We chatted with three inspiring couples
on what it’s like to work together.
From how they met, where they find their inspiration,
to their travel wish lists and more.
Read their love stories…
Our girl @lisadanielle_ + @jamie_.green
The married duo behind the lens and styling of our latest Spell campaign,
and so much more…
Talk us through your love story ~
How did you two meet? Was it love at first sight or was it a friendship that blossomed?
Well my best mate Josh had been dating Lisa’s older sister Steph for about 5 years before we got together. We use to flirt a bit but she always had BF. Then one day she didn’t, so snap – she was mine.
Which quality do you admire most in Lisa?
Her kind, soft heart.
Soundtrack to your love…
Lets Dance – David Bowie is our honeymoon stage song
Somewhere Over the Rainbow – Israel Kamakawiwo’ole is our love song
Heavn – played live by Phil Jamieson from Grinspoon was our wedding song
What is the most treasured item you have gifted each other, and what story does it hold?
I am going to speak for Lisa here and say – I have her name tattooed on my leg haha. Mine would be she gave me a family who love and care for us.
Any daily rituals shared (outside of work)?
We try to write down what we are grateful for each day.
Your ultimate date night…
How do we get one of these? Maybe no phones, no camera a sunset and a bottle of wine down at Dolphins
Give us an insight in to working with your partner ~
When someone asks what you do, what do you say?
Questionable. These days I say photographer. Of course my ambitions out way this, but its easier to say. Combine I guess we are: Photographer, Content Creator, Influencer, Entrepreneur, Model?
What does it mean to you to work together?
It means the world really. The person you marry should be the person you want to spend the most time with in this life. We are so blessed to do so.
Define your individual style and work ethic… How do you compliment each other?
I am crazy and will jump without looking, Lisa is a tad more reserved and a perfectionist – perfect balance.
You’re a couple that inspires so many, from your own personal style, your talents behind the camera and your travels ~
Where do you find your inspiration?
The humans race, and the thought that we living on a giant ball floating in an endless sea of black magic. Work side of things I would say anything vintage.
Words you live by or best piece of advice you’ve ever received…
Every over night success story is 10 years in the making.
Tell us of your travels ~
Which destination travelled has left the biggest impression on you?
Morocco – the rawest place we have been, yet the people love and respect each other no matter race, colour, religion.
Where is your favourite place in the world? Byron Bay, that’s why we choose to live here.
Where to next… Currently in Japan with friends, while Lisa is in Bali with family.
Next destination on your wish-list… We have been dying to go to India, we are looking for more rawness haha.
Any tips on travelling with your partner? Hmm, talk a full size pillow on the plane and you can sleep against each other.
Dixie + Mason Rose
ARVO Coffee
Talk us through your love story ~
How did you two meet? Was it love at first sight or was it a friendship that blossomed?
It was love at first sight yes but we were both seeing other people (yikes?…) Mason used to come to Hawaii every year when he was bodyboarding professionally. One year we crossed paths at a New Years Party and connected… Didn’t really think we would see each other again but 2 years later, we ran into each other at the Beach Road Hotel in Bondi while I was on a working holiday in Australia! We moved into together since that night!
Which quality do you admire most in the other?
Mason on Dixie: loyalty, kindness, and good cooking skills.
Dixie on Mase: humor, dreamer, family oriented, dance moves!
Soundtrack to your love…
Love is King – by Sade for our wedding song
Jump on It – by Apache for our go to dance song in our living room
The kids love Bruno Mars so they rule that in the car!
What is the most treasured item you have gifted each other, and what story does it hold?
Truth be told the best present we can get each other is a stick of deodorant LOL. It’s been 10 years arguing over who took it where.
We’re not big gift giving people and not very materialistic! We prefer paintings, and Mason will prefer a good playlist over anything. He makes fun of my music but eventually comes around to it. Adventuring as a family is worth more than gold. Three Valentines ago, we took a trip to a neighbor island to a place called Hana in Maui. It was a trip we will always remember before our daughter came and spent as a family of three. We were off the grid, just a golf cart, a cabin, the big blue sea and the greenery and wrote our plans down together for the next 5 years.
Between two businesses, and two kids how do you make time for each other? Any daily rituals shared?
