needs to go through Athena because obviously the Instagram is her, and so it needs to feel like her and have her voice and her aesthetic. And so it does take a long time. It sounds so fun though.

Speaker 5 30:49

What a great role. What about the book? Were you involved with Live Beautiful?

Speaker 1 30:54

I was on I came, so I wasn't working for her, but I did help with Live Beautiful just in terms of the captions that she had. She had like pull-out captions for each room. So I helped a little bit with that, but I came more at the tail end of Live Beautiful.

Speaker 5 31:08

Yeah, I mean, Live Beautiful, that was one of those COVID moments in Melbourne when we were locked down and uh we had an opening of a week or something. And I went to the bookshop, bought myself a copy of that to sustain me, and it is beautifully written. I mean, the images are gorgeous, but sometimes you can just not dismiss a little bit, but the the writing itself is beautiful enough.

Speaker 1 31:30

Oh, I don't think people understand how much Athena loves language. Like language is where it all starts for her, which I think is so interesting, and I think it's why we have such a mind meld because I come from this world of loving language and loving words and having my head in the books since I was like as soon as I could read, basically. And so we start with that. We we think about what's the story, how does this connect, and then the visuals kind of come from there. Sometimes it's the visual first and then the language, but they're both just as important. They both need to have a very similar, they they both inspire each other. And so I think that's yeah, and she's an incredible writer. She's a very talented writer. Beautiful, but she's very much like a stream of consciousness, like she gets everything down, and it's kind of just like, and then I'm the one that comes in and I'll like massage it and and you know put it all together. And then we work together back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. Like, should this be here? Should that be there? Blah blah blah. So it is a really beautiful symbiotic process.

Speaker 5 32:32

Oh, what what a special relationship that's yeah, you don't you don't get that every day.

Speaker 1 32:37

Like, yeah, it's when there's stressful days, I'll be like, hey guys, like we get to do this for a living, right?

Speaker 4 32:43

So I got to know. Just the whole like, uh, you know, like there's lots of things going on in the world in general, and everyone's feeling a little bit off, but just a reminder, like, hey, how great is it that we get to do this and what we do and that we love that.

Speaker 1 32:59

So we'll get to spend time on an Instagram post with a caption and really be thoughtful.

Speaker 33:05

Yeah.

Travel And Finding A Point Of View

Speaker 5 33:06

It was funny actually because um Bri and I are going to Paris and Milan for Milan Design Week. So I was talking to my daughter Coco, who's 11. I was saying, Oh, look at this restaurant. Like, I'm thinking of booking this restaurant in Paris, and she's like, she's like, Oh, isn't that cool that you get paid to do something that you really love doing anyway? I was like, Coco. And I said, Run in the mouths of bames. Exactly. And I was like, you know, that is pretty, pretty darn privileged. So um but you know, I I got to know you, Sacha, through your Instagram and your storytelling. So is that something that comes naturally to you as well?

Speaker 1 33:42

Yeah, for sure. I definitely don't have to, I mean, I love to map out a content strategy and I love to all of the do all of those things for brands and for my own platform. I just love sharing. And I think storytelling, I think we, you know, when you think of storytelling, now it feels commodified or there's some kind of like reason for it to make money. And I think for me, I think back to, you know, we ancestors and people in caves and storytelling is a way we connect, it's a way we share, it's it's like how we gathered and you know, are either around the fire or whether we were in caves looking at imagery that they were sketching out. So and stories get passed down through generations. So I think that has kind of always resonated with me. And I just love reading books and I love language, and I have a words I love in my notes app where I just like through words or lines or quotes and I just put them in there just so I can like reread them. Or sometimes if I'm a bit of a brain block, I'll look at them and I'll read them and it kind of gets my creative juices flowing and gets me into the zone. So yeah, I don't know. I just have always um loved sharing, and I think that Instagram and you know, social as a platform was just I mean, before that I had a blog and I had my space, and I, you know, I've always wanted to kind of bring my storytelling to the world. So whatever channel, it just ends up being Instagram now. But I mean, maybe I'll do a newsletter again because that was really fun.

