My name is Vera. No, it’s not Ava Rose… I know right, confusing… let me explain. For the last 13 years I have been teaching yoga, Vinyasa to be exact. I have been teaching pilates for almost the same amount of time and am a Holistic nutritionist (not to be confused with dietician). I have helped people live healthier, eat better, become more aware of what they consume, our diets don’t only consist of what we eat. A truth most of us, myself included, forget as we sip on our green-matcha-kale-caffeine-free-collagen-infused coffee substitute while we mindlessly scroll our socials.
I absolutely LOVE what I do, I have the best job and the best students. I count myself very lucky I don’t wake up sitting on the edge of the bed crying (although a 5am wakeup call might elicit that response), because I have go to a job that I hate – a luxury I understand most people will never get to experience. So, when 2020 happened, there I was sitting in our living room waiting for the “family meeting with oom Cyril”, thinking what am I going to do, nothing could’ve prepared me for not being allowed to work my regular schedule for, what was it 6 months? But as Jim McKelvey - author of The Innovation stack - says “problems are powerful motivators and discomfort, and innovations are partners”
Finding myself with an almost empty appointment book and an non-existent to-do list (since going to the shops meant possibly getting the dreaded rona - no thanks), I thought, well first I had a meltdown - then I thought how do I turn this into something I can work with? Don't get me wrong, it wasn't easy to just turn that frown upside down. Toxic positivity is in fact a thing and sometimes things just suck and wallowing for a short period is ok.
I have always used a plethora of notebooks and journals. I love a good list - the dopamine hit, you receive from completing a task can be really addictive - I enjoy making lists and tracking things other than just appointments and to-do lists and love staying super organized. (also when did having a to-do list as long as Agatha Christie's Miss Marple become such a signal of virtue... asking for a friend)
That’s when I decided I am going to design and put together a planner for myself that incorporates everything I want and need in one place (I love art and design, so this came pretty naturally to me). Something that combines my love of planning, organization and tracking with my need for holistic and gentle, joyful living. I wanted lists and trackers for things I enjoy doing and things that make me excited for the day, like tracking my reading. I cannot tell you how much joy that brings me. Also something where I do not have to think about what it is I have to do or remember, everything is on the page, I can just follow the prompts from a meal and vitamin tracker to logging exercise and appointments to self care and hobbies and goals. And what a perfect time to design this, because the bake your own bread and repack your cupboard period of lockdown only lasted that long... (if I never hear another celebrity sing and dance their "we are in the same boat" nonsense, it will be too soon). At the end of 2021 I contemplated that, I cannot possibly be the only person that would use a creative planner like this, and thus Ava Rose was born. So, who is Ava Rose then? While working on my new design to share with you all I needed a name and wanted something personal and special. I decided that I will use my 2 little nieces' middle names Ava and Rose (I would share more about them if the internet wasn’t such a dodgy place, but you can take my word that they are the cutest littles in all the land).
I want to also offer pretty feminine accessories that are unique - the kind that will make a stranger go "oh my those are gorgeous, where did you get them". Things I use in my every day life, to make life just a little bit more special and romantic, with extra reading and travel journals, beautiful notebooks and fun stationery. I have a huge love for planning and organization and want to share the things I found to be extremely helpful in my personal and business life. I don't want this to be just another planner with a pretty cover, it has to be feeling, a new way of living and looking at your life. Something that inspires people to become their best and live their finest lives.
A few random things about me:
- One of my favourite things to do is to be home reading a book.
- If I could have any super power, it would be the ability to teleport. I love travelling but flying gives me vertigo.
- My secret talent is that I can sprain both ankles at the same time walking on a flat surface.
- One thing I am the most grateful for in my life is my husband. We have been together for over 16 years and he is the absolute best, and funniest human I know. He is also the reason I was able to take on this new venture.
- In another life I would've been a paleontologist, archeologists or an astronomer.
- Some of my favourite holidays have been on the beaches in Thailand and the snowy towns in Canada.
- One thing I really hate, is putting petrol in my car.
- I have 1 sister who is the kindest and bestest pal a girl could ask for.
- I love art and design (I really need to make more time to draw and paint)
- We have 2 rescue bunnies. Lady Jane Doe and Charlie Brown.