We’re still struggling to find a balance but what I have realized is Mason and I are a pretty good balance already. We are similar but complete opposites as well. We support each other and our differences. If I’m too wild he calms me down, if he’s too loose I stay grounded. We parent like this and we run the business this way too. When I’m losing inspiration I turn to him and he is quick to get me back on my feet. A daily ritual would be our daily coffee together, he brings me up one from ARVO or we meet there every morning. Hands down best thing about owning a coffee shop – never pay for coffee again.
Your ultimate date night…
Life has been crazy lately and there hasn’t been a date night for a while! We need like a date WEEK! Mason is into day dates where we go on a hike together or just go to the beach together and go get shave ice. I think I’m more high maintenance or just traditional where I wanna wear a nice dress, Italian food, a good wine. I find that because he eats so fast, a Japanese meal consisting of many small dishes and sake draw out the dinner longer and I enjoy just talking my ass off and forcing him to listen without any distractions where we get to just oh you know, talk about our kids all night haha! Oh how life has changed. We also play the chicken dance game where it’s a strict no phone policy at dinner. Whoever touches the phone first has to get up and do a chicken dance in the middle of the entire restaurant. (We play as a family too it’s SO funny at dinner.) We will eventually end the night on the dance floor somewhere.
Give us an insight in to working with your partner ~
Tell us about your work – what role do each of you play?
Mason does photography and film work as well as DJ and focus on the branding and expansion of ARVO. My job right now is ARVO – handling all the marketing, social, and creative side to it with Mason.
What does it mean to you to work together?
It means we get to spend more time as a family and be passionate about the same thing. It’s like having another baby and anytime you bring in another dimension it’s complicated but we have learned to outsource the small things and realize if it’s not fun doing it come back to it another day.
Define your individual style / work ethic and how you compliment each other…
I think it’s just as simple as he saids a dumb dad joke and I’m like oh god stop. We can banter, we can have fun. We both know that without our staff we are nothing so we treat them like family.
You’re a couple that inspires so many ~
Where do you find your inspiration – from the beautiful store fit out, to the food itself, and your clothing brand…
Our travels have been such a big source of inspiration from finding a kids corner we liked, or ceramics from local artisans. In our opinion, the places that do best have always been the places that keep things so simple.
How are your businesses a reflection of you, and your relationship?
We know our lanes and support each other in it. We know what each of us are capable of and bring most value to and just let the other person do it.
What led you to where you are today… What gave you the motivation to create your businesses?
We both value community, and culture, and bringing people together. When the opportunity presented itself we just knew it would be a hit as long as people were stoked on it as much as we were. Failing was never an option so don’t look back just go.
What’s a must order at ARVO? HALLOUMI BURGER
Words you live by or best piece of advice you’ve ever received…
Always think of the bigger picture.
Tell us of your travels ~
Where is your favourite place in the world?
Paris.
Next destination on your wish-list…
Ahhh so many places! Maybe Singapore. We hear it’s amazing for kids and food is great. We live a pretty slow beachy life that we would rather travel right into the hustle and bustle and stimulate all our senses.
Nat + Dan
Clean Coast Collective
Talk us through your love story ~
How did you two meet? Was it love at first sight or was it a friendship that blossomed?
I used to spy Dan in between classes at uni in Canberra, but never knew who he was. Fast forward five years and we met through my brother and some mutual friends. We were friends for a few months, spending a lot of time snowboarding and surfing together until we eventually went on a ‘date’ and then got together. So I guess it was a bit of both love at first sight and a blossoming friendship where we were too shy to tell each other how we felt.
Which quality do you admire most in the other?
Nat: I really admire Dan’s ability to stay positive in every situation – he always sees a silver lining and is always focussing on the good things in life. Even in times of crisis, he can keep his cool and keep things in perspective. He constantly keeps me in check and reminds me of all the things we have to be grateful for.
Dan: Natty has this beautiful ability to be fully present whenever she’s talking or spending time with someone. While most people will be fidgeting, processing what to say next or scanning the room, Natty is completely focussed on whoever she’s with. This is a rare quality and one that I think brings her so many meaningful connections with people.
