Latest / Project Emerald Collective / How Do We Make Second-Hand the First Choice? | Lulu Oostryck
Transcript
- Lulu Oostryck: it was a really really huge couple of months and Yeah, I think it it just sort of taught me how fleeting life is and how like nothing really matters, you know, like like in terms of the little little things, you know, somebody saying something that annoys you or you know some somebody I don't know just the little things in life I sort of it didn't really matter. and it made you me really appreciate the importance of like having a good family network, having a loving family network, having community, and yeah, basically not to sweat the small stuff. I know that's a bit of a you know, one of those inspirational things people say, but it really is. Like I really don't get bothered. Like if plans change, like my my type A personality is still very much there, still love planning and stuff. But I'm very good at pivoting now, I think. letting things go, moving on, pivoting, like, all right, that didn't work. Next, next, next. Like it doesn't matter. Eve: 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. Today I'm joined by Lulu Oostrich, founder of the Perth Pre-Loved Lulu Oostryck: Well done. Eve: Market, What began as a pre-loved market has quickly become something much bigger, this conversation isn't. about second hand clothing. It's about why we've become a society that feels that we constantly need something new and whether reconnecting with ourselves might be the most sustainable choice we can make. So welcome Lulu. It's great to have you here. Lulu Oostryck: Thank you. Eve: I'd love you to start by telling us about the different hats that you wear. Lulu Oostryck: Yes, okay. so I I'm me, I guess, is the first one I try and it's really hard not to lose your own identity when it comes to being a wife and a mum and all of those things. So I like to think I'm still me before all of that stuff. obviously a wife to a very hardworking husband. And a proud boy mum. I have a three and four-year-old little boy, so I'm definitely boys. So I'm definitely in the trenches in terms of my motherhood journey. Eve: Yeah. Lulu Oostryck: I'm a daughter and a sister. I'd like to think that I'm a good friend, and community member, and most recently the co-founder of what we call PPL Market, Perth Pre-Loved Market, here in Perth. so yeah, there are my hats at the moment. They're always ever changing, but that's me currently. Eve: Yeah, great. It's such a juggle when you have small children as well. So but they do shape Lulu Oostryck: Mm, definitely. Eve: who you are. So looking back, what are the three pivotal moments that have shaped who you are today and how your journey has unfolded? Lulu Oostryck: I I found it tricky to think of three separate ones, but I would describe myself as a bit of a type A personality. very much a planner, lover, spreadsheet, very organized. My parents used to call me the determinator when I was little. just like very determined when I make my mind up about it. something so I'd always sort of like throughout my childhood and like younger years of adulthood I definitely had made plans and you know stuck to them and that kind of thing and I think there was a really big turning point in how I sort of looked at life as we all had a hard time in 2020. I we actually I got married and me and my husband got married in late twenty nineteen. had a like best day of your life kind of wedding and went went off to Mexico for an ama like one of those amazing honeymoons that everyone dreams of. And then we came back to you know what was 2020 as soon as I returned from our our very, you know, expensive honeymoon. I got made redundant, which was tricky. obviously the pandemic hit. I know that it's not a big thing, but who doesn't have a bit of an existential crisis when they turn 30? So I turned 30. And yeah, then I I experienced like an eptopic pregnancy, which was really hard, which resulted in having tack surgery. And then we experienced the passing of two very close family members as well in an accident. And that was all before sort of May of 2020. So it was like, wow. Okay. So yeah, it was a really really huge couple of months and Yeah, I think it it just sort of taught me how fleeting life is and how like nothing really matters, you know, like like in terms of the little little things, you know, somebody saying something that annoys you or you know some somebody I don't know just the little things in life I sort of it didn't really matter. and it made you me really appreciate the importance of like having a good family network, having a loving family network, having community, and yeah, basically not to sweat the small stuff. I know that's a bit of a you know, one of those inspirational things people say, but it really is. Like I really don't get