When we moved to the Mornington Peninsula, I knew where we were going to live. I knew where the kids would go to school. I had a house full of our things. But it didn’t take long to realise that having a house somewhere and feeling at home are two very different things.
The people you stop and talk to. The shops where they know your face. The friend you can message at the last minute. The familiar names and places that somehow accumulate around you. I don't think I'd really considered how long that part of moving takes.
Strangely enough, Nest & Bird has been one of the things that has helped. Running a small homewares business from the Mornington Peninsula has given me a reason to introduce myself to people I probably never would have otherwise. I've met local makers, photographers and other business owners. I've sent slightly awkward Instagram messages, asked people for help, collaborated on things and generally had to be far more sociable than running an online store would suggest.
Some of those people have become friends. Some have introduced me to other people. And slowly I've found myself with favourite places, familiar faces and a little network around me that wasn't there when we arrived.
Recently, Mornington Peninsula Magazine featured Nest & Bird in its September issue. They called the story The Art of Nesting. Read the story here
I initially thought they meant the homewares. But the more I thought about it, the more I realised I'd been doing exactly that since we arrived here.
Apparently, you can bring all your furniture with you. The nest is the bit you have to build again.
Seeing Nest & Bird in Mornington Peninsula Magazine feels particularly significant because the magazine was part of how I first got to know the Peninsula.
When we were new here, I'd pick it up and read about local businesses, people and places. It was one of the ways I started working out what was around us and getting to know this new place we'd chosen to live. And now Nest & Bird is in those same pages, which feels a little full circle moment.
When we first arrived, Nest & Bird was simply the business I happened to be running from our new home. Now it feels connected to this place.
The Peninsula influences what I photograph, what I write about, the homes I'm drawn to and increasingly the things I choose for the store. I've met people here because of it. I've discovered makers and businesses because of it. I've had conversations I wouldn't otherwise have had.
While I've been building Nest & Bird, Nest & Bird has been helping me build a nest of my own. And I think that's probably what The Art of Nesting means to me now. Not finishing a house. Just slowly filling your world with things, places and people you wouldn't want to be without.
Heidi x
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