Every now and then whilst I'm scrolling through Instagram I come across brands that I love - The Bodhi Circle is one of them and I wish I could shrink my kids down again so I could buy some of Kristie's beautiful designs. Kristie describes her style as bohemian inspired, hippie style with a love of vintage and retro!
So, let's find out a bit more about The Bodhi Circle.
Kristie is originally from Sydney where she worked as a graphic designer in the magazine industry. After having her son Phoenix, Kristie realised that she didn't want to sit behind a computer anymore, so her and her partner decided to pack up everything and travel around Australia.
It wasn't long before she fell pregnant again, but decided to keep going anyway and look for the perfect home. They arrived in the Sunshine Coast (in Queensland) and realised they couldn't leave! They lived in a camper trailer right up to going to the hospital to have their daughter Kailani. The family have now been living in beautiful Noosa for three years.
Having worked as a designer since leaving school, Kristie felt she didn't really have any other skills, which made it hard to find work in a small town. As a child her Nan had taught her to sew, and she gained more knowledge in high school and had sewn many things for herself, family and friends over the years.
After getting all their belongings sent up from Sydney, including the sewing machines, Kristie decided to use her skill to start a business making cushion covers and other homewares. Being a lover of Indian block printed fabrics and embroidery Kristie wanted to use these fabrics from skilled artisans on the other side of the world and help their economy at the same time.
Kristie says: "I made quite a few artworks and cushion covers and was also experimenting with tie-dying and making a few pieces of clothing for my two kids and realised that this was a lot more fun! I totally loathe department store/mass produced clothing, and there wasn't much available in my area in terms of hippie/bohemian style clothing for children, so I thought I may have something to offer."
"It took me a year to feel like I had enough stock to finally put myself out there, and lucky for me, there are a lot of markets on the Sunshine Coast so I was able to start selling straight away. (I launched in July 2017)."
"I love that all these markets are giving people like myself a a chance to realise their dreams and start their own businesses, and contributing to the local community."
"I love being able to sell my unique pieces to people face to face, as I can see how my clothing makes people happy! People are always smiling when they come in my stall and that helps me to keep going. And I'm loving seeing the photos of little bubba's wearing my clothes also."
"I love being able to make unique clothing for people like myself who want something different, so I use a lot of fabrics and trims from India and Asia, and I've just starting using some vintage sari silk!"
As the name Bodhi suggests, this business is her enlightenment.
Kristie is currently building a website but you can follow her on Instagram and Facebook in the meantime.
Keep up your great style - we love it.
