Designer Series - Olive + Page

Welcome to the fifth edition of our Designer Series – a celebration of the talented creatives behind the beautiful brands we proudly stock at Sisters & Co. 

In this instalment, we sit down with Livvy,  founder of Olive & Page, writer, and the heart behind one of New Zealand’s most loved mindful journaling brands. Livvy shares the personal shift that led her from corporate finance to creative living, the rituals that anchor her days, the philosophy woven into every page she designs, and the belief that gently guides both her life and her brand.

Olive & Page was born from a personal shift in how you view life and presence. Can you share the moment that inspired you to create the brand?

If someone had told me a decade ago that I would leave a corporate career to create a journal brand devoted to slowing down and savouring life, I would have laughed and gone straight back to my meeting about another meeting. So, I think I have to start with the real moment,  or really, a series of moments,  that changed everything.

At 29, I was living in London as a Head of Finance for a multinational company, a good ten years younger than anyone else around the corporate management table. I had always been driven. A hustler. In a hurry to get somewhere.

And then I got there.

But this version of ‘success’ I had worked so hard for didn’t feel the way I thought it would.

On paper, it looked impressive: European work trips, a strong salary, the glossy title. But behind the scenes, I had become a shell of myself that I no longer recognised. I planned my weeks around which nights I could work until midnight, balancing it with theatre shows or dinners so it all looked well-rounded. I was running on adrenaline, living with a constant hum of pressure and in a permanently wired nervous system.

I remember one morning waking up and my body felt so heavy I didn’t know how I would stand. But I did. Coffee in hand, 12-hour day ahead. It was a clear downward spiral, but back then, I didn’t have the self-awareness to realise what was happening to me. 

Until one weekend I stepped outside my London flat and wanted to run straight back in. I felt fearful just existing. That was the moment I realised, this isn’t right. I didn’t understand burnout or anxiety, and from someone who had run multiple marathons, travelled solo to different places across the world, and always been a go-getter, it was a deeply humbling experience. I remember asking myself, When was the last time I really laughed? You know, the deep kind of belly laugh that makes your sides ache? I couldn’t remember.

Soon after, my father passed away suddenly at 54. There was no warning or chance to say goodbye. One minute he was here, the next he wasn’t. The fragility and preciousness of life felt so real. It was another huge awakening.

While this chapter of life felt hard, I truly believe it has been my greatest teacher. It taught me compassion, gave me an interest in well-being, helped me reprioritise what was most important in life, and was a catalyst for change in the years that followed.

I moved back to New Zealand and began slowing down more. Not overnight - because change is often messy, confronting, and uncertain. I took another demanding corporate role, but this time I also committed to doing self-development work. I enrolled in a six-month mindfulness course, which was the best investment I’ve ever made in myself. I learned that my thoughts weren’t me, that they move like clouds, that it is OK to feel, and that nothing lasts forever. I learned breathwork and mindfulness techniques, and it was where I began daily meditation and journaling. I started gratitude journaling without any expectation or knowledge of the science behind the practice. And I fell in love with this simple daily ritual.

It helped me truly notice life again. Not just the big things, but the ordinary, everyday kind of moments. The sunlight on your face, the beauty in a sunset at the beach, and the goodness in humans around me. After a few weeks, I was writing for pages and pages about all the things I was thankful for in my life.

Despite these tools, I still felt misaligned with myself. And by 35, it felt impossible to ignore. Through reflective journaling work, the kind similar to the beginning chapters of the YOU journal, looking at ‘Who are you, really?, your values, life success statement (yours, not someone else’s!), envisioning your dream life, and creating a vision board, I saw it clearly: the career I had spent 15 years building wasn’t part of my future. The woman behind the suits and armour wanted something softer, gentler, more creative, with more space to actually live.

Leaving that role was the most confronting identity shift of my life. I had wrapped so much self-worth around my title and income. Suddenly, I had neither. I remember finding comfort in the words, “Enjoy the uncertainty of becoming. When nothing is certain, anything is possible.”

Some friends joked I must be having an early mid-life crisis, yet it didn’t feel like a ‘crisis’, it felt like such a positive thing to do. That is, to look at your life and question: Is this how I really want to be living? And when the answer comes back, ‘NO’, to have the courage to create change even though you didn’t have all the answers.

In that space of not knowing, putting pen to paper became an anchor for me. I realised I had always journaled through life,  I just hadn’t honoured it as a practice. This small practice helped me shed layers of ego and hear my own voice again.

