Transcript

Rowena:

Brand You Magazine and podcasts exist to inspire, motivate, and invigorate women to step into their businesses. It’s truly themselves. Full of real-life stories, practical solutions, and inspirational ideas from fellow entrepreneurs. Each issue has a different theme that showcases the many values, beliefs, and morals that women build their businesses around today. So be your business and brand you.

With everything that has happened this year, 2020 could have easily been a year of disconnect and hatred. Instead, I’ve seen communities coming together and rediscovering their common humanity, reconnection, and inclusivity. Each woman in this issue was chosen because they embody these beliefs, heart, and soul, both personally and professionally. Welcome to issue one of Brand You Magazine and podcasts. The Together Issue.

In this episode, you’ll meet Amy, the founder of Confetti Rebels, a lifestyle brand with a hint of feminism. And she’s a rebel for role with her infectious laughter bubbling, enthusiasm, and no bullshit honesty. Amy lives up to the title of the antidepressant ray of sunshine on the gram and our chat together full of peace, love, and lollipops. Amy will make you snort-laugh and give you several me to moments.

Amy:

So Confetti Rebels is, and I always get asked this and it’s really essentially I sell t-shirts and then everyone’s, no, no, you do much more than that. I’m a female empowerment apparel brand. I have no history whatsoever or any experience in fashion. If you look at my fashion sometimes it’s quite questionable, but I wanted to have an apparel brand that sort of stood out from the crowd and made a difference. I wanted to have the opportunity for people to wear my t-shirts and feel good in them and have the slogans or in a meaningful way that people could relate to. So I also do little cute pins and I do affirmation cards and I roundabout way do other little bits and pieces that I can do during my day that might work on the shop as well. But predominantly I do t-shirts. So that’s what I do.

Rowena:

Oh, you do so much more if you ask me, I’ve seen your dance parties.

Amy:

Oh, thank you.

Rowena:

So how did you come up with the name Confetti Rebels?

Amy:

I love two names. Something and something and something in something if that makes sense. I always feel it’s a bit catchy, but if you know me and my personality, you know I’m quite a bright and vibrant person. So the word confetti, well, I would love to be able to put confetti into each of my orders that I pack, but unfortunately, if they get wet, the confetti runs onto the t-shirts trust me. That’s made a learning curve, anything bright and vibrant. So confetti is it? And I suppose you could say I’m a little bit of a rebel. I’m not a bad person. I’m not naughty, but I definitely like being a little bit rebellious and I don’t like to break the law, but I like to push the boundaries a little bit. So that’s where the name comes from. They ask, did you have other names before? I’m, no, literally was Confetti Rebels. My husband always used to go, oh, you’re a rebel. If I did something really daggy and I’m, shut up.

Rowena:

It’s the same for me. I’ve got a business called Preddy Creative. My last name’s Preddy

Amy:

I did work a corporate job. I have to correct you a little bit though. I did have a little bit of a break before the corporate job, but it wasn’t finding myself. Sadly, unfortunately, my father passed away and I needed to take some time off from that to focus on him and my family. And I kind of was, would you say just treading water for a year or two and kind of finding myself because I’m a graphic designer by trade. So, finding graphic design work was not hard. You literally would look in every direction there’d be someone that wanted your help. So I hated creating stuff that other people were passionate about, but I was not very different when you’re a freelance designer to working in an agency with a whole bunch of people that are passionate and excited about a project. And you start from concept through to sign off.

When you’re working by yourself, you never get to see your client’s reaction. You’re working at 2:00 AM in the morning and you’re exhausted. And you’re, I’m really just fucking doing this for a bit of dough. I don’t really enjoy this. I guess you could say that I was a little bit lost. I decided to about maybe four years ago, I opened up a little business which was a greeting card business, which allowed me to design some slogans. I pop them new cards. I would sell them wholesale. It went really, really well until a lot of small businesses that was whole selling the cards to went belly up and they’d close and it’s impossible to sell greeting cards online because people would be buying a card to then be posted to them for them to then post to someone else.

