Although I didn’t realise it at the time, my almost 20 year career in hospitality and events management, finishing up as Head of Events at the British Museum, was a masterclass in creating order from chaos; learning how to manage people, spaces and projects to get the desired result. I learnt to blend organisation with creativity, spreadsheets, plans and processes balanced with a love of design and lots of creative ideas.
And I did it all under considerable time pressure and demanding expectations…all while making it look effortlessly easy. Doesn’t that sound like fun??
Before I started An Hour Earned I worked for 5-star hotels and charities planning events attended by world leaders, celebrities and royalty, solving all the challenges these threw up. In my time I’ve served chicken liver parfait to Stephen Hawking, married off two England football players (to other people, not each other), found prune juice at 3am in the Italian countryside for a constipated Hollywood film director, organised the opening of a new museum gallery by HM The Queen and got my feet trodden on by Bill Clinton. I’ve never met a challenge I couldn’t conquer and I don’t scare easily!
Add to that a love of bringing order out of chaos and of decluttering and organising and I get immense satisfaction out of a perfectly organised kitchen cupboard, a colour-coordinated wardrobe or a neat and tidy garage.
One thing a good organiser knows is how to make the impossible look simple, you can’t juggle delivering over 200 events a year (as my team used to do) without keeping it simple. Simple means organised, calm and in control.
We’re all busy and we’re all juggling way too many things at once. An Hour Earned can help you manage that stress with an organised home, your boring errands taken off your plate and peace of mind that your beloved home and pets are well looked after while you’re away.
My favourite things…
Wine or Cocktail?
That’s an easy question! Despite drinking some very expensive wine during my days working in a 5-star hotel in Italy, I’ve never developed the taste for wine so definitely a cocktail.
Preferably a Mojito…on a beach somewhere hot and sunny.
Cats or dogs?
The easy answer but…either! I share my flat with two ginger moggies called Hamish and Dougal who can often be found lounging on my desk making work tricky but love the many gorgeous pooches I meet as part of my house sitting jobs so I get the best of both worlds!
Despite my flatmate’s desperate pleas for a Chihuahua it’ll never happen, Dougal and Hamish would never allow it.
Sea or snow?
That’s a tricky one, I do love lazing on a beach lounger for a week, cocktail in one hand, book in the other but I also love having fun in the snow, preferably followed by hot chocolate and toasted marshmallows.
So despite the fact that I can’t ski, and usually fall into snowdrifts, I’m going to have to go with snow.
So if you’d like a creative, spreadsheet loving, pet whisperer to help you organise your life get in touch!