Latest / Project Emerald Collective / Starting a Purpose-Led Business at 60 | Yvonne Overste, Cool Planet
Transcript
- Yvonne: So, you know, people, Clothing can be, it's an emotional purchase often. It affects the way we feel. So when you're buying clothes for your kids, it's even more emotional. So a lot of people even hold on to these pieces because they have this emotional connection. But we're being told by our sellers that they're happy, they like to sell to us because they know they're going to go to other families who share the same philosophy. It's like the first chapter or the first story was with their family and their children and the second story and the second chapter is with the new family who love it and care for it as much as they did, which is really lovely. Eve: Yeah, that's really beautiful. Welcome to the Project Emerald Collective. I'm your host, Eve McIntyre. Every week I sit down with women who have chosen to live differently. Designers, founders, creatives, psychologists, adventurers and change makers. People asking bigger questions about how we live, work, create and connect. These conversations aren't really about fashion. They're about living with intention. finding the courage to be yourself and discovering what becomes possible when you stop living by expectation and start living by choice. If that's the kind of life you're creating too, you're in the right place. Now let's go. Hello and welcome to another episode of the Project Emerald Collective podcast. My name's Eve McIntyre, and today I'm joined by Yvonne Overstee. Founder of Cool Planet, a beautifully curated children's pre-love store in Inglewood in Perth. Proves circular fashion isn't just about sustainability, it's about creating a better future for our next generation. Yvonne grew up in a Dutch family where repairing, reusing, and buying quality wasn't considered circular fashion. It was simply part of their everyday life. After a long career in organizational strategy within government roles, retirement became the beginning of an entirely new chapter for her. One that combines creativity, purpose, and a lifelong passion for pre-loved fashion. I'm so excited to get into this interview. Welcome, Yvonne. Yvonne: Thank you. Excited to be here today. Eve: I'd love to start by getting to know you a little better. So can you talk us through the different hats that you wear today? Yvonne: Okay, well certainly being founder of Cool Planet is the biggest at the moment. It's very busy, it takes lots of my time. that really is where I'm spending most of my days and nights and most of my thinking is kind of turning to Cool Planet stuff. And the other hat of course is being a parent, my most important hat. I've got an 18 year old son, so while he is busy doing his own thing and living his own life, it's still the most important hat I think and will always be. We only get one shot at that as a parent. The smallest hat, but I think is really important, doesn't go on all the time, is the hat for me. The time that I can spend... on things that I want to do with family and friends or just doing stuff I want to do on my own. It's really good. It gives me opportunity to create, to learn new things. it's put on sometimes. A little bit dusty. It's certainly the oldest. But, I love learning new things. So I've just sort of picked up the electric guitar to do something a little bit new and different. My son's old guitar, he doesn't play it anymore, but I saw it. there and I thought I needed to dust that off and start learning a few chords and hopefully plug in the amp soon and sound really good. Eve: That's so cool. I love that. You're never too old. I hope that I get the chance to do that too with my son's guitar one Yvonne: Yeah. Eve: day. What would you say have been the three defining moments that have eventually led you to creating Cool Planet of One? Yvonne: Certainly my childhood, circular fashion, which wasn't called circular fashion, it was just way of life, was... just the way we lived. So migrant family, I was born in the 60s, so child of the 70s. buying quality, no waste, buying only what you need. repairing if it needed repairing, reusing, hand me downs was just a way of life. If your cousins had really great clothes you couldn't wait until they grew out of them and get to have them in your own wardrobe. recycling. all of that is everything, clothing included of course, but that was everything we did was very much focused on sustainability and no waste. So, and starting with quality, think that's the thing. So, my childhood definitely the start of my journey, if you like, or my connection with sustainability and what is circular fashion, or called circular fashion today. The second point, again, not a defining moment, but a defining time, the same as my childhood was not just a moment. was the early 2000s. I really noticed, whether it was my age at that time, I don't know, but I really noticed the decline in quality in... Pretty much everything. mean, clothing, furniture. I've always been interested in furniture and architecture as well. So I noticed a decline in the quality of that. The materials weren't the same quality and the workmanship wasn't the same quality. And I think having grown up with those things being really important to the things that you choose to have in your life, I really noticed that happening in the early 2000s. So that was another time. And at that point, really, my love