The coolest event is about to hit our town, and we’re lucky enough to catch this multi-talented lady (the brains behind the wellness festival) before her world explodes with possibilities!
Can you tell us a little about you and your life before you created the Colour & Coconuts festival?
I’ve always loved creating things. After studying Media & Communications I jumped into work as a TV Producer in Advertising, most recently at Clemenger BBDO. I loved working in creative advertising, it allowed me to travel and work on some amazing campaigns see here with really talented writers & directors. However I always had this bubbling passion for all things health & wellness. At work, people would laugh at the super healthy catering I would organise for our shoots and the kombucha and almond milk lattes. I finally made the big jump end of 2015 launching Colour & Coconuts and it’s been incredible. I guess, as a Producer you’re essentially connecting and organising everyone so this all translated really well with creating our first event, The Wellness Festival.
And…Now to your exciting festival, Colour & Coconuts ‘The Wellness Festival’?
The aim of The Wellness Festival is to nurture and inspire. We have 6 incredible speakers on board (see more below), a wellness market and healthy food trucks. Everyone is greeted with a fresh coconut on arrival (I love coconuts) and an abundant goodie bag with all our favourite things.
Our speakers will cover all things health, wellness, self-love, wealth, career and relationships. Each speaker will present for 45 minutes with breaks in between so everyone can wander around the market. We’re were lucky enough have some amazing Melbourne foodies on board including Combi, Toyko Tina, Natures Nosh, Pana Chocolate, and St Ali so there will be heaps of yummy food & drinks on offer.
Why did creating a wellness festival appeal to you?
One of my favourite quotes is ‘Create something you wish existed’
And so here we are!
What does Wellness mean to you? And have you always been conscious of your own health & wellbeing?
Wellness for me is about feeling good – both in the mind and body. Growing up I struggled with my health and negative self-talk played a big role. Exercising and eating came from a place of fear. I think so many girls struggle with their inner mean girl and this can cause a negative relationship with food and a vicious cycle.
Thanks to amazing self-love advocates like Melissa Ambrosni (Mastering Your Mean Girl) and Jessica Sepel (Nutritionist and Author of The Healthy Life) I have learnt about eating to nourish my body. And moving my body because I love how it makes me feel!
As cliché as it may sound once you make friends with yourself life becomes a lot easier and you can really chase your dreams.
Can you tell who your amazing speakers are….
Our line-up of speakers are all highly accomplished female entrepreneurs that have amazing stories to share:
Sarah Wilson – is a New York Times best-selling author, entrepreneur, and is director and founder of ‘I Quit Sugar’
Lisa Messenger – Founder & Editor in chief of the incredible Collective Hub
Melissa Ambrosini – is the bestselling author of Mastering Your Mean Girl, an entrepreneur, motivational speaker, and self-love teacher. In her signature straight-talking style
Julie Stevanja founded and launched Stylerunner in 2012 as the first pureplay active wear aggregator globally.
Carla Oates is the Founder of The Beauty Chef and is a naturalist who is passionate about nature and the profound synergy we share with it. Named ‘The Skincare Innovator’ in Net-a-Porter’s The Edit magazine,
Sarah Holloway – Co Founder of Matcha Maiden and Fun-trepreneur
(Lisa Messenger)
The perfect way to experience the festival is to…Come with an open heart and mind!
Oh and bring your workout gear if you feel like getting your sweat on at lunchtime with Steph Prem from Studio PP…hello endorphins.
How do you want attendees to feel at the end of the festival?
Nurtured, inspired and empowered. If they can leave with one little idea, tip or insight we’d be oh so happy.
Can you tell us a little about the festival partners – Why did you choose to work with them?
It was really important to us that all the brands we partnered with aligned with our ethos. Working out is part of our daily routine so it’s awesome to have Studio PP and StyleRunner on board as a fitness partners. Eating well is also super important to us so it’s been great teaming up with YouFoodz, Amazonia, and Matka Organics. As well as nourishing our insides it’s important to look after our skin & hair too, so we go organic whenever we can. It’s great having Organika Hair and Mukti Organics skincare supporting the event, all our partners are brands we genuinely use and wanted to share with our community.
(Lauren Pell)
I wish that more people realised that wellness…Is not about counting calories and pounding out km’s on the treadmill. It extends far deeper than eating healthy and exercising. The mind is such a powerful tool in our wellbeing. We need to be a lot kinder to ourselves and treat our bodies with love.
The biggest lesson creating a community wellness festival has taught me…The power in the partnerships. It’s amazing what can be achieved when we all work together.
A cause i’m most passionate about is…I’m really passionate about mental health advocacy, For some reason there still seems to be a stigma attached to metal illness that I would love to see changed. Organisations like Beyond Blue do such amazing work in this space https://www.beyondblue.org.au/
When I’m not organising Colour & Coconuts Wellness Festival, I am…I try to move my body every day whether it by an early morning HIIT class, walking the river with my girlfriends or doing a hot vinyasa yoga class to unwind.
…Healthy café hopping around Melbourne…whether it be the local St Rose for their breaky salad, smoothie bowls at Urban Produce or Serotonin for their famous golden latte.
…Hanging out in the back garden with my fiancé Blake, it’s nice to get outside in the sunshine and switch off.
…Spending the weekends with our gorgeous nieces Ivy and Georgia and our amazing families.
I: @colourandcoconuts
F: /colourandcoconuts
W: colourandcoconuts.com
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