I remember scrolling through Pinterest about two years ago when I came across a photo of the coolest hand-painted skateboards I’d ever seen. Finding them kind of felt like when you discover a song that you’ve never heard of, and you instantly feel cool just from having the knowledge of such a wonderful thing. I clicked through to see who was behind these soulful decks, and that’s where I found Tess.
When I think of DTS ambassador Tess Willcox, two words come to mind: Fucking free. She’s a leader, vision seeker, creator and dreamer and just so happens to have created one of the raddest brands in the world, Ámes Collective. Ámes (pronounced ah-mez) specializes in custom soul deck skateboards, Moroccan interior collections, and leather goodies. Tess created her dream brand out of a love of imperfection and to embrace the simplicity in life. Like her skateboards, Tess is a wild, heart-driven, free soul full of stories and depth and we can’t wait to introduce you to her.
Meet Tess Willcox…
Where are you in the world?
Beachside in Biling on the Gold Coast. Happy to be home in expansive spaces and on beautiful beaches once again.
How do you follow your bliss all year round?
I make a conscious effort to live my life extremely mindfully. I make decisions based around what I know will make me, and the people I care most about, happy. I don’t believe in limited goals, I will always shoot for the absolute extreme and leave the rest up to the universe.
When did the inspiration for Ámes Collective first come about?
On a beautiful Summers Day up in Noosa, I was staying with my 2 wonderful friends and we had a creative session in the backyard under the mango tree. He showed me how to shape a cruiser skateboard from a sheet of timber, she provided the music, the giggles and the inspiration. From that day on, every bit of inspiration I have had has been poured onto a blank handmade skate deck. I wanted to be able to give women (and men) something that really resonated with their soul. My company never was and never will be about mass production and mainstream graphics. It’s all hand made, hand painted, hand drawn, straight from the heart. Each item has an air of sentimentality about it, and I think people really relate to that.
Why do you love what you do?
For me it is all about connection. I love working with timber because it keeps me connected to the Earth. I love working with my hands because it keeps me connected to my creation. I love the authenticity and soul behind my business because it keeps me connected to the driving force of why I started doing this. I get to see my product through from start to finish. The buck starts and stops with me and if I am not happy with the result then I will start again. There is a huge aspect of pride and freedom that comes with running a creative business. I have loved being able to pour my heart into my product, and then surf, do yoga, drink wine and relax whenever I want.
If fear ever shows up in your life, how do you move passed it?
Oh, great question! Fear will present itself in all shapes and forms. I find meditating really helps with any emotions or situations that become a hindrance to progress. I am an extremely self reflective person, so I am able to identify pitfalls quite easily and monitor how I handle them. I try to make a conscious effort to identify whether I am making a decision out of fear or out of love. If I know I am being driven by fear, I simply stop. Stop, realign, ask myself the pertinent questions, and then let the fear go.
What’s one of the biggest risks you’ve taken, and how did it feel to go for it?
In the last year I have taken the 2 biggest risks of my life. I resigned from my 10 year career in January 2014, to run my business full time, and then 10 months later packed up my life and moved to London. In both cases I had no guarantee that things would work out how I imagined they would, but someone once told me, ‘you will not be enriched unless you go to where the outcome is uncertain’. That has always stuck with me, and I wanted to jump straight in the deep end to show myself that I could float. So far, on both accounts, things haven’t worked out exactly as I had imagined. They have worked out better than I ever could have imagined. A vital lesson for me in trusting that the universe always has my back.
Tell us a time when something totally synchronistic happened?
You know I am a big lover of serendipity. So for someone who absolutely thrives on fortunate happenstance and synergy, spectacular things happen to me every day. It can be as simple as running into old friends from yesteryear in the most random places of the world, or voicing to my friends that I want something only for it to happen an hour later. That actually happens most days of my life haha.
What advice could you give to someone who knows what they love to do, but haven’t gone for it?
People who wait for the right time to take the leap, end up waiting forever. You only get one shot at making the things you want to happen, happen. Do you want it to happen now or in 10 years time? People will always find excuses to not do what they want, to me there are none. Just make it work and have the faith.
Find out more about Tess on her site or follow her journey on Instagram x
Simone
“I wanted to jump straight in the deep end to show myself that I could float.” Brilliant. Here’s to diving in! Inspiring write up!