People & Spaces
It’s been a big week. What was once an empty space is taking on a personality of its own. The four walls of what will be Sbriga are gathering momentum with amazing colours, textures and shapes ‘Why doesn’t our house look this good?’ I said as I pulled back the packaging of the incredible looking light fittings and ripped off the coverings on the beginnings of the standup bars.
Freshly stained slats hugging the back wall. Mr Wilson put the final coat just this afternoon
Earlier this week, we spent two days interviewing potential applicants for Sbriga. This isn’t new to either of us; we had done it many times before in our respective corporate careers. With Sbriga however, it’s become personal. We want to hire people who relate to our vision and our hopes because Sbriga is ours, not a shareholder’s, or a CEO’s, fifteen rungs up the corporate ladder.
We had already notified the ‘short listers’ and the night before, we skimmed through the resumes and put together a list of questions. By 9am the next morning, kids were dropped off and it was time to hit the CBD. The man thought it would be a great idea to cycle into town. I’m what you would class as a recreational cyclist. I like cycling on a sunny afternoon, with a slight breeze and the road ahead is devoid of any hills! When he suggested it, I responded, ‘Why not!’ and off we went. The man is a cyclist. I’m not. Ok, so I walked (not cycled) up a hill or two or maybe three and had to contend with arctic gale force winds and morning peak hour traffic — things I don’t really deal with all that well. On the way home, he told me that at the rate I pedaled, he could ride backwards with no hands — I was too exhausted to respond.
The front of house not really looking like much right now.
Here is my husband’s vision of my riding my bike to work (which I have done on occasion) and Sbriga, that he sent to his cycling buddies. By the end of the two days of interviewing, he had enough fodder about my ‘recreational cycling’ to share stories with family and friends alike. Just because he rides to the beach and back without an inch of sweat! With the workmen around, Sbriga was not the ideal place to conduct interviews, so gracious Martin, the owner of The Peppermint Grove Coffee Company next door, offered us a corner of his place for our makeshift office. Over the next two days, we met with individuals from all walks of life, each with their own personal story, on their own unique life journey. It was their stories that helped us cherry pick our favourites. With the number one son in town, it’s time to decide on who will join our team.
‘No hands but where’s the parasole?’ he says.