And in the end, I just lost passion for that as well. And I had my second baby and I thought, oh my God, where am I going to go? What can I do? And one of my good friends, she brought to my attention and she’s, well you’ve done one t-shirt, which was a piece of the lollipops t-shirt, why don’t you put your slogans, catchy slogans that you’ve done on your greeting cards and put them on t-shirts. I mean, but that’s just another slogan t-shirt she’s no, no. You should do ones that are related to you. You’re a mom, why don’t you do shit mum club or something like this or I’m, okay. so basically I like to call my business Bogan t-shirt company, but with purpose. So most of my t-shirts a percentage profit gets donated to a charity that I choose and feel it gives it more meaning that way. So I started doing that and here I am today three years later kind of killing it in my own mind I guess.

Rowena:

You’re killing it in my mind to trust me. I avidly follow you on Instagram and you know how there’s those people that you kind of go, oh, I wonder what they’re up to. No, I’ll pass through that. I’m like, I always go through every single one in yours and I’m like, I’m wonder if Amy’s going to dance today.

Amy:

I know everyone loves the dancers, don’t they? It’s been really hard though I can’t dance much anymore because of copyright. The minute I put a dance up, I get shut down but Sony or Warner music. They send me nice little emails saying, I’m just letting you know we’re going to block your song and possibly going to sue you and I’m like, oh my God, serious.

Rowena:

Bloody killjoys.

Amy:

When everyone asks where my music is and where my dancing is, honestly you can blame them. I would pay a subscription so I could have music on there. But I think now I’ve been flagged and they’re, ah, Friday mornings this chick comes on and she dances and she’s using a Taylor Swift song and poor Taylor hasn’t got enough money. So we need to get some more money offer. So that’s how it works.

Rowena:

See, you are rebel. You are a rebel.

Amy:

Yeah, I know. I know. I know, I guess.

Rowena:

We’ve briefly touched on it, and a lot of what has come about with Confetti Rebels has come about because of your own personal circumstances. You include a lot of messages that feel like they reflect really strongly on where you’ve come from and what you’ve experienced. What would you say these days inspires you the most to find those messages?

Amy:

Oh, just honestly, everyday day-to-day things. But also, every week is some sort of a week of something. Tomorrow is Red Nose Day, another week is Infant Loss Awareness Week, another week is Breast Cancer Awareness Week. So I guess I mainly touch base on thing and create T-shirts of experiences that I have gone through. And if it’s something I haven’t gone through, I collaborate with someone that has gone through it.

My plan and my aim is to try and reach as many people as possible and say, “Hey, look, this is a T-shirt I’ve got, that you feel like you can connect with it, then buy it. There’s a charity that links up with it that you can help.” And my, “Hey cancer, fuck you,” one is for my mum and dad. Mum and I used to say that. We’d hold hands and go, “Hey cancer, fuck you!” Unfortunately, cancer fucked them off more, but it is what it is. You don’t need to say anything nice about cancer, so that’s been one of my best sellers.

Yeah, I have another lovely T-shirt that I celebrate… Well, I couldn’t say celebrate. It was in memorial for Infant Loss Awareness Month, and a lot of people were like, “Oh, I love this T-shirt but I haven’t lost a baby.” I’m like, “It’s for anyone that’s lost anyone.” It said, “I am because you were.” They’ve got to hit close to home, because otherwise I have every second person DMing me, going, “You should do…” And I’m like, “Yeah? Come on, tell me.” And I’m like, “Yeah, that’s an awesome slogan, but it has no relation to me whatsoever and I can’t connect with that.” So go forth and conqueror. You can go do it yourself. So yeah, that’s kind of how it is.

Rowena:

As a fellow creative I feel you that it’s so easy to get stuck in a place where you’re doing things for other people. But as soon as it’s something that you’re doing for you that you’re passionate about, it’s amazing how much things flow, and you don’t mind the late nights once in a while or the constant thinking about it because you just can’t wait to get up and do it again tomorrow.

Amy:

Exactly. You could probably say I spend way too much time on the business, but my husband’s a workaholic as well. So it’s really, really worked well for us. Before I started Confetti Rebels, he would work late nights at home, he’d come home, put the kids to bed and I would be like, “Okay, let’s hang out now.” And he’d be like, “I kind of got to work, Aim.” And I’m like, “Oh, okay. So you’re not going to spend any time with me?” I’d rip him a new one, and he’d be like, he used to say to me, he goes, “Why don’t you go get a hobby?” Because there was only so much TV I could watch by myself.