Speaker 4 35:09

Yeah, yeah. I do feel like newsletters are coming back. I think the problem with the newsletter is that there's so many and that people have destroyed it. Some brands have destroyed it because they send like two a day or something. And sometimes I open up, I have a folder that they all go into, and sometimes I open it and I go, oh my god, this is insane. Like, and you know, I'm constantly going unsubscribe. Same. Um, same. And it's lost its value and it's just noise.

Speaker 1 35:32

Well, that's value is the right word because I think when it has almost like a theme and a service and some kind of action. Like uh, there was one that was like, who was it? Someone had a podcast music like my five on Fridays or something like that. I'm trying to think of who who did it. But anyway, you subscribe, it comes every Friday, it has five things that he's into, and then links and maybe like five shopping things. And it's like, you know, that's what and I look forward to. I'm like, oh yeah, oh, that's cool. And it's just a quick read. And then there's other ones, um, The Margellian, I think it's called. It's a little bit more in-depth, but she pulls different books and it's um, you know, kind of thinking about sort of more philosophical ideas and how it relates to different books, and then you kind of learn about these different authors and writers and poets throughout the years. Yeah, that's a really good one. She has her own books too, but yeah, I think it has to have some kind of fanatic service oriented, like you almost need to label it as like it's this thing, you know, otherwise it's just like another email and inbox and drop too many of those these days.

Speaker 5 36:33

Tell me about it. So following you, oh it is, isn't it? Following you on Instagram, you know, you have that storytelling element, but you also have a beautiful aesthetic and a point of view. Like, do you know where that comes from? Yeah, I think it's all the travel.

Speaker 1 36:49

I as soon as I could, I got in my car and I was obviously going to Brisbane and hour away. Then I left home when I was, I think I started university at 17. So by 18, I was living in Brisbane. And then I came back after my degree and I worked like three jobs to save a few thousand dollars and then got myself to the UK. And I lived in the UK for three years and then came back and obviously traveled through Europe. See a lot.

Speaker 5 37:16

Yeah, you take it all in.

Speaker 1 37:17

And yeah, and I think I just as much as I just wanted to be out in the world. I think the Gold Coast is obviously incredibly beautiful, and my family still lived there, but I just felt trapped. I was like, I gotta, this all this life happening that I'm not experiencing, and I want to be part of it.

Speaker 5 37:33

So um, and now living in a state, and well, I was just gonna say, correct me if I'm wrong, but if I think about Gold Coast and the 90s, the first person that comes into my mind is Muriel.

Speaker 1 37:43

Oh yeah, you're terrible, Muriel.

Speaker 5 37:46

Yeah, I love that movie so much. I love it so much. So it was it was a small place, porpoise spit. Yeah, I think it's a good one. Oh yeah, it's still it's still small.

Speaker 1 37:57

I mean, not bigger, but it is still small for sure.

Speaker 5 38:00

Yeah, you were like, and it's beautiful here, get me out of here.

Speaker 1 38:03

I envy people, yeah. I envy people that love a small life, you know, that that's that's all they want. The beach is there, they've got the kids, the house, like they don't want for much. Like that would be amazing. I would love that, but I just am the complete opposite of that. I just there's so much that I want to explore and see and do. So I do think now, even living in the states, we in California, I'm so close to so many different states, but also amazing places in California. Like we've been to Zion. Oh, so that's Utah, Zion, but like there's Yosemite really close. There's Napa Valley, there's Ig Sir, there's just like every, you know, you go a few hours and you can in a completely different place environmentally, you know, it's just like stunning scenery. And yeah, it's it's I feel very fortunate. And then, you know, Arizona, you can go to Mexico over the border, you know, that's like seven hours away. So yeah, it keeps me, you know, keeps me entertained now that I'm living here, that I can kind of have access to those things. Yeah. Whereas I think in Australia, you're you're on an island. So obviously you visit really beautiful places like Bali and and um and things like that. But um, yeah, it's different. I think travel for sure has been a huge inspiration for me.

