Connection means a lot to us, and we believe that lots of little stories create big connection. The #Inu8women series is how we share little stories about women who inspire us through their active lives. Learning from and sharing wisdom with like-minded women helps us to feel stronger, to feel supported and to be free to follow our joy. We believe we are better together.
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We are thrilled to introduce Megan Morton, a wonderful friend of the Inu8 brand. Megan is best known as one of Australia’s leading and most prolific stylists and creatives, she is an author, devoted mother and wife, and leads women on extraordinary design excursions across the globe.
Megan is an eloquent and thought-provoking storyteller, and with so many recent life changes and creative observations, she shares with us her wisdom and guru-like charm for finding meaning and purpose in an ever-changing world. We spoke with Megan in her new zoom room on the Northern Rivers, set under open blue skies, surrounded by lush green countryside and flowering jacarandas, with her favourite Irish Dane, Gabe never far from her side.
Can you use just a few words to describe how you live your life?
Post covid I feel like I have been given a sliding doors second chance at adulthood. It’s hard to even explain because I feel like my life might be unrecognisable.
That lovely manifesto 'If not you then who, if not now, then when?' kept playing in mind during covid. A whole series of little, big things made me question what I was doing and how I was living my life.
My youngest daughter is very horsey and needs a big back yard, and we knew our time was up in Sydney for that. As we started looking, we kissed a few frogs, and of course landed somewhere we didn’t think we’d ever be. Where we’ve landed is so much bigger than what we had imagined, so much better … and so different.
What I realised in relocating from Sydney to the Northern Rivers is that change as a grown up is one of the best things you can do.
One thing that has taken me by surprise is my love of my gorgeous dog and walking. I almost need amour as I’ve got to fight off the weather, the wildlife and often the terrain! If I don’t do the walk, I'll still have a good day but if I do the walk, I'll have a better day. I grew up on a farm on the country with a Mum who was an academic. She’d say, “don’t worry about Olivia Newton John style let’s get physical, just take your big brain for a big walk.” And that has stayed with me. Now I do my morning walk with my gorgeous dog, sometimes my gorgeous husband, sometimes on my own. It’s such a small thing but such a massive difference in my life, and what I love about it is that I need to have new gear!
What I’ve learned about living in this area is that no one suffers a bad grape. The food is so important, and if you are going out for dinner all the time people feel sorry for you. The land is very pastural but very juicy and tropical, it is the intoxicating trifecta – all the goodness of the pastures and meadow land, combined with local rainforest and acres of avocado and macadamia nut trees.
What I’ve also learnt is that just because you love something doesn’t mean you need to make money out of it. When I see people who craft and make things just for the pure enjoyment of the process, I think that is the most civil way to live.
I feel I have a total second chance at grown up hood and now my thinking is along the lines of, ‘if I don’t do my kitchen renovation how many horses can I get?!’
What is the work you do in the world?
I offer a styling service. Every part of my business comes back to service. We are only here for people. We are here to take styling briefs, interior design briefs and commercial design briefs. We are here to help make people’s houses a home and to make houses feel like them.
When we do our travel trips, we are of service to women who want to do all the things we do, but their husband, lover, kid's, colleagues don’t want to go as hard and fast as a group of like-minded women do.
We are a styling service of the truest sense. When we write our books, we are writing to share information and know-how so people can truly feel themselves in their homes.
What does a typical day look like for you – are you able to walk us through it?
I wake up and ask myself am I in Bondi or the Northern Rivers?! I can be a little discombobulated. When I wake up here, I wake up early as I'm duty bound to this gorgeous dog. The dog is a rescue. I think to myself, get out for him, as he had a really bad time and it’s another morning where he gets to put in his memory bank that today is a great day. I do my walk for him but then I see him having such a good time that I feel it too – we are a mirror to each other.
I make a hearty breakfast for my husband whilst I have a coffee degustation. Flat white, macchiato, espresso until I’m feeling it!
Then I move onto my zoom calls. We are going on our Puglia trip with Julie Ostro in April next year and I’m enjoying the research that is involved in this.
I’m working on 3 beautiful houses – an old client and new. I have a team of part time stylists that I call ‘halfies’. Post pandemic I had to look at all the ways we could still be of service and be a viable business whether here or Bondi. It’s been a social experiment and I don’t think I could go back to holding court full time Monday to Friday.
What I’ve realised is that so much of the styling work is about sitting quietly with self. Now I understand to really go forward in a fast direction is to pull back. The greatest gift, not just for me personally, with this ‘changing doors’ life, but with work, is that I can think more clearly – not just on the target but on the bullseye. That’s been the greatest gift.
I like to work and write at night, especially if it’s been a quiet day with minimal interactions with people. I can find my second wind. We have dinner early now we are country people!
What is your favourite way to exercise/move your body?
I love my morning walks, and between that and gardening, it’s such an amazing accidental workout. I’ve always said that styling was actually very aerobic. It's one of the reasons men make such good stylists and set designers because so much of it is so physical.