Around that time, I had met my now-husband, enrolled in a full-time creative writing diploma, and was soon pregnant with my first child. Life was softening and expanding all at once.

In early motherhood, I spoke with so many women who felt stretched thin. Burnt out. Disconnected from themselves. Self-care felt hard to reach. And yet, I knew firsthand how simple and transformative journaling and gratitude could be. Not fluffy, not hearsay, but supported by so much scientific research, and now, my own lived experience.

That’s when the seed for Olive + Page was planted.

Despite my corporate finance background, Olive + Page wasn’t born from any strategic, highly thought-out business plan. It was a woman who cracked open, let go of who she thought she was supposed to be, and chose to live in alignment instead.

Today, I live on a lifestyle block in a rural settlement called Hope, on the outskirts of Nelson. My children are now five and three, and they have space to roam barefoot and climb trees. 

The Olive + Page warehouse sits in a big shed on our property. I have total flexibility for my family alongside doing something I am truly passionate about. And the most surreal part? 

That vision board I made at 35,  I’m living it. Life is not perfect by any means; it can still be chaotic, feel hard some days, and like all of us, I’m still hit with the odd unexpected curveball, but I am 100% living that life I dreamed of, that feels like mine.

How has your journey - from corporate life to motherhood and mindful living- shaped the heart of Olive & Page?

Every product I’ve created through Olive + Page is an extension of my own values and lived experience.

I learned first-hand that someone else’s definition of success won’t sustain you. Titles don’t automatically equal fulfilment. And constantly pushing toward the next milestone, without being present for the chapter you’re in, is not a life well-lived.

I think many of us are in a rush to get somewhere, the next promotion, the next milestone, the next chapter,  believing that once we finally arrive ‘there,’ we’ll feel happier and more content.

But have we ever stopped to ask whether that version of success is truly ours?

Who are we rushing for? And why?

We live in a loud world. The external noise is constant. With the digitisation of our lives, comparison is rife, and the pressure to measure up is real. It’s so easy to lose touch with ourselves.

That’s why I believe it’s more important than ever to create space to go inward. To quiet the noise. To reconnect with our own voice beneath all the expectations and distractions.

Journaling gives us an accessible way to do exactly that.  

Slowing down isn’t about doing less. It’s about giving yourself more space to live.

I truly believe that when we soften the pace, even slightly, we create space to actually feel our lives. To notice them in more depth. To make choices that feel authentic and intentional rather than automatic.

That belief sits at the very heart of Olive + Page.

The brand exists to help people press pause on the modern hustle and build small, meaningful rituals into their day, practices that help them feel present, connected, and grounded. Not elaborate routines. Not overwhelming plans. Just simple, consistent moments of returning to themselves.

What does gratitude or mindfulness look like in your own daily routine?

I still tend to get caught in the rat race of doing too much! Life looks very different now with a young family, and I often feel pulled in multiple directions. That constant current of rushing or doing hasn’t magically disappeared. What has changed is my awareness and my knowledge of the tools I can return to.

I’ve been practising gratitude for over a decade now. Not every single day, but it’s something I love coming back to because of how it helps me notice my life. I use our 100 Days of Gratitude Journal, and I love the alternating prompts that stretch my thinking and keep the practice feeling alive rather than repetitive.

Every six months or so, I revisit the opening chapters of the You Journal. It’s become a reset ritual that just feels really good. But rather than having a set time-frame, I wait until I feel called for this. It’s such a beautiful way to realign my priorities, reassess life balance, and clarify my intentions for the season I’m in. Life evolves all the time, and so do we. Human beings are not static, so I think these pages can be something we come back to over and over.

Lately, I’ve also been loving pulling a card from our Art Of Living Card Deck in the afternoon before school pick-ups, usually with a matcha in hand. It’s such a small thing. A few quiet minutes to stop and check in. But those tiny pauses offer that bit of space we all need, and they can quietly shift the tone of a day.

I also still do meditation, less disciplined and these days, and more about breathing space.

And nature is non-negotiable for me. Bare feet on grass. Walks on the beach. Listening to tūī in the garden. A run past water or the bush. Picking flowers from our own garden in the evening while the sky shifts colour has become one of those unexpectedly joyful rituals. It’s so simple but it fills me up.

When life feels full I’ve found it’s the micro-moments that make presence possible. They’re small enough to fit into real life, but powerful enough to bring you back to it. I will always need to remind myself to come out of my head and into the moment where my feet are. It’s not something you master once and for all. It’s a life long journey.