Speaker 5 39:13

Yeah. So I think that, you know, following you on Instagram and seeing how you share your your home and your aesthetic was apps. I was so absolutely devastated to see how the fires were affected. Well, affected cut putting it like that. Can you can you tell us what happened?

Speaker 1 39:30

Yeah, so it was January 7, and there were a lot of winds. We'll talk about winds earlier, and the Santa Ana winds came through, and it was just crazy. It was almost apocalyptic. There were times where I thought, wow, the tree's gonna come down because it was so strong. And the dirt, we have a debris basin front and back of our property, which is really just a way for the weather, like the rain to come down, so it's not flooding the homes. So the dirt was just coming off. Yes. I was in Altadina, which is still part of LA County, but it's it's a little bit further away, um, more east. So yeah, it was a crazy day, a very apocalyptic day. And it's crazy because two weeks before that, we had a gathering with our street on how to prepare for a fire. And we'd actually put together an action plan. Are you true? Some of our neighbors are no, it's it's crazy. And so my son was there, obviously my husband, and so we had the local fire inspector come and tell us how we had to take care of our properties, and then we made an action plan. Who was gonna help who, who was gonna take the dogs, who was gonna remind the elderly people and help them, like who has tools? Crazy. So when the night that it happened, we were all on a WhatsApp group, we're all texting each other, we'll we all shared an app, we were like ready to go. So I feel so lucky, even though yes, I lost everything. But my neighbors were like, Yes, grab all of your important items, your yeah, folder of your, you know, your birth certificate, everything. So I had all of that. We filled two cars full of like, and we didn't even plan to because I was like, it won't get us. You know, you always think like it's not gonna happen to even when we saw the fire on the back of the mountain. We were like, Oh, it'll be fine. But my son, because he was there, said to us, Oh, mom, you should grab some records, you should go back in and grab some clothes from your closet. You know, I'm gonna take my computer, make sure you grab your laptop. Like he was the reasonable one, and I was just frantic because I was like, Okay, I grabbed the essential things and obviously the dog and the dog bed and food for him, but you're just not always thinking straight. So we feel lucky that we were able to leave with those things and leave with our cars because a lot of people didn't. Our neighbor left right at the very end before the house actually burned down, and yeah, it was he he didn't take anything.

Speaker 4 41:47

Oh wow.

Speaker 5 41:48

So sorry that happened. I was um, you know, uh you do have these parasocial relationships, and I I remember standing at the kitchen sink with my mum saying, Oh my friend Sacha, oh my god, look what's happened. Like that's how I felt. Like I just felt so uh it was just devastating because you just finished your bedroom renovation. I know it looked so gorgeous, and yeah, so oh, it was just so devastating. So, what does the idea of home mean now for your chapter of life? Like, do you want to hold on to the home tighter, or are you sort of feeling like it letting it go in a way because you just don't know?

Speaker 1 42:26

Like, yeah, I think it made me feel closer, more connected to home, actually. It's funny because you know, you go back to the property and nothing's there, but I still feel it. It's a weird thing. It's like, and you can't compare to someone losing a limb, but you know, a phantom limb, like it still feels like the house, the spirit of the house is there. And I think because we so quickly jumped onto rebuilding, like we just knew immediately that we were gonna rebuild there. Even you know, a week after we were still like devastated. Like that's we just know that's what we're gonna do. And so we kind of just kept the spirit of her alive, knowing that she would still be at the center of this new facade that we're creating, but that what we've cultivated in terms of the energy of that space was still still ever present, you know? So it feels like she's still alive even though she's not here. I've I we have dreams about her all the time being in house. Sometimes I think about I wake up and like, oh yeah, it's not there anymore. You know, it's like a weird feeling. Oh, that's very weird.

