An Organised Life with... Juliet Souter from MARLE

Fellow New Zealander & the designer of MARLE, Juliet Souter is the fourth lovely lady I'm excited to feature for 'An Organised Life with..'

I met Juliet back in 2010 when we both worked for the same company in New Zealand. I was so inspired by her style day after day and definitely looked up to her. She taught me to dress to my body shape and the importance of accessories and a good lippy!

6 years down the track Juliet is now the designer for her own womenswear label MARLE. A dream for minimalist lovers, MARLE is based around the philosophy of using texture to create collections using natural yarn and luxe fabrics such as cashmere, silk, merino, linen and organic cotton.

We visited Juliet's workspace in beautiful Mt Maunganui and chatted to her about how she began MARLE, the biggest lessons she's learnt along the way, and her workspace essentials.

Name...Juliet Souter

Occupation…designer and founder of MARLE

How it all began…

It began with me moving a desk into our bedroom after our baby girl, Vita was born 3 years ago and designing my first collection which was purely knitwear. I studied fashion design and majored in knitwear knowing that one day I wanted to start my own label. As the brand has developed I have expanded into new categories using woven fabrics that maintain the brands philosophy of using natural fibres.

Biggest pinch me moment...

The first time I saw a woman I didn’t know walking down the street wearing one of my pieces, I felt like going and giving her a big hug.

Biggest lesson I’ve learnt along the way…

Starting a new business as a new mother isn’t easy, I have had to learn how to be super organised and to not be too proud to take people up on their offers of help. Also, manners and a genuine smile go a long way.

I’m inspired by…

My amazing friends and family are constantly keeping me inspired. I absolutely love going to art galleries, looking at architecture by walking the streets wherever I am, and reading all sorts of books.

Biggest piece of advice…

Stop every now and then and look at all you’ve achieved

Organised to me means…

Keeping everything tidy and in its place which suits my OCD nature perfectly

The top 3 ways I organise my life are…

Keep all events and appointments on a wall calendar
Keep a to do list and work through that list in order no matter how much you don’t want to do something, as soon as its done you can move on and clear your head
Due to being rather OCD, I ensure that I keep on top of the housework and washing, if my house is a mess I feel out of control and can’t concentrate, particularly on the days I work from home

I can’t leave my house without…

My phone, wallet and sunglasses

At the moment you’ll find the below on my desk…

My laptop, tape measure, magazines, a snack (being 8 months pregnant means I can’t be too far away from food) pens and pencils and my Aesop hand cream

My workspace style is…

At the office its simple and organised. I work from home a lot of the time and do most of my designing spread out on our dining table so the table can get a bit chaotic at times.