Smalls is taking the UK children’s wear market by storm. The company is the brain child of Kiwis Emma-Jane Adam and Cat Pharo, who saw a gap in the market to create stylish children’s clothing that stands up to the harsh UK winter. The solution was something so familiar to Kiwis: merino wool. Emma and Cat have poured their passion and effort into creating beautifully designed pieces made from the highest-quality materials. The result is an award-winning brand of children’s wear that is both functional and fashionable...

A few years ago, I heard whispers about someone selling that magical fruit - the feijoa - at a stall near Broadway Market in Hackney, east London. It turns out that someone was none other than Kylee Newton, the lovely lady behind chutney, jams and preserves brand Newton & Pott and recently published author of “The Modern Preserver” recipe book.

Fittingly, we meet on Broadway Market – a place that is near and dear to Kylee’s heart – as she has lived and worked in Hackney since her arrival in London 15 years ago, and has been coming to the Saturday market since it began 10 years ago. Kylee tells me it is her favourite market in London for the variety of food and craftsmanship (mine too) and it is where the Newton & Pott brand really came to life.

Originally from New Plymouth, Kylee graduated from art school and worked in hospitality in Auckland before moving to London where she worked as an analogue printer for photographer Wolfgang Tillmans for ten years until he relocated to Berlin.

“Thrive” by Arianna Huffington was chosen by the Business Book Club last month. A large group of readers gathered this Sunday morning to consider the definition of success that proposed a ‘Third Metric” which challenged the traditional first two we often focus on - money and power.  Huffington posits that we can all Thrive more by engaging well-being, wisdom and wonder in our lives by taking small simple steps to transform the quality of our lives.

The second book in the recently formed NZBWN’s book club attracted a lively discussion on this topic.

Huffington wanted to challenge the traditional view of success when she herself received a ‘wake up call’.  After suffering a serious fall at her office – the result of exhaustion and overwork - she shared a very personal journey re-evaluating her own approach to success.

The Third Metric refers first to considering your own well-being:  through simple steps of breathing deeply, meditating and disconnecting.  By taking the time to disconnect from the electronic world, we create the space for rejuvenation and reconnection to ourselves. She suggests that burnout and stress have appeared as culturally acceptable to achieve success; a flawed assumption in her eyes, which she challenges throughout the book

Huffington then encourages us to engage wisdom by trusting our intuition. By feeling gratitude and being mindful of the challenges of ‘hurry sickness’ and our own ‘obnoxious room mate in our head’ we have the ability to make the changes to live more meaningfully.

Living with a sense of wonder was considered equally important.  Being fully present in life and allowing yourself to recognize coincidences meant a deeper appreciation of our lives.  Coupled with the connection to a cause and giving through volunteering Huffington believes we receive more in return. 

While she accredited her own mother with a life time of teaching her the Third Metric she also provided a significant amount of research and science on sleep, psychology and sports to show the power of meditation and mindfulness in combatting stress.

The group enjoyed discussing the different views of success and the challenges of incorporating well-being, wisdom and wonder in our busy lives. But perhaps that is the point Huffington is making – we just need to consider that there is a Third Metric and making small changes (like giving yourself permission to go to bed a few minutes earlier) can result in a happier and healthier life.

So did we learn, connect and become inspired by Thrive and its powerful message to ‘put your own mask on first’ so that you can live a healthy, productive and meaningful life?  While some were overwhelmed with the volume of suggestions, others pointed out that we can all choose what to take from this book.  It certainly provides a thought provoking look at success and how we strive for it.