Speaker 4 43:32

Isn't it? That's yeah, it is somebody and you 100% grief. But it's so funny how you say you you can still like feel it when you're there. But I yeah, I actually really believe, and you know, I think Lauren and I have talked about this before that homes do hold energy. And so what you're feeling is probably all the all the love and the energy that you've put into the house. Not even just in, you know, designing and decorating and that sort of thing, just like All the things that happened there, there's there's a place, like it'll always be there. And you can feel it because you're connected to it. And that's why some people can feel that even when they're they didn't have anything to do with it. They can feel that energy.

Speaker 1 44:11

And yeah, yeah, we were only there for two years, but it felt like such a lot longer time because we had done so much work ourselves. You know, we scrubbed the walls, you know, we'd repainted, we put new arches in, we'd just, you know, like anybody who's who's bought a house, you know, you do put so much of your energy and your time and your love and labor into a house that it feels more than just a physical thing. It's an emotional, soulful, very heart connected place.

Speaker 5 44:42

And I think you really that came across in what you shared, you know, on Instagram, how much you loved your home. And I think that's why I just got really upset about it.

Speaker 2 44:50

I was like, but she's just done like so. Tell us about your new house. Like, what's how's that been?

Speaker 1 44:58

Yeah. It's actually been very healing. It's been like the one thing that I think as a family we've been able to tether ourselves to to move on to this next phase because I think without it, I would feel a little bit more unstable and a little bit more lost. I'm in a rental, which I'm so grateful for, but it is not my house. Like I'm very aware that this is a roof for us to live under safely. And, you know, that in this space is where we're gonna create the next home. Like it's yeah, it doesn't feel like home in this angle. No, no, I think that's pretty fair.

Speaker 5 45:36

You from where you've yeah, the situation, it's you know, the reason why you're having to rent that, it's it's not a really great. It wasn't a choice that you had that you made. It wasn't necessary.

Speaker 1 45:47

No, and at the time, rentals were so hard to come by. It was kind of like whatever we could get, we just need to get it and get in there. And um, especially with like the insurance and everything like that, to because our insurance covers our rent for a certain period of time, so which that's also why we're trying to rebuild quickly so that we can have everything up and ready um before that money runs out.

Speaker 2 46:09

What stage?

Rebuilding With Grief And Gratitude

Speaker 4 46:10

Because we're still paying a mortgage. Yeah, God. Um, so I guess a couple of questions about the the new build. How did you is it completely different? Did you kind of think about what you had before? And did you want to replicate that or are you just sort of going, no, it's the whole start again?

Speaker 1 46:26

It's this feeling of like one foot in grief and one foot in gratitude, where I'm like completely devastated that I lost everything in this this home that we loved, and then incredibly grateful, like this is a gift, this house is going to change my life.

unknown 46:40

Yeah.

Speaker 1 46:40

Like and goosebumps thinking about it because I've been given this incredible opportunity that some people don't even get to buy a house, let alone build a house in the ground up. And I'm in this like perfect storm of a situation where I've worked for an interior designer for a long time. I have built relationships with brands. And my husband is also comes, he's a designer, comes from fashion, but like has an incredible eye. And we've always wanted to do this. So it's it's like we've just been delivered this incredible opportunity, and both of us just took it and we're we just ran with it. And we knew immediately the type of house we wanted to build. Like we didn't even have to discuss it. We both were like, yeah, brutalist modern thing. And it was like, that's what we want to build. We want cold concrete, we want like stone, flagstone, we want marble everywhere, we want concrete walls, we want lots of skylights, lots of windows, you know, just to because we live in an area where we've got a mountain at the back and we've got a big 150-year-old oak tree out the back. So we want to access all of that light. And then the sun sets from the front of the house, you see the sunset. So that light just shines straight in. So then we put the kitchen at the front to get the light. So as soon as we knew we were going to rebuild, we just immediately started moving into action stations and um making it come to life. And so many emotions to hold at once. Yeah. Yeah. It's crazy. It is. No, it really is. But then, you know, being able to lean more into the gratitude, kind of less of the grief, and kind of put that into this, you know, more inspiring vision of a life that we can see. You know, I see my I see the kitchen so clearly. I think from the beginning, I've seen the house. I I in my mind, it is so clear. And then communicating that to an architect is definitely the challenge.