Soundtrack to your love…
We’ve spent a lot of time adventuring around Australia in our Troopy during our relationship, so road trip playlists have been a constant in our life. If our relationship had a playlist, it would feature…
If we’re road tripping – Bonfire – by Brett Dennen
If we’re singing along – Xavier Rudd, Ziggy Alberts, John Butler
If we’re dancing – Carribean Queen – Billy Ocean, Lord Echo
If we’re chilling – Solange, Geoffrey Gurrumul
What is the most treasured item you have gifted each other, and what story does it hold?
Nat: When we spent 7 months travelling around Australia Dan gave me an Opinel pocket knife engraved with ‘Always Adventure’. It probably sounds like a weird gift, but a good knife is so useful on any adventure… from cutting up a nice block of cheese, to fixing things around the campsite. It makes me feel so independent, like I can handle any situation, and is such a beautiful reminder of all the trips we have gone on together and separately. Dan: Another weird one—when we were moving around a lot I lost my sack of camping gear so Nat bought me a mini gas cooker to replace my old one. This little piece of equipment has been used so many times for our morning coffee ritual either on hikes, road trips, or just post-surf at the beaches in Byron. It’s a nice part of slowing down and brewing our own coffee outdoors, rather than automatically rushing to the closest cafe.
Any daily rituals shared?
Lately we’ve been having a cooked breakfast with a homemade bulletproof coffee together at home before we head into The Corner Palm to start work. Its a really nice slow way to start the day together. Breakfast is a special time for us — we do a lot of talking about life and business over breakfast and coffee.
Your ultimate date night…
Either a picnic on the beach on a full moon, or a night camping under the stars in the outback.
Give us an insight in to working with your partner ~
Tell us about your work – when someone asks what you do, what do you say?
We always struggle with this one! Together, we run Clean Coast Collective, a not-for-profit environmental organisation and lifestyle brand. We also co-own The Corner Palm, a coworking studio in Byron Bay, with Nat’s brother, Sean. Dan is also working in the music industry right now doing some tour management work, and is also an accountant. Nat also does brand strategy and marketing consulting from time to time.
What does it mean to you to work together?
Most couples spend more time each week with their work colleagues than their loved ones—this makes no sense to us. We feel so incredibly blessed that we get to go to work together every day and couldn’t imagine it any other way. We’ve been running Clean Coast Collective together since six months into our relationship, so it’s kind of become our norm to be working together. Even though people often ask us how we avoid talking about anything other than work, we’ve discovered that our work is what we’re passionate about so we love talking about it. Of course there’s many ups and downs but we’re continually learning and growing together.
Define your individual work ethic and how you compliment each other…
Dan is really amazing with logistics and finance, while I’m better at the creative and project management. Over the years we’ve naturally found the different things we enjoy working on and developed our skills in those areas.
You’re a couple that inspires so many ~
What gave you the motivation to take an idea, and bring it to life as a brand?
Wow that’s so kind! With both Clean Coast Collective and The Corner Palm, we felt there was a gap that needed filling—a lack of engaging campaigns on ocean pollution, and a need for a creative community that wasn’t focussed on just earning the big bucks. With Clean Coast Collective I think we naively dove straight in without much thought. The Corner Palm was the seed of an idea for quite a long time, and then one day we were offered the right venue and felt like it was time to bring that idea to life. We’ve had plenty of ideas that have never come to fruition, so I think the right ones always happen when they’re meant to.
Words you live by or best piece of advice you’ve ever received…
No one’s going to talk about how nice your couch / clothes / Instagram feed was at your funeral. Remember to focus on the things you actually want to be remembered for.
Tell us of your travels ~
What is your favourite Australian beach?
Captain Billy Landing in Cape York. A beautifully wild beach in an incredibly remote part of this country. We spent a week there with only the resident croc for company.
Your favourite beach in the world?
To be honest I think our beaches here take the cake. We also love the far south coast of NSW around the Murramurang National Park, and Cape Leveque north of Broome is stunning!
Any beach in the world you’d love to visit…
Dan’s Mother’s side of the family comes from Papua New Guinea so we would love to spend some time exploring where his Grandma grew up around Rabaul.
Top tips on enjoying our beaches…
Leave it better than you found it, every time.