for anything secondhand was really ignited. I was buying everything pretty much secondhand, not as a big consumer, but secondhand first choice for me always. And that's something I talk about in Cool Planet, at Cool Planet as well. And the other... defining time or the time that was sort of pivotal was definitely my retirement. So I retired at 60 and that was an opportunity for me to do something different, something that really brought me joy, more joy and it gave me the time and I knew sort starting a business doing something completely different, completely different. was going to be time that it needed a lot of time. So they were the three. sort of times of my life that brought me to where I am today. Eve: Yeah, that's so cool. So I love that you've, you know, thought about retirement as creating space for a completely different version of yourself. what's been the biggest surprise about that s this season of your life? Yvonne: I think it feels freer in terms of the way I can think, what I can do and maybe that's turning 60 as well. I don't know. The Hawkers, all of this happened together. It's sometimes hard to of tease out what actually was the reason for the change. But I think that the big thing for me is just feeling freer to do what it is that brings me lots of joy. and the time to be able to do that. Eve: Yeah, I love that. Was it an idea that you know, you had for quite some time in the lead up to turning sixty, or was it just something that sprung upon you one day? Yvonne: No, I've thought about it for a while because there is nothing really like Cool Planet. There has been different things and there are in Perth but not exactly the same. You know, we're very focused on style and quality and not fast fashion. So when I was seeing that, or as I was seeing that more and more, I thought... there's an opportunity to do something about that. But that was some way before retirement, anything could have changed between having that thought and exploring that and actually retiring. my, so having a child also, when I was buying secondhand for him a lot as well, Eve: Mm-hmm. Yvonne: with the same, the nice quality stuff, that's when I noticed there really wasn't anything out there. And I knew this stuff was being... purchased. So it was somewhere and I knew it wasn't going to op shops. These are the really good quality stuff. So I'm thinking it's in wardrobes and I wanted to create a space where people, busy people who didn't have time to maybe sell it themselves, because a lot of people are doing that now, which is great too. It's all about keeping it in reuse. and it was really about trying to make it easier, that's the main thing. So we're working at that and looking at other things that we can do too to make it easier, but it's really for us it's about making it easier now after thinking about it for some time. easier giving people more places to kind of be part of circular fashion Eve: Yeah, so tell us about Cool Planet just describe it to someone walking through the doors for the first time as well. Yvonne: Okay so we're very much, it's about sustainability of course which was a big part but it's very much about bringing, giving people the opportunity to buy style, to buy brands, really good brands that they maybe normally wouldn't be looking at. They'd be choosing fast fashion because they're also thinking about the cost. so we're buying and people have the opportunity to sell to us. So we curate the pieces, we have a look at it. So it's about the brands, but it's also very much about the quality or the condition, I should say, of the brand, which is already a good brand and made well, mostly natural fibres. So that's really important too with the better brands. It's starting a bit more, you see it in fast fashion, but then the quality of workmanship is not there. So that's an important part. We call ourselves, or we say a lot of the pieces are like first generation pre-loved. So Eve: Mm-hmm. Yvonne: it's like new, people, often people will walk in and they'll say, know, is this all pre-loved stuff? know, they're surprised when they see it and it is. And it's nice to be able to give people the opportunity to sort of like spend time in the shop. Eve: Mm-hmm. Yvonne: It's a small shop as well, so customers often talk to each other, which is really nice. So if we talk about the values of Cool Planet, then it's very much about style, about fun, as well about sustainability. and community that's super important as well. So, we're connecting more and more with the wider Inglewood community, which is lovely, but also the community sort of that forms within Cool Planet, which sells to us and we get the opportunity then to sell to other families that share that philosophy of the values that we just talked about. So, you know, people, Clothing can be, it's an emotional purchase often. It affects the way we feel. So when you're buying clothes for your kids, it's even more emotional. So a lot of people even hold on to these pieces because they have this emotional connection. But we're being told by our sellers that they're happy, they like to sell to us because they know they're going to go to other families who share the same philosophy. It's like the first chapter or the first story was with their family and their children and the second story and the second chapter is with the new family who love it and care for it as much as they did, which is really lovely. Eve: Yeah, that's