And I realized it wasn’t him that I was needing. I know that’s a horrible thing to say, but we’ve been together almost 16 years. Mate, if we have something we need to say to each other, trust me, he’ll know, and vice versa. So I don’t know, I think it was I was lacking that comfort and like having a missing piece. So I was getting the shits at him for no reason. But now he is stoked that I’ve got Confetti Rebels, because even though I work all the time, he works all the time. So now a romantic night for us is sitting on the couch together, doing our own work. That’s it.

Rowena:

Cutting really quickly back to the dance moves, sure, you can’t use people’s music these days, but I have some big questions around music, right? Because music, I feel like is a big part of how you show emotion on Instagram and how you show how you’re feeling. So what’s your top celebrating dance? If something amazing’s just happened, what song would you put on to crank?

Amy:

Oh God, it’s hard to pick one. It’s really, really hard, but most likely something from Whitney Houston. I love Whitney. And she’s just such a… I don’t know. She’s just such a go-getter, and I’m so sad she’s not here anymore. But yeah, definitely Whitney. Love a bit of Whitney.

Rowena:

When I’m angry, I am most definitely not a metal or rock sort of person, but when I’m angry, I play a bit of Marilyn Manson. Who would be yours?

Amy:

Taylor Swift for sure.

Rowena:

Get the girl power out?

Amy:

Oh, 100%. 100%. Yeah, Taylor, Taytay. Definitely Taytay. I love a little bit of Bad Blood, that song. Yeah, I don’t know the lyrics, by the way.

Rowena:

That’s why you turn it up loud, so nobody can hear you not knowing the song.

Amy:

Exactly. So yeah, definitely Taytay. She’s one that I love.

Rowena:

And this one’s, if you ask me, probably the most important one. When you need a booty shake?

Amy:

I love a little bit of back in the… I don’t even know if you’d call it ’70s. There’s a chick called Gwen McCrae. I don’t know… Actually, I’m just going to Google now how old she is, but I love her, and she does this song called Keep The Fire Burning. She’s 76. Here we go. But she’s got a song that says 1982 it came out. Keep The Fire Burning. Oh, it is such a good song. Or even a little bit of Patti LaBelle. I love that sort of old-school kind of like sister music, R&B, soul gospel if that’s what you call it. But disco. Definitely disco.

Rowena:

It’s definitely got that soul and that heart and that passion behind it, doesn’t it?

Amy:

Listen to me.

Rowena:

So this is your brand You magazine. The theme is together, and all you need to do is spend a very short time on your Instagram page to realize how loyal your followers are. What advice do you have for people wanting to build a successful space on Instagram?

Amy:

Number one, be authentic. No one wants to see bullshit. I mean, I admit I have a few accounts that I follow for the pretty images and the curated content, but at the end of the day, you know how long that shit’s taken to put together, and there’s a lot of fight and tears and anger behind that to get that beautiful shot. And at the end of the day, it’s just not my vibe.

So I guess I’ve managed to build my following all authentically, never had to buy followers. I had had a bit of help with influencers, which is fabulous, but I’ve never had to pay one either. So it really just comes down to being authentic, showing what you’re all about, showing what your processes are, doing behind the scenes, just showing everyone that you’re actually a normal human being. Because if they don’t see that, they’re going to just be like, “Whatever. I can’t relate to you. Nice to look at you now and then, but no.”

I guess possibly as well, and it comes as I feel like it’s a bit of a flaw in my sense, I’m a bit of a people pleaser. I’m the lovable larrikin. I’m the one that always likes to make everyone laugh and get up and groove and dance, but sometimes I have my down days and I have my days where I do get on there and I have a cry. I haven’t had a cry for a long time, but genuinely because I’ve been happy. But the times where I do have a cry, people just go like, “I feel you, I know.” And it’s great to have that connection. So, yeah, be authentic. It’s number one.

Rowena:

Honestly, this year was my biggest challenge to myself, was to start showing up on Instagram and start making social media be a space I wanted to show up on. Rather than feeling like it was me being fake and full of the have-dos and shoulds and stuff. Yesterday I jumped on.