Speaker 48:22

Yes.

Speaker 1 48:23

As you know, like architects are amazing, but I think they don't have a s a vision of aesthetics in the same way that we do. True. As interior designers. So it's like they're always going to come from a place of purpose and function. So you have to try and find a way to blend the two together. And we're working with an incredible team at Studio Manan, their husband and wife team. He's an architect, she's an interior designer. So, and that's also really great because she'll say, Hey, why is that there? You wouldn't, you wouldn't propose that. So she and it's always loving me. So it's like this nice um balance of the architect and the designer together in both of their worlds. So it's been really, really, really fun. And for them, it's also been an opportunity to step outside of the regular builds they do to do something like this that feels really different and unique, like poured concrete at the front and then all concrete for the stairs. And like very, very it's it's a simple place and it's modest in size, but it's definitely going to be there's certain design elements that are gonna make it feel different to a regular house.

Speaker 5 49:20

So quality over quantity all day long, anyway. Yeah. And what about your neighborhood? Have the neighbors started the process of rebuilding?

Speaker 1 49:28

Yep, there's great so many houses going up right now.

Speaker 5 49:31

Oh, how starting, which is great.

Speaker 1 49:33

And a lot of them have actually it's amazing because there's this mix of sort of new and low. I think a lot of people were worried that there'd be developers that come in and buy all the land, and it's being there'd be this land grab and they would build all of these cookie-cutter homes. You know, that was a big concern, and rightly so. But there's a very strong community there in Altadina and Alsteen are strong, is like everybody says it. And everybody wants to rebuild. And the people that can't or don't want to, that's absolutely valid. Like I completely understand that. Some people, it's not their goal in life to build a house from the ground up. And it I understand that it's a lot of work.

Speaker 4 50:05

It's a lot of work, it's a lot of stress, too, isn't it? It's a lot of stress, it's a lot of money.

Speaker 1 50:09

Like we have to put a lot of our money into it. Insurance isn't fully paying for it, you know. So I think um that's a big concern for a lot of people, too. But there are tutor homes going up because there was a huge Jane's village was um actually a historical area where there were a lot of tutor homes that were designed by this architect. Um, so there are people putting those back up, which is great. A lot of Spanish styles coming back, and then there's modern like ours, and our street, there's already someone building at the end. Everybody else that was near us that lost a house is rebuilding. So our entire street eventually come back to life. Both our neighbors are rebuilding either side. The one on the right side is actually using using our architect. Cool. Um, so there'll be a nice like match there and probably use our GC too.

Speaker 5 50:49

I think I saw Leanne Ford's house that that was like a Tudor house that went down, and that was another heartbreaking moment. And I think she said something like they just moved in all of their precious pieces.

Speaker 3 51:01

Yeah.

Speaker 5 51:02

Because she bought that incredible historic house anyway. Yeah, I think because in Australia we are connected to that tragic bushfire, like we've all experienced something, or you when you were talking then um my one of my cousins, she lives in Canberra, and in the neighborhood there are old houses from like the 70s, 80s, and then there's ones that were built in the early 2000s because it was like you stay the fire, the fire says like you stay, you're gone. Like it's it's there's no rhyme or reason. Right. It yeah, that they were devastating those fires too. So no, we'd go down a street and be like, How did that house survive?

Speaker 1 51:40

It's weird, isn't it? And it's not like this house had no vents, like there's no reason for it. Like, how did how did the embers not get in there?

Speaker 51:52

Crazy.

Speaker 1 51:54

I know, it really is. I do feel for those people though, because yes, I lost everything, but I can't even imagine my community being gone overnight and having to, and then not even being able to go back in the house straight away because of the remediation process takes so long. So yeah, it's um a lot. We have neighbors up the end of our street that are, you know, really incredible. And we have an email list and we connect with each other on email and we're always sharing information. So I think that really helps to keep everyone connected.