really beautiful. And what do you look for when you decide whether a garment deserves another life? Yvonne: Yeah, we look at everything. it's even down to, so it's the fabric as well. the brand is already right. So we're looking at the condition, which will include things like all the tags are there. There's no tears, stains. It's the fabric. is in almost like new condition so there's not even there's not pilling if it's a little bit of pilling we can deal with that that it doesn't need repair that all the buttons are there often the tags the sale tags are still there as well but it's really looking at the things that people feel like if i say this is first generation pre-loved or it's like new it's got to be like that so it can't Eve: Mm-hmm. Yvonne: feel like it's had lots of wear Eve: Mm. Beautiful. And who are your clientele at the moment and you know, what are your plans for the future? Yvonne: Okay, so in terms of the buying from us, because we've got the two sides, two customers. So the people who are buying from us, mostly mums and grandmothers, which is really lovely, they're Eve: Hmm. Yvonne: people who are already there with the pre-loved. They're already... part of that movement that it's important, it's beautiful stuff, it's great quality and it's important for the planet. So that's good. So they spend a lot of time having a look through the store but dads are happy buyers as well. They love buying things often. Sometimes they'll come in with their little girls especially to buy them little dresses. We get a lot of people buying first birthday dresses as well which is really lovely. Eve: Beautiful. Yvonne: So they're mostly our customers. I had a granddad come in the other day. His granddaughter was staying with him, was during school holidays and he wanted to buy her some dresses. And you know the brief was sort of pink, liked rainbows, liked unicorns and Eve: Yeah. Yvonne: two things were winners. So that's sort of where we went and he found, he walked out with a beautiful little dress that would have been perfect. Eve: it sounds so personal. yeah, which is a beautiful art that seems to have been lost as well. Yvonne: That's part of the community, the feel I think that's kind of working well for Cool Planet. Eve: Yeah, awesome. Something that really resonated with me was your belief that teaching children circular fashion creates more than environmental awareness and it builds values. Can you expand on that? Yvonne: Yeah, so I think when we're trying to get our kids to make good decisions, I mean that's when we're raising our children and we want to get them to think about their choices. Like we talk as adults, like what does intentional mean and what are you doing, what are the values and what are your habits and things like that. So for children... Buying Pre-Loved is about coming into the shop, seeing a whole lot of different things and putting them together as well. So there's all this creativity. And I'll sort of walk the kids through it and you know, have you got a favourite jacket at home? Would this skirt go with it? And there's a full length mirror out in the shop and sort of get them to pick different pieces and what they Eve: Mm-hmm. Yvonne: think might look, might look. good together and so they will do that. that creativity I think that's an easy one with... pre-loved clothing because we're not releasing a whole range for one season. We're kind Eve: Mm. Yvonne: of mixing and matching. We're talking about layering as opposed to saying you've got to buy a brand new outfit every season. We're saying, well, this is a beautiful dress that you've already got on. What about a pair of tights and a nice jacket or a little cardigan or something like that? So it's sort of saying more. There's autumn, winter and spring, summer. So it's talking about the layers and building. the creativity that way, getting people to think differently, they're thinking about colours and they're also getting to think about how things are fitting together, it's their stories building on another, the story of another child and these pieces are actually, you know, they're special pieces, it's quality, it's trying to teach them that fast, Fast fashion certainly, but you know buying a lot of stuff is probably not the way to go. It's sort of like sitting back and thinking about well okay what looks really good together and then when it looks good it feels good. You can see Eve: Mm-hmm. Yvonne: it on the faces of the kids they've sort of pulled together these different things. that look really good and you know when they don't like it because the frown is there and you think okay let's pull out a different jacket and when they like it it's big beaming smile and they've pulled a lot of it together so that's really important as well. So in terms of creativity but definitely I think you know respecting as well and also like cared for looking after things i think that's really important like pre-loved can teach those kinds of things it gets people to think about their choices think about do we need this do we like this is it something that you would wear it seems to be a different conversation than when people are rushing through buying fast fashion they're just filling the trolley it's not necessarily well let's try that on how does that make you feel how does it's It's a different experience altogether. So they're kind of connecting with their decision as opposed to just being very quick