Having moved to London in June of 2019, Alice had six months on the ground before the pandemic hit. It was what could be described as either the best or worst timing, but regardless, she’s not looked back.

With a passion for journalism from a young age, Alice studied Media and English Literature at Victoria University in Wellington and then Journalism at Canterbury University. It was while she was studying at Victoria and writing for the Salient – the university's student magazine – that she made her writing debut. This was an opinion piece on how we are spending too much time on our phones – she now jokes that her screen time has definitely doubled since those days! It was off the back of this feature that she was offered a position in their news team. As she became what she describes as ‘somewhat obsessed’, her path forward suddenly became obvious.

As a young Sara Fogarty watched her friends finish university and book flights to Europe for their OEs, she recalls thinking ‘I’m not going to do that, I’m going to do my own thing’. “I was quite stubborn at that age,” she says with a laugh.

It wasn’t until later, when she set off for a holiday through the UK and Europe with her then boyfriend, now husband, aged 31, that she “fell in love” with London and all the opportunities it has to offer.

“It’s big, but it’s not noisy like New York, it’s got its own beat and hum and is a little bit softer than some of the other big cities around the world,” Sara says. “I love that you can walk down the street and you get that sense of history, and that real sense of openness and changing scenery.”

Moving to London as a fresh 21 year old, Sophie describes having no fear and no idea. Determined to not make beans on toast a regular meal, she was quick to take control of her destiny, adapting to the fast pace of London and everything in between.

After graduating from Rangitoto College on Auckland's North Shore in 2012, Sophie left home to live and work in the United States as an au pair. With an itch to travel and explore the world further, she made what she describes as ‘the obvious choice’ and moved to London in 2016.

With every intention to stick with her first London gig as a live-in nanny, Sophie soon realised that living in a London flat with a bunch of kiwis was an experience she didn’t want to miss! This decision led her to look further afield, beyond nannying, as she undertook a number of admin roles within the corporate world, eventually landing a position as a medical secretary looking after 5-7 surgeons a week.

After two years as a medical secretary Sophie was ready for a new challenge. Her cousin Tess had been working for their auntie and uncle Paula and Bill Wallace, helping to build a UK presence for their New Zealand based luxury linen and homeware company, Wallace Cotton.