Defining Success And Taking Leaps

Speaker 5 52:23

So, Sacha, what is next for you? And I guess I'd I'm just curious, well, how do you define success in your career?

Speaker 1 52:32

Yeah. I think that is constantly changing. I would say for the most part, it's just feeling creatively fulfilled in whatever it is that I'm doing. That is a big one. Trying to not look too far ahead because I think we and also looking outside of what I'm doing at other people and like comparing myself. And that happens with all of us, you know. And I think sometimes, you know, even in our small team, we'll be like, oh wow, that person's doing this and that person. I'm like, but that's apples and oranges. It's not apples and apples. Like, we need to just focus on what we're doing and how much we can improve ourselves because I'm pretty sure someone's looking at us and saying the same thing.

Speaker 5 53:12

Oh, I'm pretty sure that yeah, a lot of people are.

Speaker 4 53:16

But it's so true. Because I think if you start to do that, we know, we know what happens. You start to kind of pull apart, you might have a really strong point of view, or you might be doing something well that and you know consistency wins, right? So when you break that consistency because you see other people do it and go, Oh, maybe we need to do that, you sort of break that rhythm. It's not as authentic potentially as well, and then it doesn't work, right? It doesn't worked for them, it doesn't mean it'll work for you.

Speaker 1 53:42

No, and then you end up looking at it cringing or regretting, or you know, because you just go, Oh, I did that because of this and I didn't really do it because it's what I wanted to do, you know? So I think just asking yourself those questions. So yeah, I think it's um trying to just stay true to myself in the moment and feeling and asking myself all the time, like, is this still creatively fulfilling me? Because if it's not, then it's time to do something else. But I I love that book, Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway. Did you ever read that? No, but an old one if you recommend it.

Speaker 4 54:14

I do that.

Speaker 1 54:14

No, I read it before I moved out to the States, and it's just been a constant in my life. And I always think of that phrase, feel the fear and do it anyway, because fear is what holds us back from so many things. Yes, whether it's wearing the hat, yeah, because we don't think we can wear hats, you know. It's like it could be something simple as that. It's like just wear it and you'll see.

Speaker 5 54:37

Literally and figuratively, you know, talking about you know, the multi-hyphenate thing, wearing all the hats, like, yeah, it's yeah, yeah, people are scared to to do that too.

Speaker 1 54:48

So yeah, yeah, I think just trying out new things.

Speaker 4 54:52

That's a bit like saying, I feel like I know the difference between like, you know, fear that you should pay attention to. Yes. Maybe don't cross the road there all the moment. But that's that fear where it's kind of like it's like there's also this tinge of excitement in the fear. Like, so you sort of like, I'm really scared, but actually, if I can do this and push forward, I know there's something in it. Yeah. And even if it doesn't work out, you kind of also usually get something from it. And that you were supposed to do it and get that thing from it, you know, and learn whatever it was that you need to learn.

Speaker 1 55:21

I agree. And I always tell my son, just try it. If you don't like it, yeah, it's okay. And I think we hold it back to you. Yeah, yeah, I can hold you back. Like, if you do want to try something new on social, you don't need to regret it later. You like it social is about things all the time. Exactly. Archive it, it's gone. No one's gonna care. No one saw it, probably anyway. Yes, exactly.

Speaker 4 55:43

We're probably sowing up in our own heads sometimes about thinking about people like what they're thinking of us. And they're not, they're worried about themselves, they're worried about what people are thinking of them. So it's like everyone's doing the same thing. Yeah. Yep, it's so true.

Speaker 1 55:57

Yeah, feel the fear, do it anyway.

Speaker 4 55:59

What's the biggest thing you've done with that then? Like feeling that fear and taking that big leap.

