About us!  What JOURNEY means to me .. - Journey

About us! What JOURNEY means to me ..

43My name is Pauline and JOURNEY is my passion. I love making candles, and soapmaking in particular is very special to me.  Since we've started this business I've learned so much about myself, and I wanted to share my thoughts with you today. 

My day job is nursing and it's pretty stressful.  I'm an Aged Care Nurse who handles the Admissions and funding at my particular facility.  Aged Care Nursing takes a certain type of person, and I have sometimes wondered if I am the right person for the job - yup - even after 15 years.  I fall in love with my Residents and their families, and every time I lose one, it's heartbreaking. Let's just say that I cry regularly! I keep thinking "they were young once", or I put myself in the Resident's or their family's shoes.. How would I feel losing a loved one?  Every resident I help move into our community is different and leaving your home behind to start the last chapter of your life is confronting and a major life change to say the least. I am passionate about dignity, choice and kindness.  I also have a distinctive laugh that I'm told can be heard from quite some distance.  

JOURNEY was started to give me a balance to that.  Something that was relaxing, and purely a hobby (insert some 'me time' here) - although, that being said I always knew I was going to sell.  I mean you have to pay for your hobby right?  I wanted it to be a self-sustaining kind of thing.  The more I made, the more money I had to make more.  Everything I've learned has paid for the next lesson to be learnt - and well, you get the drift.  

The business name?  Well that came from a necklace.  My nieces and nephew gave me a pendant for Christmas that said "shine brightly on your journey."  I love it and still wear it today. 

My first market I went to I went with one table of candles, 5 fragrances and I was soooooo nervous I put it off for months! I'd pack the car.. unpack the car.. pack the car.. The struggle was real.  I was even annoying myself.

I still get nervous, and messing around with an online store is no exception.. At my age you'd think I'd be over worrying what people think but noooooooo, i still fret that people won't like my style, or how I put my stuff together.. .. But despite my awkwardness I'm hoping that my website has a bit of my personality in there, along with my all-together crapola picture taking skills (hahahaha!! I'm trying to get better at those).

When you visit my store you're supposed to be able to see how much I love making everything by how it's presented to you overflowing with my intention here.  Well that's the plan anyways.

I have an amazing partner and 5 children who technically aren't children anymore.. .. but in my head they're still about 9.. I'm sure it's like that for all mums out there! There's Jessica (aka Nic), a talented hairdresser who lives in Tazzie, Rebekah (aka Bek) who works in retail in Rundle Mall (she has a style I've only ever dreamed of having,  and finally my gorgeous Samantha (aka Sama) who works with children.  Add to that my 2 stepsons, Cane who is a gifted musician and Kyle, the gentle soul.  They're all so different, and I'm very proud of the grown-ups they've become.  

When you revisit your blog like I'm doing you remember where you were when you were last writing ... We were flying.. The flow on effect from our fantastic beach markets kept me flat out filling orders from the last and getting ready for the next market. 

Then covid came.  And the world was spinning sideways for a bit there.  The fucking Universe moved it's Goal Posts on me.

In the end, she became more than what she expected. She became the journey, and like all journeys, she did not end, she just simply changed directions and kept going. -

R.M. Drake

Markets stopped, and we stopped.

And Samantha had a baby! Which is when we welcomed Mia into our lives! 

That, folks, I could write about for days! I've been elevated to the upper echelons of woman-hood.. I am the Nanny.  And I fucking love it. 

With our family changing Chris and I started to look inwards as well.  I started to think about making, gardening and having a little shop at home, which with our website we could have some fun with the business.  

I had grown to love some different stuff since we started, and I wanted to share my journey with you. 

When you buy a JOURNEY product you're buying a little bit of me.  I love this industry, and it's just been a rollercoaster since I started.  I never thought for a single moment that it would become what it has, and  I make sure I thank my tribe of friends (that's you!) for giving me some of their time from their busy lives. 

I've brought in my passion for quotes to this business.  I like to think that what makes us different are the quotes.  All of the quotes we use have the word 'journey' in them.  It's meant to be about inspiration, and keeping people (aka me) motivated even when times are hard.  My house is covered in quotes, and in particular the Luke Easter "A strong woman knows she has strength enough for the journey, but a woman of strength knows that it is on the journey where she will become strong", was one of the first I found and I still put it on products today. 

There ain't no journey that don't change you some.  Or so someone said. 

Pauline & Chris~

So here's 15 random facts about me! 

What is my middle name?: Joanne

What was my favourite subject at school?: PE

What is my favourite drink?: A strong Cappucino!

What is my favourite song at the moment?: I can’t stop listening to Icehouse, My Obsession!!! (ask anyone who knows me!)

What is my favourite food?: Cheesecake! Just not the baked kind - they're disgusting!

What is the last thing I bought?: Ouji Board Pillowcases! 

Favourite book of all time?: Nevil Shute, On the Beach.  I've only read it about a hundred times. 

Favourite Colour?: Green!

Do I have any pets?: Yes!!! I'm the crazy cat lady with 4 cats and 1 staffy!

Favourite Perfume?: Narciso Rodriguez

 

When was the last time I cried?: Yeterday.  Hang on, this morning.  

Favourite Movie?: Too hard!  I love heaps of different flicks! Pulp Fiction? Jackie Brown? Clerks?

Favourite TV show?:  At the moment we're watching Psych. 

What is my favourite JOURNEY product?  My soap!  Hands down!  It took yonks to get my recipe right, but now I just love it!

How tall am I?: 5ft 1

The cool part was sitting here typing this blog and suddenly realising that 'nek minnit' it's been 3 years and the stuff I've learned is mind-boggling.  Plus I think answering the questions highlighted just how riveting my life really is!  NOT!

I thank you in advance for spending some time looking around my little site, and I hope if you're around my neck of the woods one day you'll pop in and say hi!

You'll see a comment below - it's the same questions I answered!  I'd love to know some random stuff about you!

So fill them in, I think It will be just as much fun to get to know you as it is me.  

Shine brightly, Pauline xoxo

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