about it and it just gets put to the back of the wardrobe after one wear and sometimes no wears. So I Eve: Mm. Yvonne: think that's really important. And whenever you're getting people thinking about their decisions, it's building critical thinking and strategic thinking that just kind of falls out of that because people are actually conscious thinking about why they're doing something and why it works and why it makes them feel good. Maybe not analysing it that way when they're little but that's kind of what happens. Eve: Yeah, absolutely it does. And resourcefulness I think as well. Yvonne: Yeah, definitely. Yep. Eve: Yeah, so as parents as parents we're constantly modelling behaviour. So do you think children naturally understand reuse better than adults? Yvonne: I don't know that they understand reuse better but they probably are less concerned about the fact that it's second hand. I think they just like something and I don't think they are concerned because that's one of the biggest challenges at the moment is that there is still stigma around wearing secondhand clothing for some people. The people who are converts are there in there, they love it and they make it theirs very quickly as soon as they've sort of got at home. So I think children just like things. So they gravitate to things that they connect with and whether that's a jumper that someone else has worn or whether that's a brand new jumper that's just come in from the shop out of a plastic bag and maybe posted in a plastic bag. Kids just, like it and in the shop I try to sort of put the pieces near each other that work well. So I think kids are very, I think they know what they like. So whether it's reuse or not. I think leaning into that as a parent is really important. then it's just saying, yeah, that's really great. Like that goes with the jacket you've already got. Because Eve: Mm. Yvonne: I never say it needs to all be pre-loved in your Eve: Mm-hmm. Yvonne: wardrobe. mean, mine is just pre-loved and same with my phone, everything that I do. that's one end altogether. I'm sort of saying, you know, have a few pieces of pre-loved in your wardrobe, mix and match it. And so that's more what I'm saying. So for people just to sort of think about, well, yeah, that will actually or kids especially, but parents, yeah that will go with a dress that I've already got. Or Eve: Mm-hmm. Yvonne: when winter started, have you got one of these, have you got a pinafore, stick a pair of leggings with it or stick some tights and a little cardigan with it all of a sudden they've got something that went from autumn to winter. They didn't Eve: Mm-hmm. Yvonne: need to go and buy all this extra stuff, especially in Perth because we're not really cold. So it's really about layering here in Perth. Eve: Yeah, absolutely. And conversations in the shop, what conversations are you hearing in the shop at the moment? Yvonne: I think people like the idea that there's so much, so much. available that's actually different. It's not just the same thing when you walk into a department store, which I did the other day, I'm hardly ever in there, and I went to the kids section. And there's just, it's a sea of the same colour, the same thing, some variations, but it does not look like buying pre-loved. Although we do as much as possible put things in colour order. people, a lot of people will say, and because I've got toys that the kids can kind little bike trike that they can kind of ride around, wooden toy and there's other things and there's books pop up. planet sort of books and things that the kids can sit at the table and look at or dad can sit with a cup of coffee because he's not interested in shopping and then mum and the kids Eve: Mm-hmm. Yvonne: can sort of have a walk around. But when customers start talking it's a lot about the choice that's available in the shop that they're sort of surprised that there's so much great stuff out there available that they, that's, that looks like it doesn't have to be brand new but it's in fashion because it's good style. So that people talk about that, that the feeling that there's so much to choose from. So that's what I'm hearing when people are talking in the shop. the people selling to us really like that it's going to a family that's going to love it as much as they did and that their child did. And look after it as well. So a lot of stuff goes to charity shops and they do a really good job but this is a different kind of place. This is for things that people are holding on in their wardrobe for various reasons and they like that there's a place that they can bring it to where someone, they're more confident that someone coming into the shop will pay the price that's on the label. They're not expensive but they're not op shop prices for example. They're not $2 Eve: Mm-hmm. Yvonne: or $5 and they know someone's going to love it as much. know they've cared for it care for it as well. So it's Eve: Mm. Yvonne: that sort of emotional purchase and strong connection to clothing I think. Eve: Yeah, absolutely. So the circular economy often focuses on the carbon and waste side of things, but after our conversation it feels so much more human and like it's about community and connection and joy. do you think as a society we've forgotten that shopping can actually feel good without constantly buying new? Yvonne: yes. I think probably what's happened is the joy or the dopamine. is kind of with the volume, the