Amy:

Yup.

Rowena:

I didn’t have my hero makeup done, which is a hard one for me to get past. But now that I’ve done it once, what-evs, I got on there, and I was really open about the fact that I’ve been near to burnout recently, because as much as I love what I do, life… just life, and I got on their end.

I can tell that I have my tribe on there, because the flood of messages I got from people just going, “If you need anything…” or “I’m thinking of you”, or “Thank you for keeping it real, because I feel exactly the same way.”

Amy:

It is, the support is just immense. Whether you have a hundred followers or a hundred thousand, they’re there for you and that’s what you want.

Rowena:

Precisely. I feel like by building a organic audience, you’re also building a team of cheerleaders, because those people have chosen to be there. They’re not there because they think it’s somewhere they should be. They’ve chosen to be there and stick around for those years for you.

Amy:

100%.

Rowena:

You’re selling yourself in a very non-prostitutey way, but you’re selling yourself.

Amy:

In a very non-prostitutey way. I love that. I love that. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but still, yeah. I love that.

Rowena:

Speaking of sayings, one of my favourite ones that I found, and this is when I announced that you were going to be in Brand You Magazine, someone jumped on there and this is what they called you. I thought this was the best summary of who you are, “The antidepressant ray of sunshine on Instagram.”

Amy:

Shut up. That’s amazing. Holy shit. Aren’t I a lucky girl? Yeah. Okay. I’ll take that. Why not? Oh God, now I feel like I have a appearance to uphold, but yeah. That’s okay. I’ll take that.

Rowena:

You’ve done it just by being you. I feel like that’s something really powerful that people forget. I feel like corporate smooshes it out of us a lot.

Amy:

100%. Yeah. You’re oppressed in corporate. It doesn’t matter how colourful the corporate business is. It’s always someone fucking someone else to get to the top. Not literally, but fucking them over to get to the top. There’s always a way you’ve got to be, and you’ve got to do this because it’s important clients. You can’t act like this. You can’t be like that.

Amy:

Although I have to say, when I say I worked in corporate, my corporate was a little bit un-PC. I worked at a radio station and it wasn’t like Smooth FM. It was Nova, so it was a little bit crazy in behind the scenes. So I fit right in. But definitely you’d have the head honchos walking through, raising an eyebrow going, “What the fuck?” Half the shit I did was nothing compared to what a lot of other people did, but that’s a story for another day,

Rowena:

Flashing back to Instagram, as a brand designer, I’m used to auditing people’s Instagrams. There’s the cliches that you’re supposed to look for and advise people to do, like, and doing this and show up here, and be over this thing, and whatever’s new, jump on that bandwagon. The thing is, is that your Instagram’s bloody rebel too.

Amy:

Yeah. Yeah. Don’t jump on the bandwagon. Fucking hate that.

Rowena:

You break all the rules on Instagram. You don’t hashtag.

Amy:

No, don’t have time. I probably should.

Rowena:

But you’re getting thousands of people still liking your stuff, which says that your crew is there for you.

Amy:

Yeah. It’s hard to say. Obviously hashtagging, if I do a ‘shake your tits, it’s Friday’, I’ll hashtag. I don’t work off hashtags. I don’t want random people… no one’s going to randomly search a hashtag for a t-shirt that says Tide Moms Club, or slogan t-shirts. Somehow, I want to be found. I want to be found by people that have bought a t-shirt from me or followed me, or following me and suggested someone follow me.

I don’t want random people. I know that sounds weird, and some people have connected with me and followed me, and after about a month gone, “You know what? She’s not quite for me.” That’s okay. I wouldn’t want to be friends… if we’re not like that. They’re on in it on the Instagram, we wouldn’t be like that in real life. So I’m okay with that. But then I connect with a lot of people that we’re so different, but yet they still hang around, and that’s great as well.

So yeah, hashtags, fuck no. For me, it just doesn’t work. You do you. At the end of the day, you do what you think works for your business. Don’t have some random person say that a fad’s going to work for your business. Because if something’s not working, then yeah, mix it up, change it up. But if it’s working and you want to grow it, then you’ve just got to focus on what you’re doing already and go from there.

