Justine came into the campaign looking for a way to really step into, and celebrate her body. Living with an energy-sucking neurological disorder since her teens, Justine told me that she felt she was on the verge of ‘losing her girlhood’ while ‘never having enjoyed the so-called fruits of womanhood’. She wanted to step out of her comfort zone and create some artistic nude images - but was also very scared of the thought of actually doing that! We talked about the difference between being naked and being nude, the history of classic art being the nude female form, and ways in which we could ..read more

Sometimes, I feel like I meet an angel. I know how that sounds. And I’m not trying to be a Hallmark card. But sometimes, the person standing in front of me is simply full of light. They have dedicated their life to helping others. And they’re simply brimming full of warmth and laughter. Susan is such a person. I think I told her within a few minutes of meeting her that I just wanted to give her a hug. She has that affect. And so it is perfect that she has dedicated her time and energy to helping new mothers navigate the first few, often difficult steps though parenting. I can only imagine ne ..read more

This, I think we can all agree, has been a year. For some, the challenges presented by 2020 have been almost academic - something to read about and hear about in the news, but not really anything to have any immediate effect. For others, the effects of this year have been monumental, almost insurmountable. For Kristina and her family, this year has been confrontational and disruptive, and will leave it’s ripples in her family for some time to come. As a career pilot, Kristina has now been through two industry-levelling events. She had just graduated flight school and was living in the states ..read more

Michelle is the epitome of great things arriving in small packages. Her petite stature told nothing of the fiercely determined, focused and playful person who resides within. As an author, Michelle has a gift with words. If you read her responses to the campaign questions below, I’m sure the power of her words will tell you that that is truly her wheelhouse, and a skill I covet. We talked of melanoma scars during her shoot - something very ‘Queensland’ to share a bonding experience of unfortunately - and Michelle remarked that she would end up with a pair of matching scars on her shoulder b ..read more

Angie was the first woman to have her shoot in this campaign, and it feels so fitting that it was her. She and I went to school together, and although we weren’t tight then, I remember her well as being the girl who everyone knew by name, because she was kind to everyone. She remembered you. She took the time to chat, and it genuinely felt like she cared. Brisbane is my home town, but after leaving in 2002 and only just returning in late 2017, I haven’t had the same contact with old friends that I’d have had had I stayed here. One of the beautiful parts about coming back to the place you gr ..read more

May 9, 2020 I just fell down a serious rabbit-hole on Facebook… We’ve all been there. It happens. But this feels bigger than just a FB scroll-hole experience to me… FB showed me my ‘memories’ - a photo taken on this day 7 years ago. It’s a selfie taken with my husband Mark and our then 4mo baby boy, Aiden. Our first baby. Back when it felt like WE were babies. And then it offered me to ‘see more memories’.. and boy, did I bite… I sat. I scrolled. I oohed. I ahhh-ed. I remembered. And loved, and laughed and - as cheesy and gross as it sounds - I even shed a tear. My favourite pictures were the ..read more

April 30, 2020 If you’re finding your favourite way to kill time, distract yourself, or soak up some inspiration these days is by falling down the scroll-hole of whichever social platform you prefer best, it won’t have escaped your attention that Mother’s Day is just around the corner. Like most Hallmark Holidays on our yearly calendar, Mother’s Day has had its share of commercialisation. The woman who started it all back in 1908 in West Virginia, Anna Jarvis, ended up later being arrested for protesting the commercialisation of the holiday. She wanted the day to be about sentiment, not profit ..read more

April 13, 2020 I’ve been numb. I’ve been avoiding. I’ve been reading, crying, playing with my kids. I’ve been full of false bravado, binge-watching news articles and death tolls, I’ve been day-drinking and napping and distracting. It’s been exhausting. Normally (back in The Good Old Days a month ago), I have breakfast out on our back deck, which is surrounded by beautiful gardens and birds and butterflies, nature is my re-charge space. But usually I ‘double-down’ and take the opportunity while I’m eating to check my emails, read that article i’ve been wanting to catch up on, finish the next mo ..read more

January 23, 2020 And just like that, January is almost gone… Every year it starts the same - the collective sigh of relief that Christmas is done, the blur of days leading up to New Years when it’s perfectly acceptable to drink cocktails in the morning and no one seems to know or care what day it is, then the fireworks, the resolutions and the targeted ads in your inbox for your local gym and fitness centre. If you’re lucky, you carve out a bit of time away, although holidays with very young children can feel more like an endurance marathon at times, same challenges as at home, but with less c ..read more