bothered. Like if plans change, like my my type A personality is still very much there, still love planning and stuff. But I'm very good at pivoting now, I think. letting things go, moving on, pivoting, like, all right, that didn't work. Next, next, next. Like it doesn't matter. because I think when you go through that kind of grief and trauma, it just makes you, yeah, really yeah, appreciate, appreciate yeah, what's important Eve: What you have. Lulu Oostryck: in life. Yeah. Yeah. So yes, I wouldn't say it's three people to moments, but it was definitely like even my best friend was like, Wow, like you don't care about this stuff anymore. I'm like, no, I don't. Like it doesn't matter, you know? so yeah, I would say that. And then also obviously becoming a boy mum, like to all the boy mums out there, it can be pretty brutal. Like, you know, it teaches you how to roll with the punches, literally. Eve: Yeah. Lulu Oostryck: so I think becoming a b a mum to two boys, it's yeah, it's hard work. Yeah. Yes. Eve: It is it is it does get easier. Lulu Oostryck: Yes, I've been told that. Look forward to look forward to teenage Eve: Yeah. Lulu Oostryck: years. They're much more manageable. Eve: yeah, even by the time they're about eight, like yeah, it'll change. Mm. Lulu Oostryck: But only a few more years to go. Eve: and tell us about how the pre Perth the PPL, Perth Pre Love Market came about. Lulu Oostryck: Yeah, so Lauren, you're only obviously hearing from one side of the business today. Lauren Bamford is my good mate and the co-founder of of PPL. one day we were hanging out, she's got a little boy too, so we're very much in our boy mum era. And we were just talking about this sort of concept of mums always having a side hustle, these you know mums and we were just dreaming up ideas of what could we do, you know, what what what are we what are we passionate about? What could we do that sort of can take us out of mum land and just something that would be fun to do. and, you know, over East there's a lot of of of fashion markets where just, you know, not businesses, but just women can clear out their wardrobes and come along and sell you know direct to consumer, I guess you'd say, direct to the shopper. And yeah, we just sort of thought there's nothing really like that in Perth in terms of focus specifically on like a market style experience and Eve: Mm-hmm. Lulu Oostryck: with a with a focus on quality quality. So when you go there, it's not like, you know, as much as we all love an op shop, it's not like you've got to sift through, you know, to find those little gems. we really do encourage sort of quality, you know, anything f from sort of yeah everyday wear through to more luxury wear. but yeah I guess the focus is women's wear, quality wear and yeah, just eventually we were like, okay, we both live in North Perth. North Perth Town Hall is a great venue. Rain Hail or Shine, we know the market can run. Eve: Mm-hmm. Lulu Oostryck: And yeah, we kind of joke, we call it two lost girls market, like behind the scenes, because you know, I've got a background, I do have a background in fashion, but it's sort of more small business and and sort of HR sort of stuff. And Lauren's got a background in more interiors. So we kind Eve: Okay. Lulu Oostryck: of we do complement each other. She's quite creative and she, you know, does all the social media stuff, and but we really are. just teaching ourselves, like teaching ourselves how to build websites and, you know, how to do our branding and, you know, yeah, how to use ticketing systems, everything we've just sort of muddled our way through and and worked it out. and Yeah, we launched in February of twenty twenty six and so we've done it's the first Sunday of every month, so we've done a handful of them now, and it's just grown really, really quickly, especially in terms of the sellers. so many people want to come and sell their their items for whatever reason, whether it doesn't fit or it you know, doesn't suit them or whatever, they don't love it anymore, and hand it on to the next person. And yeah. So Yeah, that's sort of how it's all come about, bit of a long-winded story, but basically two friends that love fashion and have dreamt up sort of Something yeah. an it's in in person shopping experience. I for one really struggle with shopping online, being sort of like a petite person, like I'm short but short but shapely, I guess you'd say. And r you know, things never fit quite the way you imagine them to. so I think, you know, being able to touch and feel something can try it on and and all that kind of stuff's really important. Eve: Yeah. And what kind of conversations do you hear around the market that have surprised you or validated, you know, your feelings as well? Lulu Oostryck: I think the I think the positivity that it brings to I guess