Rowena:

I think it’s having that awareness, like actually taking the time to stop and analyze what actually is working. For instance, half the time I don’t post about graphic design and branding.

Amy:

No, no.

Rowena:

I talk about my kids being shit or the fact that I found today really hard, or that it’s sunshine and blue skies, or some weird anecdote that came to me at 3:00 AM in the morning.

Yeah. That’s what people want to see. It’s funny, like I’ll put a picture up of a t-shirt. I’m like, “Yeah, look, look, brand new t-shirt out, go buy it.” I get like maybe 100, 200 likes, but then I go ahead and do a post… I am quite careful that I like to put a t-shirt on that I’ve currently selling, then I still post. So there’s a little bit of marketing in there, but posts with me in it just skyrocket 700, 800 likes. It’s just crazy, comments through the roof. As I said, going back to that, they just want to see authenticity.

Rowena:

It’s so very true. I realize it can be scary for a lot of people.

Amy:

100%.

Rowena:

Brand You Magazine is for celebrating people who have branded themselves into the heart of their business, and that has given them a huge success by having that space to step into. There’s no denying that you are smack bang in the middle of your business, and that people are buying you. What would you say to those people that are scared or hesitant to step up as themselves? Like what advice or what would you say to them?

Amy:

Look, it’s hard because being confident in front of the camera, it doesn’t come naturally to everyone and it can be really hard. My main thing is if you’re passionate about what you are doing or what you are selling, then other people are going to be passionate about it as well. But if you’re not passionate, and you don’t really engage with people on there and say… just for example, say if I was a chef… “I love cooking this meal. It brings back so many memories of when I used to cook it with my mom, and we’d all sit outside underneath the trees on a hot summer’s night.”

You’ve got to put a story towards it and put that passion into it, and bring out your personality, your memories. That’s golden content right there. It’s just something that takes time. It’s just something that you don’t go for all guns blazing into it. Warm into it. Do a couple of little posts first. Do a couple of little stories of yourself, and I can guarantee you’ll get really positive feedback and really good reactions. There won’t be any negativity. All that negativity that you think you’re going to get back, like people going, “Oh, they’re going to think my voice sounds funny or my nose looks really big on the camera,” and stuff like that. No one notices that, and if they do, they’re pretty freaking scummy if they’re going to say it. And you don’t want them anyway saying that and they’re not going to say that. And if they do, then they can F off. They’re going to say that there, they’re going to say it everywhere. But, just have confidence in yourself and go forth and conquer.

Rowena:

I feel that the confidence thing, like what you said, it’s definitely the baby steps, like looking at small ways of breaking down what that is for you. So a big thing for me, I was shit scared for my first photo shoot. I had a lot of self-limiting beliefs around how I looked. And really digging into that, it actually made me realize that it was something that was holding me back. But before I could get over it or move past it or find a way to deal with it, I had to actually address why I was feeling that way and find some ways of overcoming those beliefs.

I sucked it up, over-prepared for a photo shoot and got the photos back, and I got them back and I was like, “Damn, I’m hot! Amazing what a fake tan, a little bit of makeup and some good lighting can do.”

Amy:

I scrub up all right. Oh man, I’m fake tanning as we speak. I’ve got a photo shoot tomorrow. It’s like, “Oh, but you look beautiful anyway.” I’m like, “Yeah, I know that. But at the end of the day, I like a fake tan.” It is that self confidence. You’re the only one in charge of that.

Rowena:

Body positivity is something that I’ve struggled with my whole life, but it’s also a really big part of what you promote within your brand. What are some of the ways that you try to be inclusive within your brand when it comes to body positivity?

Amy:

I love that I have a lot of plus-sized customers. I don’t feel like anyone should be defined by the way they look or how big they are or how small they are. Because body positive, it can go both ways. There’s a lot of people that are really thin and have massive issues. It’s funny actually, I was looking… I know this is really pathetic, but I was watching The Bachelor the other night and there are all these 25 year old girls and they’re plastered with Botox. And I’m so sad because they’re already beautiful. Maybe not the best personalities. And you know, don’t quote me on that. Actually you can quote me on that because some of them are very nasty, but a lot of it comes from within. It’s really sad because I have no problem with anyone getting plastic surgery or cosmetic surgery, but do it for yourself.

