subscribe to Hollingsworth Notes
The last 12-18months have been huge transformations for us—some by choice and some not.
Before the covid hit, I was already struggling personally and professionally. The business had grown pretty rapidly, and all of a sudden, I found myself trying to wrangle a big machine and getting moved further and further away from the parts of my business I really loved and was best at. I wasn’t enjoying it like I used to. Parts of my work I once looked forward to were making me seriously anxious
I didn’t want to make the same mistakes twice. I decided my business had to fit around me and my life, not the other way around. I wanted every job to be one I was proud of and creatively fulfilled by. I feel a lot more protective of my time and energy these days, and I really wanted to make sure I was smart about where I spent it.This mind shift was the impetus for lots of change. We moved to near where I grew up in Gippsland, got rid of our city studio, changed our name ( to my last name), introduced minimum spending, and capped our capacity each month.
In addition to these changes, we decided to bring sustainable and thoughtful design to the forefront. We formalised a lot of the choice we had been making and began to educate our clients and turn down work that wasn’t in line with our ethos. Not using imported flowers, florals foam and minimised plastics. You can read more about the changes we have made and our efforts in sustainability here.
Once covid hit, it blew the business I had built up for the last 5 years. It was a huge shock and took a while to process, but after taking time ( along time) to recoup and regroup, I started to see the opportunity I now had.
It felt like covid had taken a lot of my business away, and now I got to chose what to put back in, so I decided to get fussy!
Last week we were given a chance wor work on the venue launch for the Levantine Hill Estate. This event was to celebrate the launch of the stunning new venue designed by Karl Fender (MONA fame). Pulled together by our pals Every Bit Counts Advisory and beautiful furniture from Harry the Hirer.
This event culminated inf all these changes and the progress we have made over the last year.
It was a prime example of the kind of work we want to do; all the flowers were locally grown, made into reusable vessels and celebrated the season’s best. Following the event, We delivered all the flowers to a local nursing home.
It was the perfect punctuation for both the end and the start of an era.
I cant wait to see where it is next!
Thanks to the always brilliant Ali Bailey for these beautiful images!