I guess the on on the day event. I liken it to you know when you go you're at like a nightclub in your twenties and then you go into the to the bathroom and you look in the mirror Eve: Yes. Lulu Oostryck: and you catch an you catch another girl putting on Lippy or something and you say something like, I love your outfit or that looks great on you. Just like the camaraderie that comes with like A really positive female focused event. Everyone's in a good mood. Everyone's like had a coffee and is there for a good time. I just I just think people like you'll you'll hear some lady in the change room, you know, that's in her 70s go, yeah, love, that's great, kind of thing. You should get that. And there's no, you know, it's not like we're we're we're like, you know, there to sell or anything in terms of talking people into something or out of something, but I think just the multi-generational sort of community feel. We literally have girls in their, you know, teens bringing their mothers along. And then we've got, you know, women in their 70s who are absolutely fabulous, like immaculately dressed out for the morning to find like a little special, special gem to take home. So Yeah, I'd say the in terms of conversations it's just yeah, women like just lifting each other up and and being really, really kind and and supportive, which is really nice. Eve: Mm. So good. So tell me about your family story is really interesting. So can you tell Lulu Oostryck: Mm-hmm. Eve: me can you walk us through how your family has shaped your journey as well? Lulu Oostryck: Yes. so I Eve: Colourful characters in there. Lulu Oostryck: do have quite a yeah, fun family. We're not a big family, but you know, we make up for it. so I think my my mum in in terms of circular fashion and you know, appreciating how much things cost and how things are made and all of that kind of stuff. My mum she was a ten pound pom, so she came out to Australia in nineteen sixty-five with her mother, who was a single Parent to three kids. and obviously growing up in the 60s in Australia, in you know, WA, didn't have a huge allow amount of money to spare. So she's always been very conscious of waste, whether it's food or clothing or whatever, and just always been very resourceful. you know, I'd always get what I would I would choke mum's hairy biscuits in my lunchbox. So there's always been some kind of concoction biscuit that she'd made up and it always Ended up with a bit of her hair in it, and I'd be we've got Mum's hairy brisket in the lunchbox again today. so you know, she's always baking stuff from scratch, and when I was little, before I dictated what I wore, she would attempt to make me clothes and that kind of thing. She would say, you know, when I was in my teens and wanting to buy all of these different shoes and stuff, she'd say, I had one pair of shoes and I painted them different colours for each event. So yeah, she's definitely been a big influence. I grew up in Brisbane, because that's where my dad's family was, but I would spend holidays coming back to Perth. and my auntie owned a very successful curtain factory in Bassendine. so I would spend holidays, you know, sitting in her factory with off-cuts of you know, lovely European sort of fabrics and sewing cushions and skirts and clothes for my dolls and stuff like that. So I feel like that sort of learning to s sew at a young age, and, you know, work with fabrics and stuff really did make me appreciate the the effort and the craftsmanship that goes behind making even the basic of stuff like a cushion, you know. So Yeah, that and then my dodgy old grandmother Bomo. She was very dodgy. I loved her. She lived in Jurian Bay and I have memories of helping her unload the charity bin up in Jurion Bay, which was her responsibility to unload. but before delivering it to Vinnie's or wherever she was taking it would always rifle through and take whatever she wants, which was a bit not ideal, but she sort of taught me that mum, one man's trash is another man's treasure. Eve: Yep. Lulu Oostryck: so definitely appreciate a good op shop. and then my dad, I guess, who he's always been a very proactive member of whatever community we're a part of, whether it was my high school, my primary school, you know. local charities, whatever it is. and he's always taken a very genuine interest in what is happening in other people's lives. He always knows what people do for a living and what's happening and how their kids are and all of that kind of stuff. And I think that that level of interest in people's lives has been a a huge part of my values, caring about what other people have going on and and Yeah, just that sense of community and and sort of making an effort to really connect with people, I guess. So that's that's sort of the main inspo in terms of why I am me, I would guess, in