Amy:

Don’t ever, ever, ever do it for anybody else. Because if you do that, if you start down that road, it’s a slippery, slippery slide. I feel like with my brand, when I do photo shoots, I just want photo shoots of just lovely general people that are confident in their skin. I could care less how big or how small you were, because that’s not who I’m selling to.

I try my best to have my tee shirts go up to a size 5XL. I have some scoop necks that got up to a size 26. I’d love to be able to work more on my plus size range, but, I feel like I’ve come a long way in three years working on that. Originally I only did size small to extra large. Now I do extra small all the way to 5X. I’m really lucky. I’ve got a supplier that sells amazing tee shirts that people are really confident wearing.

Rowena:

I have two personal favourites in your collection. The first one is your enough t-shirt. Every time I see it, it is such a strong reminder of, yeah, I am enough. Like exactly where I am and who I am.

Amy:

Yeah. I am enough. I’ve had enough. It’s all enough. Like, you are enough. Yeah. I’d have to say that one and worthy are my two favourites as well. But that’s exactly… and the good thing about the one worded slogan tees is you can take it however you like. It can mean many, many things.

Rowena:

It’s almost like a reminder to myself and to the rest of the world. A lot of the time a message that I might not be comfortable saying out loud. My other favourite, and this speaks to me on so many levels, especially with a sassy AF six year old who can fluctuate between angel child, like where have you been on my life, to devil’s spawn, do I need to call a exorcist?

Amy:

Oh.

Rowena:

Not a shit mom.

Amy:

Oh yeah. My favourite. My favourite t-shirt. That was a collab I did with the amazing Jade. She actually came up with that little slogan and I just went, “I need to put this on a t-shirt.” And we did that and it’s so reminiscent of life in general. I think I launched them in, God, all the way back at Mother’s Day. Was it May? They sold out in like two days, not even.

Rowena:

So, as we were talking about earlier, life isn’t always sunshine and roses, as much as it can appear like it in the world of Instagram and choosing what we show people. Apart from donning your fuck the funk t-shirt, what’s your suggestion for people to shake themselves out of a funk?

Amy:

Look, remove yourself from whatever situation it is that is making you have that funk. But I mean, obviously, if it’s something that’s unremovable, then changing the mindset a little bit. Look, I’m a converted woman. I used to hate walking. I used to hate the gym. I was one of those people that would scoff at people that ran.

Now, I at least go for three or four walks every night. I love the winter crisp air. I love the hot summer night. I find walking, popping on a podcast while I’m walking, popping on music, really just zones me out of everything that was giving me shit. I really suggest some time out for yourself. You know, that whole method of self care is so important. Tomorrow is my self care day.

I feel bad. Like I pay for a studio and I’ve got a shit ton of work to do. I’ve got over 50 orders to pack, but tomorrow’s my day. I’m going to… Well, technically I’m doing a photo shoot, but from 12 o’clock onwards, I’m going to do whatever the fuck I want. I might go get my nails done. I might go sit at a cafe and do absolutely sweet FA. I might come home and work. But whatever it is, I decide it.

I think it’s really important, whatever that self care is, even if it’s just fucking sitting on the couch and watching TV, it’s not a waste of time. It’s a way to get your brain to just log off and go, “Okay, this is for me now.” And it’s really important. That was the biggest thing that I learned when I went and saw a therapist after my first born. He was easiest baby, but I still managed to score that awesome case of post-natal depression.

And she said to me, “Okay, well, first of all, you need to put your son in daycare.” And I’m like, “But I don’t work.” And she goes, “What’s that got to do with it?” She says, “You do work, you work 24 hours a day.” I’m like, “Yeah. Okay. That’s good.” Then she goes, “And secondly, the second day that you put him in, you need to go have a day to yourself.” I’m like, “Oh my God, again, I don’t work.” And she was, “Unless you’re living in the 1950s, or you’ve got a real asshole of a husband, don’t put yourself down, go and do something for yourself because you’ve done nothing but everything for everyone else in your family. So how hard is it for you to just sit back and do something for yourself?”