quantity that people are buying rather than attached to the quality because it's all Eve: Yes. Yvonne: about they still feel good. know people buying lots of stuff are still feeling good Eve: you're evaluating that particular piece against things that you have in your wardrobe or Yvonne: Hmm. Eve: you know, where are you how many times are you gonna wear it? that's all going through your mind as well. And also how it makes you feel. Yvonne: Yes. Fashion is about how you feel. I think it's a massive, it's a Eve: Hm. Yvonne: massive part about it. You know, like everyone likes to wear something that they think they look okay in. Sometimes there's a few costume changes because it doesn't feel right. You might not know exactly what it is but it just doesn't feel right. So you put something else on and go, that feels much better, I'm going to wear that. So it is Eve: Yeah. Yvonne: very much about feeling and I think that's also that whole pre-love that people selling to us have that feeling about their piece that's special and that's the piece that they... want to sell and be worn and appreciated by the next person. Eve: Mm-hmm. Yeah, absolutely. And I Yvonne: That's the difference. Eve: I loved reading that circular fashion wasn't something that you discovered, it was how you your family lived. So tell us about growing up in that environment. Yvonne: the 70s was really a time where you didn't waste things, you know, you did buy quality, there was more quality of available anyway to start off with. So you bought the best, you bought it at a good price and sometimes you bought it ahead of time but you knew you would use it. My mum had stacks of pieces of fabric in her cupboards that she knew she would make something of later on and it was a piece that was on sale at one of her favourite shops at the time. So yes, was very much about what we call intentional buying now. It was very much about you know that it was good quality, that it was the right price, that you could make something out of it, that it would wash well, that it would wear well. And then repair definitely was just part of everyday life. Things didn't break down as much or know tear as much because they were made better to start off with the fabric was better you probably would be wearing clothes that was a stronger fabric if you needed you know your pants that in the play in the playground or something like that so you were wearing the right sort of thing and when it really did need to be recycled it was used for rags in the garage or something it was just what happened to stuff so yes so my mum was A qualified dressmaker, she qualified in the Netherlands. I've still got lots of pieces of the exam pieces that she, it's just incredible what they had to make. The embellishments, the embroidery, the stitching, just amazing, like handmade buttonholes and all sorts of things. I've actually got her sewing machine. That was one of the things she brought over with her. So that's an old Husqvarna, which is absolutely amazing. Super heavy but still got it and love it. So she made everything for us. All the clothes were named because we had such a connection. I had a dress that was a cherry dress, one because they had little cherries off to the side and I had one that had a little tie at the front and became the tie dress. think lots of kids still name their things. We had dresses, if we, for example, were going to a wedding, my mum would take one of her old ball gowns that she'd made and she would make that because there's so much fabric and things like that or everything had full skirts in sort of the 50s and 60s so they would be made into something for us so the fabric was incredible nothing you'd find. every day in Australia, and the designs were amazing. when I'd be poring over her, the pages of her fashion magazines as a child, these are, a couple of seasons ahead, European books, and I could see the difference. And I would say to Mum, can you make that? Can you do that? so it was great. Like she would make things until, unfortunately, as a teenager, you wanted everything that everybody else had. And I Eve: Yes. Yvonne: had this fantastic dressmaker at home who could, you do everything that I wanted. And then of course she'd come around again to, can you make this for me? Can you do this? And it was great. She'd walk into a shop. She'd look at something that we pointed to that we liked. And she'd look at it, check a couple of things, and write a few notes in her little notebook. And we'd buy something, and it would be an outfit within a couple of days. So yeah, it was incredible. was really a really clever woman and very creative as well, like reading back on some of her Air mail letters, was the way people communicated back then, so to the family in the Netherlands. She would hand write letters. They were often written over a couple of weeks, bits of information. And then, like books, she was an incredible writer as well. And I didn't know that until later on, reading these things. I mean, I love writing as well. So clearly there was a massive creative side that was brought Eve: Mm. Yvonne: into the family. and she was a very practical person. Eve: Mm-hmm. Yvonne: So that's where the balance of being creative and being practical Eve: Mm-hmm. Yvonne: was just a massive part of our life. I think being practical, there's a big element of creativity in that as well. Eve: Mm-hmm. Yvonne: You know, if you want to do something