Opening in Newmarket’s Nuffield Street in April, Tosca & Salome is a bohemian inspired lifestyle and fashion boutique that has us dreaming of beach sunsets and long summer days. We found out just what a typical day involves for owner, Bex....

5.00AM

Alarm goes off. Depending on my workload, I either hit the gym before the kids wake up or cram in an hour or so of admin before it’s full noise. First espresso to kick start the day!

7.30AM

The mad house is ready to hit the road! Time to walk with Jagger, Wilder, Lou Dog and my husband. We either walk up to Five Loaves for our coffee and fluffy fix, or straight to day care for the kiddos.

9.00AM

My Zen part of the day. I arrive into our Nuffield Street store and quietly sit out the back before Kourtney arrives and run through what needs to be achieved either for the week or for the day. It’s when I get my most important emails out of the way before the busy day starts and when I’m thinking the clearest in terms of finalising seasonal orders and looks.

10.00AM

At this point Kourtney (our Newmarket manager) and I run through any new season orders - her input is always crucial! We discuss trends, looks, what we may need for upcoming ranges and run through styling and key looks for current seasons. This is a really fun part of the day - before the street gets too busy we can put looks together and discuss what body shapes, personalities and situations may suit each style. We also have fun getting on Instagram and social media at this point, showcasing any looks we have put together and showing customers what we are wearing ‘now’. Generally, I’ll liaise with our Takapuna manager, Cian, and run through the looks with her and have a quick chat before our days really begin.

11.00AM

The wonderful Andy from Elemento coffee skates into the store and delivers us our mid- morning coffee fix to get us going! (If you can’t tell already, I’m a bit of a coffee addict). At present, I’m crushing on their cold brew express blend! WAHOOO.

11.30AM

Usually showing time in Newmarket! Depending on the time of the year, our labels usually come to us. We either set up a cute little morning tea out the back or have a speed showing if the store is super busy. Often our customers get a little sneak peek & have their names down for up and coming items for 6 months down the line! I love the showings and am so passionate about the merchandising I plan out for each season. This part is key to knowing what we need to fill in certain gaps of our customers’ needs and wants and also to see what trends are emerging. It’s also when I start making notes/visuals and mood boards of what our overall look and feel will be like going forward. It’s a great chance for us to get to know any fabric qualities and for us to research into some fabrics more so we have a really good understanding of them before placing orders and/or when the stock arrives once orders have been placed.

2.00PM

Generally around this time is our busiest during the week. My second favourite part of the day! If I’m lucky I’ll race down to Little Nuffield and grab a swift espresso to get me through the rest of the day.

4.00PM

Hopefully I get to go and pick the kids up, and get an hour or so of fun in with them before I start the dinner routine. If it’s a nice day, it’s another walk with Lou Dog and the kids to the park, or otherwise some girlfriends and I will try to organise some play dates in which the kids can run themselves silly! I generally always try to get home for this part of the day as I love to connect with them about what we’ve all been doing.

8.00PM

Dinner is done, kids are bathed and put to bed. Now I catch up on emails usually from Australia at the end of their day that I’ve missed in the afternoon, or send mine to the States so that I can reply to them again first thing in the morning. Wade and I get half an hour or so de-brief before we are down usually by 9:30pm - exhausted!

Tosca and Salome