Amy:

And I did. And I suppose my perception of everything now has changed. I cannot stress it enough. But you know what? If you like being around your kids all the time or you love to work all the time, then that be it. If that’s your level of self care or that’s what your self care is to you, then that’s great. But as long as you’re happy and as long as you’re doing what you want than that’s all that matters.

Rowena:

That’s what it comes down to. Like, one of my most loathed words in working in an entrepreneurial space, apart from hustle, because that would really irks me and that’s what leads to burn out, if you ask me. The other one I hate is the word balance.

Amy:

Oh yeah. Balance and juggle. Like it’s like, “Nah.” Life isn’t balance.

Rowena:

No it’s not.

Amy:

Balance is bullshit.

Rowena:

Balance is bullshit.

Amy:

You can’t balance your family, you can’t balance your work, you can’t balance your life. Everything’s give and take. When your work goes well, your personal life is up the shitter, it’s just one or the other. And sometimes it’s better than others and sometimes it’s worse than others. And it’s working out how to manage that, rather than trying to get it on an even keel. It’s never going to be that way. So that’s just an unrealistic expectation right there.

Rowena: My word that I like to replace it with is awareness. Having the awareness to realize that things are feeling a little bit off. And rather than pushing through, taking a dramatic pause and thinking about what you can actually do. Be it, “Tonight I won’t work,” or, “I’m going to take the kids to the beach this afternoon,” or, “You know what? I’m stressed about not getting work done. I know I’m not supposed to work at night, but stuff it. Tonight I’m going to work until midnight. Just get that done, and it’s one off.” Yeah. 100%.

Rowena:

Having that awareness that it’s not going to be balanced, it’s not zen AF. It’s like no #bliss, no all of those things, because there’s a whole bunch of stuff that’s always going to come in. It’s having that awareness and having that choice to go in a different direction.

Amy:

Absolutely. I completely agree there.

Rowena:

On that note, what’s one of your biggest learning curves that you’ve had in your business today?

Amy:

One. Is there only one? Jesus. Don’t do everything yourself, because you’re going to burn your fucking self out. And I’m a control freak. I always have been, I need to control everything. And I feel like that’s also what contributed to my postnatal depression. But starting a business from scratch, it’s your baby, it’s your life. If something fucks up, it’s on you, and that’s okay. But as of this week, I actually just decided to put a good chunk of my money into advertising via Facebook. And I’m going to do it with an agency because I don’t know what the fuck I’m doing and I don’t have time to learn it. And I think in the past I’ve tried to do everything half-assed, and it’s just not working. So if I can stick to the shit that I know and do it good and stick to the start outsourcing shit that I don’t know anything about but I thought I could, then I think that’s something that I’ve definitely learned is really important to do.

It’s not an accomplishment to me to be burnt out and start to try and do everything. It’s just, that’s not how it works for me. So yeah, definitely trying to not do everything yourself is definitely the biggest learning curve for me.

Rowena:

So you’re very vocal about your stance around inclusivity. And inclusivity has a different meaning for everyone. What does it mean to you and how do you ensure your business is inclusive?

Amy:

Look inclusivity, obviously everything recently with the Black Lives Matter, I wouldn’t call it a trend, because it’s obviously still going. Sadly I feel like it’s been a bit of a trend on Instagram. Everyone was like all for it for a week, but like I’ve always been supportive of indigenous and black communities. It’s always something that I’ve had people of colour in my life, and I do still have people of colour in my life. And I feel like inclusivity’s not just about body positivity. It’s about everything. People with disabilities, people of colour. It’s been really hard for me to convey that, because genuinely I am a privileged white girl. I was born in a society where I was in a really great family. We weren’t in the low socioeconomic part of my area. And my parents had decent jobs. And I genuinely could say I had a great upbringing.

And I think it’s really important to realize that not everybody has had that, and everyone’s got their own story. So the really important thing about my business and inclusivity is making sure that, as I said, my products attract everybody. And some of the t-shirts aren’t for everyone, but I don’t think that’s got anything to do with colour or body size. I think it’s sometimes to do with the slogan. That’s also why I think that it’s important for Confetti Rebels to have charities where we feel like it’s important. And I say we, as in I’ve got a whole team behind me. I’ve got a team of imaginary Amy’s behind me, because we all do different jobs. But definitely obviously focusing on charities that do need help, like indigenous charities in Australia that are doing so many amazing things. Those type of charities are the ones that I contribute to.

