Having recently rewatched the movie Sliding Doors that stars Gwyneth Paltrow I still love the concept that a moment in time could change the path that we take. The film alternates between two storylines, showing two paths the central character's life could take depending on whether or not she catches a train.
This strikes a chord with me, there are always moments where I wonder if my life would be different if only I had…insert a number of storyline options.
I am a believer in things happening for a reason and timing is everything. My background has been in the Human Resources space working for two global corporations where I spent my time travelling the world. It seems glamorous although time away means missing family and friends and their events, routine of exercise and healthy eating and that sense for always needing to be “on” and “present” at every meeting that rolled into a lunch and a dinner and a night out. It meant hours spent on planes, waiting in queues and airline lounges, delayed flights and living out of a suitcase. After years of this I was truly exhausted and when I applied for my next role my first question was - “Will I need to travel for this position?”
To be clear there were so many positives - I visited countries I possibly would never have been to on a holiday, I met incredible people, I learnt languages (the basics to get by), new skills and most importantly the need for patience. I learnt that the Aussie accent can be difficult to understand and that there is so much to learn about the many cultures around the world. I found a love for certain countries that often people questioned. I realised how grateful I was every time we landed back in Melbourne after my time away. That in all honesty I lived a life of excess with a big house, filled with stuff that I am not sure we really needed.
After high school I studied Public Relations and Communications and through my working career I moved from admin roles into operations into some sales and then found human resources, in all honesty very little to do with the initial study. So how did I end up in fashion and styling?
During this time I realised my love for fashion and styling was bubbling away. Then the opportunity came to move overseas to continue to build my career at the most senior level or take a redundancy and start wandering down a new path. This decision was made easier - my husband had decided China was not somewhere he wanted to live so I after 12+ years with a freight forwarding company I accepted a redundancy. At that time that meant a large financial pay out that allowed me to take some time off, where I focused on self care and then started my business.
I had no idea what I was doing. I was not on any social media and everyone kept saying for styling you need to have a presence online. Every step felt complicated and scary although over the past five years so proud of how far I have come. I am all about education, so I signed up to complete a styling course with the Australian Style Institute, where I made connections with many fellow stylist also just starting out. I then completed their advanced program and was able to define what areas of styling I wanted to discover and editorial styling was not for me. I liked the personal connection 1-1 and the workshop presentations to help someone find their style and build their confidence simply through what they are wearing.
Today I wonder - if I had made the move to China where would I be today? That’s the beauty of the “what if” conversation, you actually don’t know what would have happened instead be grateful for where you are now.
COVID-19 has thrown the world into chaos and as I prepare to relaunch this business the timing has not felt right to advertise my services. Instead like many I will pivot what I can offer and incorporate my human resource skill set to deliver new ways to support my potential clients.
If you have not seen the movie Sliding Doors, take the time to watch it. It was filmed in 1998 so be prepared for some flashbacks, although this concept that you can take a bad situation and move through it and come out the other side in a better space should be heart warming. Plus her new look with the pixie hair cut is enough to inspire me to get the chop.
Who knows what is ahead, you just need to decide what door to walk through.