terms of my fashion journey. Eve: where were you living at the time before Dior? Lulu Oostryck: Yeah, so I was still living at home. I'd finished studying fashion design at SIT in Brisbane and landed it was a sales consultant role where I got some some visual merchandising responsibilities as well. but their training's very extensive in terms of learning about the history of of the company, as and obviously the desi different designers along the way, but even down to the details of each bag and why, you know, every single detail of I'm I would assume all luxury bags, but in Dior they have a story. so and it links back to you know Avenue Montaigne where Dior lived and and his summer house in where was it? I wanna say Can't remember. He had a somehow say I want to Granada, but it's not Granada. It was in, it was obviously in in France. but yes, so I would say understanding what goes into the craftsmanship behind luxury goods or all, you know, all fashion. and I think studying fashion design, obviously learning from you know sketching to pattern making to draping to sewing through to the marketing side of it. You know, it's such a huge process to just produce one one garment. so I think I really did appreciate Don't know if you'd call it slow fashion, because it's not with luxury goods, but the yeah, I guess the the thought and the creativity behind each piece. so yeah, that I loved that job in terms of learning about the history of the company, I'd worked a little bit in wholesale fashion. and I I have always struggled with, you know it's all about sell, sell, sell in the fashion industry. Eve: Mm-hmm. Lulu Oostryck: You know, are we above the red line? Are we above the red line? Sell, sell, sell. And even that it's the same in luxury goods. But yeah, I really prefer to work for companies that focuses more on the quality of the garment and individual pieces for people and and it's not about mass production and it's not about I need a a million of these. It's Eve: Mm. Lulu Oostryck: like one good suit, you know? and yeah, if you think about menswear, and I do I did actually really enjoy working in menswear Men always they've got, you know, a blue suit, maybe a tuxedo, and maybe Eve: Mm-hmm. Lulu Oostryck: a couple of sports jackets. It's like a men's wardrobe is very simple, you know, Eve: Yeah. Lulu Oostryck: and they do wear it again and again and again, and with a Eve: Mm-hmm. Lulu Oostryck: different shirt or a different tie, you know? And I think As much as it sounds a bit boring and dull, like there's something to be said for that, to be able to wear the same garment again and again and again to different events and it look different, you know? that joke about is it the the news presenter, Carl, on I don't know what channel is he on, but he wore the same suit every day for a year and nobody said anything. Eve: really? Lulu Oostryck: No, like literally the same blue suit for a year, different ties, different shirts. Nobody said anything. And then I think his co-host, maybe it was Lisa Wilkinson, you know, wore the same dress twice and my god, she's wearing the same dress twice, you know, and it's just like what? Why is this a negative thing? Nobody picked up on Carl's suit. Eve: Yeah. Lulu Oostryck: yeah, so I think yeah, what I've always loved is the craftsmanship behind quality making. yeah. Eve: Yeah, I feel like you've got a deep appreciation from those experiences and that it's been about craftsmanship and not about trends. And Lulu Oostryck: Mm. Eve: about stories and about people and about, you know, how you've been how you felt at home at Oscar Hunt. So and Lulu Oostryck: Mm. Eve: is that fair to say? Lulu Oostryck: Yeah, definitely. yeah, I think Yeah, the level of con it's really like as much as it's, you know, I was in my you know, I've been that girl in my twenties who, you know, wants to go out in a different outfit. Like I've definitely been that person and and still are, like I think in terms it's really hard sometimes to not get caught up in what you see on social media. Eve: Mm. Yeah. Lulu Oostryck: But yeah, I think focusing on buying quality pieces that can be worn again and again is a lot more creative than rocking up to an event in a different dress every time. Eve: Absolutely. And so why are we buying so much, do you think, in your opinion? Like what many women now feel like they can't wear the same outfit twice and you know, we just touched on that with the Karl Stefanovic example. But when Lulu Oostryck: Mm. Mm-hmm. Eve: did that become normal and what do you think taught us that? Lulu Oostryck: Yeah, I'm not sure. I don't I don't wanna say that I'm an expert on it. I think looking back on my life, I remember My formal dress I got made, you know, from scratch from this very lovely dressmaker. She charged me $150 to make this red strapless gown