I’m always open to helping and creating awareness for new things. So I’m all ears. If anyone has anything that they can suggest that I could do better or I could contribute to, then God, please tell me. Because sometimes I don’t know how I can help. And rather than shoving my head in the sand, I like to speak out and say, “Yeah, let’s do this.”

Rowena:

The thing is that, and you may not realize this, but even just jumping onto your site. So as someone that’s suffered from anxiety and only been diagnosed after a lifetime of having it in the last four to five years, one of the things that just having t-shirts around mental health, there’s just something really freeing about it, and it just makes me feel really seen. Those small messages like that can make a huge difference. I suppose the point I’m trying to make is what you are doing is, I believe, a really good way for people to be able to feel seen.

Amy:

Oh, thank you. Look, I try my best. I try best. But I wouldn’t be able to do it all without my amazing supporters or my amazing customers. So I actually dread the day that I become so big that I can’t pack my own orders and personalize a message in there, or answer my Instagram for a personal reason because I’m too busy. I’m actually going to dread that. And it’s like that catch-22 where I really want to grow my business and I want to become the biggest and the best that it can be. But then there’s that nice little part of it that it’s nice and small and bespoke that I can focus on people and being a bit more of an exclusive relationship with my followers and customers.

But then again, if I don’t grow, then what’s it all about? I want to become bigger and I want to become better. And I want more people to know who Confetti Rebels is, and what we do and how we can help people. Because even though I’m very thankful for my small community, I want more people know about me. So yeah, it’s kind of that catch-22.

Rowena:

It comes back to outsourcing in a way, I’m in a position myself at the moment. And I think one of the best pieces of advice I got was figuring out the things that really you love that are your zone of genius, that sparks joy in you, the things that you would never want to lose, and figure out a way for that to happen. Everything else can be outsourced.

Amy:

100%. Yeah, absolutely. I’ve even got a lovely local mum, that she’s doing packing for me now. And I’m like, I can support her financially and she can help me by not losing my mind. So it’s great.

Rowena:

And we value your mind and your dance moves.

Amy:

Thank you.

Rowena:

What advice do you have for people wanting to put a little more colour into their world?

Amy:

First of all, you could buy a Confetti Rebels t-shirt. No, I’m joking. Totally not. I’m not. If you work in a corporate environment you have to wear corporate clothes all the time and go crazy on the weekend, but wear whatever you’re comfortable in, right? That’s the main thing. If you want to wear obscene colours and crazy things on your head do that. The hardest thing is though like one of my friends is like, “Oh, I wish I could wear what you wear, but I don’t like people looking at me.” I’m like, “Well, unfortunately that’s what you get. But who gives a shit if someone looks at you? Whatever. What do you care what they think? You don’t even know them from a bar of soap.” Fun bright outfits definitely make the world go around and bring happiness. So it’s a life.

Rowena:

I’m a Care Bears, My Little Pony, Crayola markers girl from way back.

Amy:

Oh, amazing. Amazing. I love all of that. Its so cute.

Rowena:

I remember crying to my mum one day, because I let someone in class use my markers and they drew over black with the yellow and they ruined my rainbows.

Amy:

Oh, who even would? I don’t even… They’re probably a lawyer or something now, or on The Bachelor, who knows? Oh dear.

Rowena:

As a parting note, what would be one of the best reactions that you have had to being yourself in your business, and why people should step up in their businesses as themselves?

Amy:

Look again, through the dancing videos, I guess I’ll just chuck on… Like, it’ll be whatever I’m wearing at that time. Even if it’s just a pair of undies. It’s just own what you do. Own what you love. Be passionate about it. Show how you’re passionate about it. And again, if people don’t like it, then they can fuck off. Because the ones that do like it will stick around.

Rowena:

Excellent. Don’t like it, fuck off.

Amy:

Yeah, exactly. Go away.

Rowena::

Thanks for joining us today. For more information about our amazing contributors, don’t forget to check out dumpdumpdump.brandnewmagazine.com.au. Also, stay up-to-date on our socials and see all the new bits and pieces that are coming out over the coming months. And remember, be your business, brand you.