Well what does a typical day look like for anyone?
I certainly don’t have a typical day thanks to The Poi Room, and I love it!! The only constant I really have for my routine is waking up that’s about it. But that can vary too, yesterday it was 4 in the morning, trying to figure out a way to plan my day ahead, then today after 8 (I love school holidays as we don’t all have to wake early), so I hope this sounds familiar to many others, right?
I do love to wake maybe get an early walk with MJ and Ziggy, we know pretty much every tree in a 5 mile radius of our house, then it’s home for a SS&S and then get into the kitchen, usually to make MJ a cup of tea and me a coffee, maybe a poached egg on toast with a side of tomato or Avo, whatever is at hand. We learnt many years ago that its good to start the day with a little protein, bit of carbs and filled out with veges or fruit, interestingly I’m not a cereal or a smoothie man for breakfast.
We currently have a home office so before Melissa and Imy arrive we quickly run about and tidy the kitchen and hope the kids have put away the washing from yesterday (not usually) then the day starts.
A debrief maybe of last week or what we up to in the day ahead, more coffee, this time Imy steps up to the plate….
Working from home can have it’s challenges and its rewards, when the kids are about you still need to be Dad, Ziggy either wants food and water, to sleep under my feet or lately he has been grabbing his lead and heading to the door, wonder what he wants?
The Poi Room has grown so much over the recent times, who would have thought from our flagship store in Osborne Street that opened 13 years ago, that we are now the oldest retailer on the street, that our Ponsonby store is almost 5 years old and our website now has customers from all parts of the globe…… when did we become an international brand?
My role in the business may not so public as MJ, but it is a way I like it…….I get to do all those tasks most people probably would find a bit tedious. Seriously I love talking Insurance with our agent, keeping an eye on mortgage rates, meeting our accountant or book-keeper. In our business we have an amazing creative team in Melissa, Imy and Rebecca, we work together to tell our story.
Running a business like The Poi Room there seems to be endless tasks at hand which keeps my mind and body busy. There is always entering stock, getting product online, transferring stock……. Then there’s paying the bills, doing the payroll, budgets, targets etc etc etc… love it all!!!
A lot of my day is spent outside the office, from running between stores, meeting artists or delivering artwork, all made easier with spotify in the car. Last week I delivered works to Glenbrook in the morning and picked up new work in Devonport in the afternoon… My favourite run is when Dawn Clayden has a kiln of works to pick up…. She is not far from Te Arai beach and if there’s a surf, I’m there with bells on.
In my previous life before The Poi Room I had a career in Construction so I have a love of architecture and truly adore beautiful homes. Every now and then I get to delivery, everyone is so welcoming and I get a real buzz from visiting some amazing locations with homes to die for.
Lunch time can be interesting for me… maybe at home, grab 5 minutes to whip up a sandwich or throw last nights leftovers in the microwave. If it is running about town, pies have always been my achilles heal, it’s so hard not to stop for one….. My only recommendation, do not fill yourself up where you fill your car up, it never ends well. I am lucky though, every now and then I can grab one of our artists and stop for a while at a café and be normal, chat about the world, what new works are coming and what we can do together, I have forged some amazing friendships over the years thanks to good food and better conversation.
Evenings for us all about family time, I usually get to be in the kitchen, rattling up something for dinner…… recently we have been doing the Vegan Foodbag every fortnight, amazing!! Dr Rudi visits for a while, loving that Lager at the mo! Eating around at our place is never too formal, with teenage daughters or friends dropping in how easy is it to throw another few spuds in the pot right? MJ sits across from me and we download the day maybe with a Chardonnay in hand, the kids in and out, seems we have become masters at holding multiple conversations at the same time.
The day may end with either an early night exhausted from all that driving in Auckland traffic or a binge watch on TV, my recent favs… The Vikings, just completed the last ever episode, Cobra Kai!!!, session 3 done and dusted and now we cant wait for the next seasons of a Handmaidens Ttale, Ozark and fingers crossed another of Bridgerton.
Time to sign off… Schitts Creek calls!!
P.S We have some amazing new art in our galleries that I’ve just delivered this week and we’ve got online too, go on take a look!!