that I thought I looked amazing in, which I did for that, you know. And I remember wearing it to my formal and then I got invited to another formal. And of course I wore the same dress. It was a bit of a no-brainer. It was the only formal dress I owned. It was new, loved it. Wore it again. But somewhere between when would have that been? The early 2000s? No. Yeah. Early 2000s and now. There's been a massive shift, I think, in that culture, especially, I guess, in younger generations. And I obviously, you know, we love to blame everything on social media, but I think having You know, those photos, every influencer taking a photo of themselves in the mirror every day and they've got a different outfit on. or as much as I think dress hire companies are doing good in terms of reducing waste in some respect, like you know, they're encouraging people to rent a dress and the dress will get worn, you know, twenty to fifty times. you know, it's but girls go to formals and expect to wear a different dress to every formal, you know? and lucky for them that these dress hire companies exist because that wasn't something we did back when I was when I was going to school. But yeah, I I think it's a mixture of social media, and just yeah, how normal how much we've normalized consumerism. we have a a little holiday house up in Coral Bay and It's a quite remote community. obviously it's twelve hours out of Perth, so it's a big drive, but there's not a lot around in terms of services, in terms of recycling and that kind of thing. And all everything ends up at the dump there. Eve: And it's great to show our kids that so that it's actually seeing the reality. Like the rubbish truck may Lulu Oostryck: Mm. Eve: come and pick up like if you're in a r a community, like you know, in a residential community where rubbish trucks come and pick up your rubbish, that it's taking it somewhere. And Lulu Oostryck: Yeah. Eve: it's good for the kids to see and for ourselves, I guess guess, to be reminded that it's not infinite. Like we're gonna run out of room. So but I'm really interested in the you know, the consumerism and the behaviours, you know, that we've been conditioned to. So what do you think we're actually searching for when we keep buying? Lulu Oostryck: I definitely think, you know, it's that feeling of you know, something new, something new, something new makes you feel good. like I don't want to say that I'm an expert, I'm not a psychologist, I'm not, you know, but yeah, I think you you s might see a gap in your wardrobe and think, I'm out of white t shirts, you know. I need more white t shirts. All of my white t-shirts are stained. and maybe d normalizing that the one step before. Let's just go buy a new one to like, could I try and could I try and like treat them and get them back to being white before getting a new one, you know? Or where's it going? Am I gonna be is it good enough to go to Vinnies or is it good enough? Or does it need to go, you know, into a recycling somehow? but yeah was a question, it's sort of like why? Why why we why are we buying so much? Eve: What are we actually searching for when we're buying? Lulu Oostryck: I guess it's just a a temporary feeling of like treating yourself. you know, dep depending on what you're buying. But if it's something you don't actually really need, like, you know, I own three denim jackets, probably can't justify buying another one, you know. but Eve: Wow. Lulu Oostryck: yeah, I think we're just searching it it's different in everyone, but I think a lot of the time it's just you know, the feeling of the excitement of buying something new and and that lasts for whether it's you know you buy it and lasts for a minute because you maybe you never end up wearing it or it might last until you get to wear it to that event that you were thinking of. But I think it loses its excitement very quickly because you're always on to the next thing and the next thing and the next thing. And that's the same in any anything, you know. It's not just we will all want the bigger house or the bigger nicer car and all of that kind of stuff. And it's just like at what point do we just stop and go and just be content and just be like, the car's fine, the house is great, we'll we're lucky, you know? Eve: Yeah. Hmm. Yeah, I definitely think it's about Lulu Oostryck: but I'm not gonna say that I'm not I'm not a victim to to doing that, you know. I definitely am a lot more conscious of it now and I don't really have the time to shop and I'm mindful of buying online because half the time stuff Eve: Mm-hmm. Lulu Oostryck: doesn't fit me. I think we all could do better. I think it's really good to start normalizing and celebrating buying things secondhand, you know. I feel like potentially there's always been that stigma around, Eve: Mm-hmm. Lulu Oostryck: you know, secondhand