Where there is fun, there is Bianca Boulden.
Meet Bianca…Where are you in the world?
Considering I am living out of a suitcase weekly at the moment I am always on a plane. Right now I am leaving NYC and headed to LA. I’ve been traveling around the states for work for the past fortnight and about to have some down time to see friends on the west coast. Yay!
How do you follow your bliss all year round?
My bliss changes every day. It is dependent on the clients I have, the travel I have planned and the summers I will be chasing. I guess when you dance to the beat of your own drum the possibilities are endless.This year was an extreme chase because I left my 9-5 job and followed my dream of living the simple life in Byron Bay. I wanted to have more of a work-life balance, which is something I have always dreamt of. So now the possibility of following my bliss all year round is truly achievable. And it’s an amazing feeling. Where there is sunshine, ocean and good vibes I am happy.
What inspired you to move to the big city, aka Sydney?
To be honest, I inspired myself. I had been dreaming of leaving the small beach town of Cabarita Beach and making a name for myself. So I decided to do as much work experience as I could. So I went down to Sydney for a month and worked at Cosmo Magazine, then I started styling for George Antoni and Natalie Lynn in Queensland. I wanted adventure and change so I kept myself around career driven and inspiring people. I knew I couldn’t move to Sydney without having some sort of an income so I just waited for my time. I finally got into a global company which was based out or Burleigh, Gold Coast but I knew they had a Sydney office, so I asked them and left it up to fate. From there I was meeting people, getting job offers and I just followed my head and my heart. It was the best move I have ever made.
If fear ever shows up in your life, how do you move passed it?
Fear doesn’t show up in my life too often. I don’t let it. You just need to confront it, take it on and move on. That will always just hold you back.
Why do you love what you do?
Because I finally have the work life balance that I have I dreamt about since I was in high school. I get to wake up when I want, head to the beach for a lunchtime dip and go to pilates mid morning. But also it’s exciting working with brands that you love and have always loved since you were young, it makes you think you must be doing something right. They could be working with anyone but they have chosen you. Everyday I get to work with people who inspire me every day and I can bring my talented friends on the journey. I am always keen to help them out when they are so passionate about what they do.
What’s one of the biggest risks you’ve taken, and how did it feel to go for it?
This is my biggest risk. Making the decision to move home to Byron Bay and to start my own business. I literally decided with 2 weeks, gave my month notice at work, cancelled my lease on my house. I packed up my life within 2 weeks and loaded up the car. My car was packed to the brim for a month while I couch surfed with friends, enjoyed the last month rent free and then made the drive up the coast. Scary, exciting but FUN. Look at me now, traveling and enjoying everyday.
Tell us a time when something totally synchronistic happened?
As long as I can remember I have been chasing my goals. I was a professional dancer from the age of 3. Getting paid to open up grand finals, dance at Disneyland, tour with cabarets around Australia and act in Hollywood movies filmed on the Gold Coast. I could of done it all. Danced on cruise ships and travelled the world with dance. But there was something missing, I loved it and of course it was a hobby but my heart wasn’t in it. It was just a social thing for me, seeing the girls, getting paid to be fit and that’s really it. I had always thought I was meant to be an interior designer, I had the eye for it. So after high school I went to uni to study it. At the end of it I took on a job as a decorator and it lasted not even a year. Again the heart wasn’t in it. So back to the drawing board, I had always loved fashion and I loved to draw so what about fashion design. Back to uni I go, after 2 years of study and a few national awards later it finally felt right. I started my own clothing label, didn’t like that. I started styling, that lasted the longest. I didn’t know what really spoke to me in fashion but I knew it was something. I got given a visual merchandising job at Sportsgirl and started to find out who I was. I then got offered a job as national vm within the surf industry, then communications role with a huge Australian fashion label that will always remain my fav. Then I was sitting at a cafe with a friend of mine in Bondi and I will never forget that moment the penny dropped. Bianca (Flick said), you are the definition of what PR is, you can talk under water, sell ice to eskimos and keep any relationship going. There’s not one person that doesn’t love you or get high off your energy. Then I realised this is something I should of been doing from the start. Imagine where I would be today, but today I am happy, stress-free and working from my favourite part of the world and I could’t be happier. In that moment Flick had helped me discover myself and where I wanted / needed to be to follow my ambitious life I had dreamt up for myself.
What advice could you give to someone who knows what they love to do, but haven’t gone for it?
What are you waiting for? Life will get away from you so now is your time. Your only lesson or regret will be not doing it. You will only learn from it whether it’s a positive or negative result, they both matter. If you want it bad enough you will get it. Stay positive, make my own choices and have fun.