 

When designing your journals, how did you want people to feel when they opened the first page?

Ooooh I love this question! Because it’s something I gave a lot of thought.

When someone opens one of our journals for the first time, I want them to feel nurtured. Nourished. Gently held. As though they’ve just stepped into a quiet space that belongs entirely to them.

I’ve always wanted our journals to feel like a companion. Not loud, not overwhelming, not another thing on a to-do list. Just something steady and supportive waiting for you when you’re ready.

The aesthetics have always mattered deeply to me. The linen hard cover, the flat lay binding, the intricate gold foil details, the FSC certified and weight of the paper, the simple beauty of the design. Every detail is intentional. I didn’t want them to feel like an ‘average’ journal. I wanted people to want to pick them up. To feel drawn to them sitting on a bedside table or coffee table. To look forward to that small pocket of space, just for them.

I hope people feel the love that’s gone into them when they pick them up. Because there IS so much love inside these pages! 

If Olive & Page were a person, how would you describe her energy?

Oh, I love this question, too.

 If Olive + Page were a person, she would be soulful, grounded, and intuitive. Soft, but not fragile. Calm, but not passive. She’d be quietly courageous.

She’s compassionate and fiercely loving. She feels deeply,  and she holds others deeply, too. You can look into her eyes, and feel truly seen. You. Exactly as you are. No judgement. No need for performance. No need to appear like you have it all together. The world feels safe when you are with her. Finally, you can exhale.

There’s a knowing wisdom in her, a higher perspective that reminds you what really matters when life feels chaotic and noisy.

And there’s warmth to her. A joyful sparkle. A zest for life that makes ordinary days feel meaningful. She’s the kind of woman you have a cup of tea with and leave feeling a little lighter, a little more uplifted, a little more yourself after being in her presence.

What’s your advice for someone who wants to start journaling but doesn’t know where to begin?

Journaling is becoming increasingly popular, and for good reason. It’s one of the most accessible tools we have for self-awareness, self-improvement, and self-care.

And yet… so many of us feel hesitant.

What am I even supposed to write?
What if it feels awkward?
What if I do it wrong?
What if someone reads it?
I’ll start later…

But later rarely comes.

I think we often approach journaling with far too many expectations. We imagine it needs to be profound, perfectly written, or nicely articulated. But a journal is not a performance or for an audience.

It’s just you and the page.

Let it be messy. Scribble. Write the first thing that comes to mind. Get it out. Let it move through you and onto the paper. You don’t need the right words, you just need to be candidly honest with yourself.

If you’re not sure where to begin, start small. Just a few minutes a day is enough. You don’t need pages and pages.

Experiment with different types of journaling. Mind dumping, reflection journaling, gratitude journaling, track habits or emotions, manifest, brainstorm, write letters to yourself.  Whatever goes!

If the blank page feels intimidating, a prompted journal can be incredibly helpful. It will already have thoughtful questions to guide you into reflection and help you access parts of yourself you may not naturally think to explore.

It can also help to anchor journaling to an existing habit. James Clear, author of Atomic Habits, calls this habit stacking. Perhaps with your morning coffee, after a shower, or before bed with a cup of tea. When it becomes part of a rhythm you already have, you’re more likely to remember to do it. Leave your journal somewhere visible so it calls you back. Don’t hide it in a drawer or shelf that’s hard to get to!

Make it a ritual you look forward to. Step outside into the morning sun. Sit in your favourite chair. Light a candle. Make a matcha. Take five deep breaths before you begin. Let it feel nourishing rather than like another thing to tick off. Do what feels good for you.

Is there a mantra or belief that anchors both your life and your brand?

I believe we all hold more power than we realise to shape our lives for the better.

As humans, we’re wired to focus on what’s wrong. It’s a natural neurological bias; we scan for problems, for threats, for what isn’t working. But we can gently train ourselves to notice something else. To focus less on the weeds, and more on the flowers that are growing too.

Yes, life can be heavy. Overwhelming. Painful at times.

But it is also breathtakingly beautiful if we stop for long enough to notice it.

What we choose to focus on expands. There is always goodness available,  in ordinary days, in simple moments, in the middle of our busy, messy, real lives,  if we are willing to pause and see it. And the more we practise noticing it, the more it begins to reveal itself everywhere.

At the end of our lives, it won’t be about titles, income, possessions, or how fast we moved. It will be about how deeply we loved, moments we chose joy, and how authentically and fully we showed up for our own lives along the way.