that or something needs to be done, thinking about something in a creative way definitely gets a better outcome anyway. So Eve: Mm-hmm. Yvonne: it doesn't always have to be about drawing and sewing and painting or music. or anything, think creativity is really just exploring the possibilities. mean that's a big part of my thinking is always like what's possible and then pushing those boundaries. So that's what it was. But it was always very much growing up, better the world and start at home. Start with yourself and that was really what it was. I heard that a lot and I understand it's a saying from Belgium that hold better the world and start with yourself but there's Eve: Mm-hmm. Yvonne: lots of sayings through time, through some very wise, clever people have talked about. It's Eve: Yeah. Yvonne: really about starting with yourself and Eve: Mm-hmm. Yvonne: then there will be that flow and effect to the world. Eve: Yeah, absolutely. I feel like that's something that's been lost, but yeah, hopefully we're bringing it back now. Yvonne: I think it's really important, but I think it's also important to remember too that nice things feel good. Eve: Hm. Yvonne: And so it's not, doesn't all have to be serious. so with our slogan at the shop. good for your style, good for your wallet, good for the planet. The planet will be looked after if we take care of all this other stuff. It's almost, you know, if we stop over consuming and we think about better ways of doing things and the wallets don't spend so much necessarily, pull back. You don't have Eve: Mm-hmm. Yvonne: to have all those things. If we do that, the fallout will be a happy planet. It's Eve: Yeah. Yvonne: almost if we take care of those habits, our habits, then we will take care of the planet. It'll happen. Eve: Absolutely. Yeah. That's something that I'm super passionate about at Project Emerald Collective, which is really about taking your time and your energy and your money, the power that you have with being intentional with those three things specifically, and Yvonne: Yeah. Eve: the agency that we have as women to make better choices for ourselves and our families. as a society we've been conditioned to feel powerless to a certain extent. But I feel like the turn the tide is turning. we're all about empowering women to, be more intentional, make those choices, and I think together we can make a massive difference. Yvonne: I think too as mothers, we have the opportunity to sort of shape the thinking and the dads as well, but we do spend a lot of time with our kids, to shape Eve: Yeah. Yvonne: the thinking of children, not just girls but boys. I can remember, I've got one son, 18, but when was growing up I was always thinking about the people who... he would be connecting with later on in his life, his friends, his partners and sort of wanting him to learn how to do things for himself and for other people. So, I mean, I could have easily done everything because, busy people fit everything in somehow. I don't know how, but they do. And, but Eve: Yeah. We do. Yvonne: that doesn't help anybody. So, sometimes it is just letting this particular thing take one hour instead of five minutes because you're empowering children. It's giving them control over their choices. And that's, I think, the start because children are ready to learn. They're hardwired to learn. So the more we can give them the opportunity to have some control over the sensible things obviously and the things that are okay for them to have control over and to have some views on things and to be capable to do things. know, we shouldn't be taking Eve: Mm-hmm. Yvonne: over from kids. Like if they're struggling doing something, let them struggle, watch them and be there and mostly they will work it out or they will put Eve: Mm-hmm. Yvonne: those spaces together and then that builds their confidence and their capabilities. So I think that's for girls and for boys. So you're talking about women and you're right, you know, I mean I was of a generation when women were in no positions of power really and when women started... entering positions of influence and power, they were really managing and leading like men because that's the way it had to be. But now women are leading like women. I think that's great and that sort of happened. I've sort of seen that over 30 years, big change. And I think that's great because that's the way it should be. Women come to the table with something different than men do. But I think it's also about getting our young boys ready for that as well. Eve: Mm. Yvonne: when we talk about... preparing girls for that kind of world. think we've got to prepare boys for that kind of world as well. So they're not in something Eve: Absolutely. Yvonne: that, well hang on, that's not how I thought it was going to be for me. So yeah, so I think that's really important to do all those kinds of things for kids, to give them the space to grow without absolutely. Yep. Eve: Yeah, and the empowerment as well. Yeah, it's so true. It's just about giving them encouragement to do what lights them up. we've touched on this in various ways throughout our time together today, but what does living intentionally mean to you? Yvonne: Well, I think it's about choice, Choice, values and habits. So I think that those are the three and they travel together for the intentional living kinds of thinking. So the choice, obviously, it's choice. you can choose to do something or