Wow. Alice is an amazingly talented singer, earring maker and all-around good human being. We are so happy to have interviewed her as part of our "What does beauty mean to you?" blog series.

She gets REAL with her answers and suggests some epic reading and listening content. We can't wait for her dream to come true and be able to listen to her epic tunes on Spotify - this is not one you want to miss.

Alice at North Canterbury Wine and Food Fest (photo by @Nayhauss)

How would you describe yourself to a stranger?

A rapid concoction of highs and lows and ideas and tiredness and excitedness all at the same time!

How old are you?

26

Where did you grow up and what was it like?

I grew up across the road from the beach in a small hippy town called Motueka. Our family was far from hippy, we were part of a legalistic church that some people would call a cult - it was dictated to us what was appropriate to wear, do, and say. Music was always our family thing, with huge support from our parents to pay for lessons and sit with us while we practised. Between me and my 3 siblings, we had a string quartet (I played the cello). We moved to Christchurch about 15 years ago now, and that's where I guess I sorta joined the ‘real world.’

What do you do for ‘work’?

I play music, make earrings, teach singing and songwriting, do editing and design for a marketing company, and write and arrange music.

Why did you start making earrings? (@homebodywares)

Being a bit of a crafty lady, when I see something I like, I try to making it instead of buying it. From there I sort of developed my own style of earrings and loved the process so decided to also sell them!

Naomi wearing homebodys earrings (photo by Alice)

What is your all-time favourite song to sing?

It always changes, but I love singing a big ballad like ‘At Last’ or ‘Bathe in the River’. A young Alice would never have imagined I could sing those songs, so it almost feels like a dream when I get to sing them!

 A surprise wedding Alice played at, she sewed herself and Georgie (right) matching tops out of curtain material! (Photo by Tim Harris)

What is something you think people don’t know about you?

I'm shy and introverted and am most comfortable alone, as well as prone to the dynamic duo of anxiety and depression. I’m a pretty private person when it comes to my struggles and I think people probably see my ‘performance’ persona on stage that is goofy loud and fun, when that is not my reality, day to day. I have lots of support and take some pills and get counselling every week and do I all I can to stay afloat! being self-employed is a blessing as I can easily reschedule things and give myself time off if needed.

What's one dream you hope comes true this year?

Finally finishing recording a bunch of songs that have been floating in my head and getting them into the world!

what is your biggest fear right now?

Being left behind. I’ve always been shy and a homebody, and sometimes I worry that my want for comfort and fear of change will stop me from experiencing the wonders of the bigger world while my friends go out and explore!

Who is your biggest positive influence?

I feel like the most positive and inspiring people to me are from books or podcasts I’ve been consuming.

A couple of my favourites are Brene Brown - Daring Greatly (book), Matt D’avella - Groundup Show (podcast), and Sarah Wilson - First we make the Beast Beautiful (book).

Kate in Homebodys (photo by Alice)

What in the world makes you the happiest?

A list of simple things that make me happy

• waking up without an alarm, and having a free day - I literally wake up and sing an opera note or squeal and my flatmates just LOVE it.
• my fluffy Persian cat Winston, (@winstonthewanderer) he is always on my gratefulness list.
• having a good life debrief with my best friend Beth.
• talking about new ideas and ways of doing things, I leave those conversations so inspired and amped to change the world/myself.

what does beauty mean to you?

Expression of self, and feeling fully yourself. What you wear and put on your body can become almost a piece of art when you allow that free expression.

Some days I look in the mirror and think 'ok you are extra af hun’ but it’s more me imagining that's what other people will think. Instead of saying ‘does this look ok?’ to myself, I say 'do I like this!’. It helps me to look internally for my own opinion instead of imagining external opinions. I love that my earrings can sometimes be the cherry on top of an outfit, making it feel personal to me and in turn, beautiful!

 A selection of homebody earrings (photo by Alice)

You can buy Alice's amazing creations on her Etsy store here.

Follow her personal Instagram here and Homebodywares here.

Thank you so much Alice! You are an inspiration and we love what you do.  

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Read more of our series here. 

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