Welcome to 2021 and our new store

With COVID in full swing I had plenty of time to ponder the future. All of a sudden, no-one had any certainty in their lives, and nobody knew what lay ahead. For the first time ever, we all seemed to be in the same boat, and we all were back at the start of the race.

 As events started to unfold, I sat back and watched what was going on in the world and more closely in my home town. Toilet paper ran out and things like sanitisers became scarce. This opened a door of opportunity and I jumped onto it. I started to make sanitiser for the local community from resources that I already had and blended a delightful essential oil blend with (WHO standards) alcohol. People were coming to the door or (fence) in droves to get their hands on my protective blend and I finally had a job to do in the face of the crisis.

As restrictions started to ease within the state, people were coming back to the area to visit after being in lock-down for so long. This was a blessing to us as just before COVID, we were ravaged by the bushfires at Christmas, so businesses had already taken a huge hit to the pocket, as we missed summer trade.

As I sat and observed what was happening over a couple of months, I had the strongest urge to move my home-based-business to a larger space and get in front of all these people that were pouring into town every week.

Things were still a little bit dicey as Victoria went into full lock-down, but the urge was as strong as ever.

I decided to take the plunge and rent a space in Milton. I spoke with the land lord about my desire to open a beauty space and set the wheels in motion. Milton is the place to be. It’s a quaint country village with a pulsing atmosphere, good coffee, food and retail. Since the bushfires, the town has grown considerably and it seems, that everyone wants a piece of it.

The plan was to set up a lab/workspace in the back half of the shop and put a few things on the shelve to help cover the rent. As things started to unfold and the building was getting underway, I realised that this space needed more than just a few things on the shelves. It needed a heartbeat of it’s own. It needed to shine. The Delicious Vibrant Beauty, botanical beauty and wellness store was born.

With years of working as a health coach and yoga teacher tied with 20 years experience in concocting cosmetics, I felt that everything was finally coming together. I now had a space to educate people on healthy living while providing products to compliment those lifestyle choices. The inner beauty world and out beauty had finally come together in one beautiful space.

As this was the beginning of December, I didn’t have much time to secure accounts with brands that I loved in order to get the shelves full for Christmas trade. I knew it was going to be a race to the finish line, just to be ready. Along with that, I still had to make all of my own products and get them on the shelves as well.

Luckily, I had an amazing cabinet maker (my ex-husband) who worked tirelessly to get the cabinetry done and my clever daughter who designed all of the shelving and styled the shop. I couldn’t have done it without them both. The combined effort was huge and something we are all proud of.

One month into the shop I am happy today that things are going along nicely. I survived the Christmas rush and now pacing nicely through summer. My biggest concern was not having enough stock as suppliers shut down over Christmas and into the new year. Good news is I think I will make it through until I can order again.

What I have learnt from this experience is that I was always capable of achieving this but never willing to put myself forward. Since I made that decision to open the store, I told myself and others that “There is no such thing as fail in my vocabulary.” I truly believed it and never once doubted myself. Being a single mum with one income coming into the house, puts you into a situation of sink or swim and I was never going to sink.

Plans for the year are very exciting. The shop has given me even more confidence on what is possible for the future. I plan to launch a new line of products that really tie in my experience on inner beauty with the outer beauty world. Think superfoods, broccoli, kale, collagen, polyphenols. I want a range that really encompasses wholefoods and blends it with outer beauty. The wheels are in motion and I look forward to sharing what we have coming.

We plan to launch and focus on our online platform to inspire and educate the audience on the brands philosophy about health and wellness. Beauty is not found at the end of a bottle, it’s the culmination of good food, pure water and air, nourishing relationships, movement and mindset. Beauty has many facets and I look forward to sharing my knowledge with our community.

Welcome to Delicious Vibrant Beauty. xxx