shops are for the less fortunate, that kind of thing. but I think the more we normalize it with, you know companies like Deepop or, you know, eBay was probably the original. Yeah, I think it's important that we're normalizing it and celebrating it. Yeah, I think it's definitely becoming more trendy, I guess. As a as a Eve: Yeah. Lulu Oostryck: you know, daggy word to use. It's becoming more trendy to shop second hand. And, you know, sorry's hiring dresses, you know, back in my day if there were higher dress sh dress hig shops, I you know, I would have like, absolutely not, they're not gonna have what I would wanna wear. and now obviously they stock you know, some amazing amazing brands. so I think just yeah, seeing seeing women enjoy enjoy the process of you know coming along with a sister or a girlfriend or their mum and sifting through, you know, we've got twenty stalls of you know, racks and tables of of goods and Some people leave with nothing and some people find something really special. some people leave with a little too much. but they, you know, they enjoy it. It's it's a good I don't know, it's just nice to see a whole lot of women, you know, getting on and having a nice time together. like I've said before, I think I feel like s you know, in some families or groups of women it can be hard to navigate, you know, female relationships that can be tricky to navigate sometimes. and it's just nice to see genuine yeah, kind women enjoying like, you know, a l a little event together, a little outing together. Eve: Mm, okay. Lulu Oostryck: And that the fact that it's the fact that we can attract, you know, mul it's very multi generational. you know, and something that I might be selling, you know, a teenager might be interested in or somebody in their seventies might be interested in, you know. so yeah. Eve: Yeah. Yeah, great. It sounds like it's a you know, so as much of a social outing out Lulu Oostryck: Mm. Eve: then it's not just about the clothes. It's almost like the clothes are secondary to the actual experience, which sounds like a great, meaningful, fun way to shop. Lulu Oostryck: Yeah, totally. Eve: do you think style becomes more authentic when we stop chasing trends? Lulu Oostryck: Definitely. I've always been very conscious of buying pieces that I think will date. Eve: Mm. Lulu Oostryck: and I don't know if that's just my style I'm not like the cool girl with cool vibes. I'm quite traditional. I wanna buy pieces that are special, but I've always been very mindful of buying things that I think would date. And I get nervous. am I gonna wear this kind of thing? Am I gonna get the use out of it? So I definitely have dresses in my cupboard that I have had for 15 years that I will still wear, and that's because I think I picked a particular style that's quite timeless. Eve: does style become more authentic when you're not chasing trends? Lulu Oostryck: I think yeah, it definitely does because you're f more focused on you. Like are you shopping for Eve: Mm. Lulu Oostryck: you? or just shopping because that's what's on the on the on the floor today. I recently got my colours done, which was super fun experience, but I think super beneficial as well. Because you know, Eve: Yeah. Lulu Oostryck: you walk into a shop sometimes and you go, okay, lemon yellow is very in this season. White Eve: Mm-hmm. Lulu Oostryck: is very in this season. You know Gingham is very in this season. and I think by knowing your style and what suits you in terms of colours and patterns and that kind of thing, the moment you walk into a shop you can go, yes or no, and I think that's really beneficial. Because then you don't get caught up in the trends. You don't, you know, because it's nice to go, I love this colour and I love this print and blah blah blah, but then it's like realistically, is that you, you know? Eve: Yeah. Lulu Oostryck: Is it yeah. shopping with me because he he's like, You take forever to make a decision about something. And I'm like, Yeah, because if I'm buying it, I really want to know that I'm gonna wear it a lot. whenever I bought something on an impulse I I always end up regretting it, I'm mindful of of doing less of that at the moment. Eve: Especially when you've got a limited time with small children. Lulu Oostryck: Yeah, yeah. Eve: What's one item you'll never part with? Lulu Oostryck: silk laundry slip dresses. I've got a couple of them, a black one and an emerald green one. And I just think they're a really versatile piece. You can wear t-shirts under them, you can wear tops over them, and then they look like skirts, you can wear jackets over them, they can be quite dressy, or they could be quite casual. So I think just your traditional sort of silk slip dress. And you know, a bias cut dress isn't always flattering on everyone. And I've definitely had my days