In Conversation

With Sarah Pickersgill-Brown

Meet Sarah Pickersgill-Brown the New Zealand based content creator, mum of three and interiors enthusiast. When Sarah and her husband could not find the home they dreamt of in their beautiful South Island town, they decided to build their own dream home.

We talk to Sarah about the balance of being a mum, project managing a new build and where the inspiration comes from.

Sarah captures content in the midst of their new build, in some of our new season silhouettes from the Bisous collection.

Tell us about yourself?

I’m wife to an amazing husband, mother to 3 gorgeous boys and we recently moved back to NZ to live in one of the most beautiful places in the world, a little seaside village at the top of the South Island.

I take great satisfaction in styling home decor and started working as a content creator shortly after having my first children, twins Caspian and Quill.

I have always loved fashion and studied it after finishing school. I worked at a Bridal Studio and later worked as a makeup artist also before becoming a mother.

For the past year I have taken a step back from work and focused my attention on organising details of our new build and caring for our youngest child Elbie who recently turned 2.

Where do you live?

We live in Tasman, on the South Island of New Zealand.

You are currently in the process of building your beautiful family home, can you share a little with us about the design process?

I love high ceilings, mouldings, natural materials and the character and charm of old architecture.

We couldn’t find any existing home we loved in the area we wanted to live, so we decided to build new and aim to incorporate as many of these features into our project, (budget permitting).

Because of the cost to build, it’s been a long process weighing up all the various options of what’s possible but a few things were absolutely essential: tons of natural light, high ceilings, a family friendly layout with strong connection to the outdoor areas.

You have a real eye for interiors, where do you find your inspiration?

I spend a lot of time of Pinterest!

But I gather inspiration from everywhere, visiting friends homes, restaurants or historic landmarks.

How do you find fashion and interiors combine for you?

As a content creator, the two complement each other perfectly as I often style and photograph fashion within an interior setting for businesses.

I’ve realised there are very strong parallels in what I’m drawn to in fashion and interiors: I want both to be functional and comfortable.

I value quality craftsmanship and natural materials over cheap man made options every time. I love tonal textures and neutral colour palettes but equally I love big splashes of colour and pattern, it just depends on my mood and the environment as to what feels right at the time?

What are your favourite picks from our Bisous collection?

The beautiful, soft Natalie suede skirt is going to be a forever piece I’m certain! It’s such a flattering shape and the style is timeless. I love that it’s a natural material and will wear in beautifully over time.

I also adore the floaty embroidered Camille sundress with pockets, another timeless piece in a flattering cut.

Walk us through a typical day in your life as a creative?

I am in quite an abnormal phase of life right now as we go through the motions of building. Juggling mum responsibilities and organising build details fills up my days and I’m quite limited with time to create content as I used to do before our move to NZ.

We are living in a temporary rental that is very “cozy” for a family of 5! but once we move into our new home, I will resume working, styling and photographing products.

Until then, I will continue to attend playgroups and play dates with Elbie during our mornings together, and squeeze as many emails, phone calls and meetings into his nap time at midday!