not to do something. And in fact, not doing something or not making Eve: Mm. Yvonne: a decision is a choice as well, but that people sometimes forget. They think, well, I'm not going to choose. Well, you have chosen sort of thing by not choosing. Eve: Yeah. Yvonne: So that's also a choice. So choice, massive. Values, really connecting with your personal values. I think that's it. Like we talk about values like they're just words. know, organizations have values now and they just throw some words around. think personal values, you really want to connect with them. Don't have a big long list, have a few that really mean something to you. I think that that's really important to have that, to know them, to really feel it. Eve: Mm-hmm. Yvonne: And then the habits part, well the habits is really the values brought to life. So the habits are what we do of course that reflect our values but also our habits reinforce our values. It's kind of like a feedback loop. So sometimes we can start doing things that diverges a little bit from our values. So by coming back and going, actually my habit I've got to pay more attention to this particular habit, I've got to do this thing more often. It's really about coming back to your values then and going, okay, yeah, that wasn't as respectful as I'd normally like to be. Respect is one of my strong values. I've got to pull back doing whatever it might be. So it's that. So it's kind of a feedback loop. Habits and values, habits feedback into values and values feed into... habits. and that's decision making of course, super important. Eve: Yeah, absolutely. What's one piece of advice you would give to your younger self? Yvonne: Well, my younger self, I'm going to choose my youth, younger self, I would say don't dim your light. That would be my main thing. It's easy to just go along with. No conflict, what everybody else wants, what everybody else thinks. And sometimes you can just lose your way a little bit or lose what is the core of who you are and how you feel. So don't dim your light, definitely. Eve: I love that. It's so cool. and I totally agree. what did you when did you last feel most like yourself? Yvonne: when I opened Cool Planet. It just, it felt like it all came together. I'd sort of, I'd been thinking about it. I'd been living a life so practical, you know, that was, this was a time for me to be creative, to be creative again. I've created all my life, but to really create, it was lots of space to create and there was so much joy for me around that. I'm going to say when, yeah, Planet opened its doors. Eve: Yeah, it sounds like from our conversation today, all the dots have joined up from your childhood to, now opening this door. What does take your power back mean to you? Yvonne: To me, find your happiness. think that is the piece in happiness is the power right there. So for me it's not about control. For me in fact it's about the opposite. It's trying to have, being happy with less control. know, letting go of some things. Don't hold on so tight. Sort of knowing that there's not a reason for everything. that sometimes it's just the way it is, especially when in difficult times we always try to make sense of things and sometimes it's just saying it is just the way that it is. There can be no sense out of this. It's knowing that the right thing doesn't always feel good. Eve: Hm. Yvonne: Sometimes when we face with a difficult thing, we sometimes... rely on does it feel good, well then it must be right, well no, it's not always the case. Sometimes the right thing does not feel good but it's what has to happen. And I think also knowing that good people make bad decisions sometimes and that doesn't make them a bad person. And of course just... you know, keep good people around you. I think they are all things which is really saying taking back the power isn't about control, it's Eve: Mm-hmm. Yvonne: about happiness and often it's the control that occupies our mind or trying to be in control that occupies our mind but it's the releasing or giving away some of that control that actually is where the happiness is and certainly where the peace is. Eve: Beautiful. If listeners could just take one action this week to become a little more intentional, what would you encourage them to do? Yvonne: think about what they've just picked up or what they've just thought they wanted. And that would be it. know, if they're picking something up, whether it's an item of food or clothing or anything, it's do we need that? Or can I use that this week? Or will I use that straight away? that those kinds of questions it would really just be thinking about that one thing that they're just about to push a button to buy or to pick up. So for me it would be about consuming. We consume a lot. Eve: Mm-hmm. Yeah, there's so much power in that. where can people connect with you? Yvonne: So Cool Planet, we have an Insta page, so coolplanet.shop. We've got a Facebook page, coolplanet.shop. We've Eve: Mm. Yvonne: got a website, coolplanet.shop. And Eve: Mm-hmm. Yvonne: inside our website is our shop, online shop. Also there's a LinkedIn page then as well. Eve: And of course visiting you in store at Inglewood. you'll be at the Circular Fashion Festival that's happening in Perth in October. Yvonne: Yeah so lots of cute kids, cute outfits on the runway on the Saturday around lunchtime. okay lovely chatting thanks Eve. Eve: Awesome. Awesome. Can't wait. All right. Thank you.