where I've thought I don't feel great in this. but I think it's the way you can style a simple silk slip dress, in so many different ways. I think that it's a really it's a good staple to have in the wardrobe. Eve: What's your best pre loved find, Lauren? Lulu Oostryck: I do shop quite a bit at a local consignment shop, rerun consignment as well. I'd probably say a cozy, like I'm in my mum vibe, so I don't actually get to wear nice stuff that often, but a nice Camilo Mark jumper that's stylish but also practical and warm. you wear it over jeans, wear it over your silk slip dress, wear it with active wear, that kind of thing. I'd probably say something like that would be one of my best secondhand finds. Eve: Beautiful. What's one fashion rule you'd love to disappear? Lulu Oostryck: the fact that you're apparently only allowed to wear a dress once. Especially when it comes to event wear. I feel like so much goes into beautiful dresses for the races or for formals or for whatever. And I don't know why we feel the need to once we've had a photo never wear it again. Like it's just crazy to me. Yeah. Yeah. Eve: Especially if you love it and it looks good on you. What's your favourite Australian designer? Lulu Oostryck: Good question. There's so many. I feel like Zimmerman would be would be an obvious one, but it's not that affordable these days. so second hand Zimmerman dresses at Perth Free Love Market, maybe? Eve: Yeah. Yeah. one thing every woman should buy second hand? Lulu Oostryck: a good leather jacket. I think there's nothing that, you know, especially Ina Pelley does beautiful leather jackets. She's she's a great designer actually from Melbourne. I think a good leather jacket, is a staple in every wardrobe and we always have a lot at the market. I had some beautiful ones, but as our bodies change and grow with motherhood, they don't fit me anymore. So somebody snabbed them up for a very good price. Eve: what does living intentionally mean to you? Lulu Oostryck: I feel like I'm not in a place in my life where I can be doing all of the things that I would like to be doing in terms of always being present or feeling like I can't have the time to be present or, you know, doing the things that I'd like to be doing to support. Environment and make good choices. But I think what I do day to day is what I can do is building my community. I've made an effort to learn the name of the three blokes who work at the butcher, the guy that runs the sushi shop, the the girls at the coffee shop, and our lollipop man that we that we talk to every day as we cross the road for school. I think connecting with your local community, it having that sense of belonging is something as somebody who's moved around, I've lived in Brisbane and and Mount Isa and Sydney and spent some time overseas and and in Perth. once you finally can put your roots down, I think that sense of belonging and connection is really important to making me feel like I'm living intentionally. another thing is accepting help and asking for help within that community. It's really hard, I think, as mums or women in general to accept help. You know, we all offer, somebody sick, let me know if you need anything, but you never say yes. And it's like, why not? Like why this whole it takes a village kind of thing. we don't have grandparents here permanently. My parents are in Brisbane. I've got an excellent mum's group. There's about seven of us that live within North Perth and creating that community where you can ask for help and just helping each other out because life would be so much easier if we all just lived in village, you know, and somebody just watched the kids and somebody cooked and somebody did the washing and that kind of thing and yeah, trying to create your own little village. and then obviously also trying to teach my kids about Just little things. Like they've learnt the word littering and how littering's not good, now they tell each other off for littering. Or, we've got a really cute little parklit across the road and when we're over there with the dog and the boys running around, we'll just like pull out a few weeds, you know? we collect all the cans for containers for change and the boys come and help me put them down the conveyor bout at the recycling centre and learn that that makes them three dollars and what does three dollars buy and just doing what I can, I guess, as a a mum with little kids, Eve: Hmm. Lulu Oostryck: from a day to day perspe perspective without putting too much pressure on myself to be doing more, Eve: when did it last Lulu Oostryck: Yes. Eve: feel when did you last feel most like yourself? Lulu Oostryck: it's been Eve: Yeah. Lulu Oostryck: a long time. I think like you said, when you have little kids, you really do lose. I've sort of slipped into this unintentional sort of stay at home