Speaker 1 56:04

Would it have been moving or yeah, probably I mean, backpacking through Europe by myself. Yeah, I always was living in a house and I was getting paid good money. I had friends in London. I could have just stayed in London. No one even just going to London by myself. My dad get a job with a family because I wanted to work in a pub. I was like, Dad, I want to work in a pub, you know, I want to like do cool stuff. And he was like, I'm worried about you. You're, you know, I think I was 21. And so he made me get a job with a family, which ended up being amazing. And I'm still in touch with them and I love them like a second family. But um, yeah, I feel like getting a backpack and just going through Europe by myself, staying at hostels, you know, waking up every day, there's a new person. You want to go here? Okay, fine, let's check this out. You know, just like that sort of thing, you know, you you're basically putting fear to the side every day, just trusting your intuition and the course of your life to take care of you.

Speaker 4 56:55

Yeah. And then sometimes the absolute best things happen, right?

Speaker 1 56:58

Oh, yeah. So many good things happen. I mean, I met your husband. Met my husband. Exactly. I wouldn't have met him otherwise.

Speaker 5 57:07

What a beautiful note to wrap up on. That is so lovely. Yeah. Did you have another thought you wanted to add, Brie?

Speaker 4 57:13

Oh, I was just gonna say that I think we were wondering about like, okay, so you're obviously on the cusp of all of these amazing things that like, what are you what do you think is kind of the next thing, or what are you like looking at and going, oh, this is gonna take off, or like you're a bit obsessed with design-wise.

Brutalism Obsession And Closing Thanks

Speaker 1 57:29

Oh, I'm obsessed with brutalism. Yeah. In terms of design, I'm obsessed with brutalism. I feel like, you know, obviously we're building a brutalist modern house. It won't be traditionally brutalist, but we'll we'll have poured concrete and we will have a lot of the sort of monastic, very minimalist approach and a lot of stone. And, you know, I think the warmth will come from how we furnish it and the light that comes into the space.

Speaker 57:52

Yes.

Speaker 1 57:53

But I'm obsessed with like all of the brutalist homes in Mexico. And um, I actually bought this book recently called Concrete Homes by Peter Pulin. I don't know if you follow him on Instagram, but he this book is all European brutalist homes and they're gorgeous. And yeah, that's been a huge inspiration. So that's kind of been my obsession, just researching, looking at all of the different brutalist styles and the history of it, and just kind of really trying to understand it because I want to make sure that I'm honoring it in our house, and I feel like it'll probably end up opening more opportunities in the future.

Speaker 5 58:28

Oh, I love brutalism as well.

Speaker 1 58:30

I went to the barbecue.

Speaker 4 58:31

People probably don't think I would, but I do. There's just something so amazingly pure about it, isn't there? That it's like it just speaks for itself that the form and barbican, it's amazing.

Speaker 5 58:43

Barbican's amazing, but I love the mix of how it can be sort of softened with people's objects and artwork in there. That's just such a good, like sort of tension. Yep. Oh, I can't wait to see this happen.

Speaker 1 58:54

I feel like it could be considered cold, but when I look at brutalism, I don't see cold because I feel like there's always really in there's always huge windows and then like really interesting ways for light to come through. Like I think because it's concrete and that's so finite, you want to bring in the movement to the light, and the light changes and creates new patterns and so much warmth and beauty in the and that sort of very rigid concrete. And concrete does have warmth to it to me.

Speaker 4 59:22

Yeah, I actually love concrete, the texture.

Speaker 5 59:24

It's not concrete, like it depends. As you say, yours is going to be poured on site. So it depends what the mold is that's poured into. Like so many good things. I can't wait to see that. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Oh, we can't wait.

Speaker 4 59:36

Yeah, we will be watching so much.

Speaker 1 59:37

Yeah, I'm excited to hopefully break ground in the next month. So fantastic.

Speaker 5 59:42

Good luck with it all. Good luck with it all. Oh, so enjoyed this chat, Sacha. Thank you for your time and your busy schedule. Thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thanks. We've got the utmost respect for the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation. They're the OG custodians of this unceded land and its waters, where we set up shop, create, and call home and come to you from this podcast today. A big shout out to all of the amazing elders who have walked before us, those leading the way in the present, and the emerging leaders who will carry the torch into the future. We're just lucky to be on this journey together.