I diarise gardening and the really big walks when I’m not doing the physicality of styling – it's not just about the brain it's about the body. I broke my back a couple of years ago and realise the importance of physical activity and back care.
What is your favourite activewear piece/s? Is there something that you currently own that you cannot do without?
As you guys know I love my Cashmere wrap because up here it can be close to 4 degrees in the morning and then we can experience an Indian summer in the evening. I love that it folds so beautifully and then it can look good just hanging.
Because we have horses I often wear my Inu tights under other clothes. I love the way I can pair a Chanel taffeta skirt with my RM Williams, my husband's shirt and my Inu leggings with dual pockets!!
What does simplicity mean to you? Is it important to you?
In my job I’m often perceived as the person who always adds – adds to the room, adds to the picture and adds to the budget. What I say to people is that whilst we are there to add our real job is to reduce. You can only see what needs removing if you can sit still in simplicity. If you want to make a dynamic space, you have to clear a bit of room around it.
Living now on 150 acres where I marvel every day at new life, I like the simplicity of living in a house where the cute dog wags its tail, under a ‘normal’ roof, with a flower at the front, where there is a special jam jar for my coffee or one perfect plate.
It’s a very full life in 2022 and the way I find clarity is to reduce. Reduction is so much more important than addition. It works in every art discipline. What you don’t put in is more important that what you do.
What does a feeling of being connected mean to you?
I feel it very strongly up here, the people really want time, they don’t want anything else from you. I found that challenging at first. To understand that simple exchange. It seems so innocent, and it is so innocent. Time is the glue to any connection and the most luxurious commodity of all. Connection and community go together.
In general, do you seek out new products that are created sustainably? Is this important to you when purchasing activewear?
Yes. I feel like if anyone makes a really really big deal about talking about you don’t know how normalised it is. For me it’s a little bit of a red flag. I’m always trying to hack – how can I not be in a consumer system where I have to buy products all the time. How can I be sure that I have a longevity guarantee?
It’s as simple as asking yourself everyday, “have I made the right decision for the earth?” If the answer is yes, continue on – if the answer is no, stop, return, get out of that zone.
Do a whole week of flawless buying. I think you have to hold yourself to that standard. It’s what we expect of our kids and we have to keep pushing for better standards. Every time you get the choice, whether it’s socks or a new car. It’s a way of getting our power back in a time and place that can make us feel quite powerless.
Which influential women do you admire the most? And why?
I have had so many women who I can deep dive with. I feel lucky that I am surrounded by good women energy but because my mum is sick at the moment (and we’ve radically accepted that), I see her now as a different person.
I see an incredible woman, and all the stories that I told myself were terrible, were actually really amazing. I find great peace and happiness now thinking that all that time I thought I was running from something I didn’t want to be it’s exactly the reason I'm exactly why who I am.
Now the timer is on there is nothing else but bare faced love and respect. My mum is an academic – very much the big brain but now I can see her softness. Now I can totally see it as something that was so stoic and strong and such a constant.
I remember taking her to see the Elvis movie. Love a Gold Class, so we went 3 times. And I said “Mum, remember when Elvis died you put a note on the door that said I'm sorry guys, fend for yourselves, Elvis is dead, I’m sad”. She said, “you know I did that just because I wanted a break. I didn’t really love the music; I just knew it was a little window of opportunity I had to take.” She just asked for what she needed. We all know what that feels like but who dares to do it. She basically had a holiday for two weeks. I don’t even think my dad knew it was a fake sadness ... I mean she was sad but not that sad.
Because we are on borrowed time with her, I just take great advice and inspiration. Her influence is what has made me a natural writer and alert to the cues.
What is exciting you at present?
We are counting down the days for India, and then Julia and Puglia in April is rocking our research boat. As we considered our beautiful Rosebury building and our classes, we decided not to offer classes again. In reading the room we asked ourselves, what do stressed-out women, who work inside their houses and outside their houses need from us right now. Admittedly, it is a privileged way of being, but our customers need a week in Puglia – a week of pure med – styling, fleeing, cooking. We won’t need that forever, but we just need that for now.
I’m also excited about my gorgeous garden. I couldn’t decide whether to learn cooking or gardening first, so I took gardening. I have a Herbory, and a Veggie garden and then I have my Tea'ery – a lovely elderflower, mint, peppermint that I can make my own tea with. I’m excited about the simple pleasures of my Tea’ery, then it doesn’t matter if you can’t cook. You can have a really lovely pot of tea from the garden that hits all the lovely notes.
Is there a phrase or a word that you live by?
My mum told me when I was about to go overseas as an exchange student "never hide your enthusiasm". I thought that’s so cheesy, of course I am, I’m 18 and about to live in LA, but I think it’s a wonderful thing to try and remember.
Don’t ever hide your enthusiasm of things you love, the people you love, the jobs you love, hobbies you love. Enthusiasm is so special and, in this time, when everyone is so careful and a bit scared and everyone is living a very much smaller life, enthusiasm really does count, and it is a standout quality for me.
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Connect with Megan at Megan_Morton and the School Instagram
Megan wears Dark Navy Inu8 Tights