mum role, which I'm okay with at the moment because I know that it's just a season. but not going out to work every day and hanging out with adults at work and all of that kind of stuff, I think you lose your sense of identity really, really quickly when you become a mum. so I think it and it takes a while to to feel like yourself again. We the mums group that I mentioned earlier, there's about seven of us and we went off to Bali for four nights. And We sat by the pool and we read books and we listened to podcasts and we went out for nice dinners and we did bombies in the pool and went dancing and I think it actually takes a while to feel like yourself again when you're constantly in mum mode or, you know, in wife mode or whatever it is, work mode. so just Planning those little things where you just get to travel by yourself and go do something just for yourself, which you deserve. Just for a couple of days. I was like, this is what it used to be like, you know. Eve: Mm. Lulu Oostryck: But you never really, because there's always this little in your heart, where are the kids? Are they okay? Is everything okay? It's hard to Eve: I guess your sense of self changes when you have kids what advice would you give to young your younger self? Lulu Oostryck: I think when I was young I was very good little runner. I ran ran all the races and would win all the races. And I was also very creative. And I found as soon as I hit high school and I went, Wow, there's people that are faster than me or there's people that are better better at art than me, whatever that means, you know, they're a better drawer or whatever. I just stopped trying. I Eve: Mm. Lulu Oostryck: would say Just because you're not winning the race anymore doesn't mean you should stop trying. I think where would I be if I kept running or where would I be if I didn't care what the other girl was drawing on the piece of paper, you know? And I think from that period to, when I had that sort of pivotal time in 2020, I spent a lot of time going, somebody else is doing it, why would I? You know, somebody, I thought of an idea, somebody else is already doing that, you know. But then that shift has really changed me to think, why not? Like life short, why not give it Eve: Mm-hmm. Lulu Oostryck: a go? Why not do it? Who cares if you fail? Like it's not life or death, you know? It doesn't really matter. So I think that's sort of how I have approached with Lauren PPL is we'll give it a go, see how it goes. Eve: Mm. Lulu Oostryck: and you know be positive and don't worry if we don't get something right. You know, we learn and move on and like I say, you pivot. So yes. Eve: Mm. Yeah, absolutely. What does take your power back mean to you? Lulu Oostryck: I would say Yeah, being in the trenches of parenthood at the moment, my life sort of dictated by two little kids all day long. That's a bit tricky. But you know, like I said at the start, who am I? I'm me before anything else, before a mum or a or a wife or a sister or whatever. So I just do my best to look after myself, in terms of what I eat, you know, how I can carve time out of the week for myself, even if it's just like this week, you know. Kids were driving me nuts and I was just as soon as my husband walked in the door, I got the dog and off I went for a 45 minute walk and fresh air and just prioritizing myself a little bit. I know it's a bit of a basic answer, but at the moment I think finding that time for belt like self-care and and all of that kind of stuff is really hard. doing what I can when I can without without, you know, having a mental breakdown trying to achieve something. Eve: if every woman listening walked away and just changed one thing after hearing our conversation, what would you hope it would be? Lulu Oostryck: Probably just changing their views on shopping second hand. Just seeing that it's not something it's something that everyone can be doing. I think the more we can discourage consumerism Hopefully one day they'll stop making so much stuff. But you know, it's hard. It's a blip in the ocean, isn't it? But we've all got to do our little bit. Eve: Yeah, that's right. We all do our little bit. So it adds up to you know, a massive change. we've certainly built Project Emerald Marketplace for that reason to second hand shopping as easy and efficient as possible for mums Lulu Oostryck: Mm. Eve: exactly like ourselves that are on limited time and Lulu Oostryck: Mm. Yeah. Eve: the quick and easy way to see if there's something or no the second hand that they're looking for, as opposed to just pressing add fast fashion website or making it their default to buy things new. See what's already in circulation. Lulu Oostryck: Yeah. Yeah, definitely. Eve: Yeah, thank you so much for your time today, Lauren. Lulu Oostryck: Cool, I hope I did okay. I feel thanks. Thanks.